Accessibility Statement

Measures to Support Accessibility

• Accessibility is part of every design change: each new page or feature is reviewed for readable contrast, layout at phone sizes, and plain language before it is published.
• Pages are checked with automated accessibility testing and at phone and laptop sizes, in light and dark mode, before each update.
• The site uses one consistent set of colors, headings, and buttons, so pages work the same way throughout.
• Summaries are written in plain language, with zoning terms explained in the Glossary.

Conformance Status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements to make web content more accessible. They have three levels: A, AA, and AAA. The tracker is fully conformant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which means the tracker’s own pages fully meet the standard. Documents published by others that the tracker links to, such as scanned municipal ordinances, are outside its control and are described under Limitations and Alternatives below.

What the Site Does Now

• Every page can be used with a keyboard, and the item you are on is clearly outlined.
• Statuses and ratings are always written out in words, not shown by color alone.
• The information on each map is also available through the search box and in the tables below the map.
• Buttons and links are large enough to tap easily on a phone.
• The site follows your device’s dark mode setting and works with browser zoom.
• Images that carry information have text descriptions.

Feedback

Feedback on the accessibility of the tracker is welcome. If any part of the site is hard to use, please email [email protected] with the page and a short description of the problem. The tracker aims to respond within 5 business days.

Compatibility with Browsers and Assistive Technology

• The site is designed to work with current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on computers, phones, and tablets. It has been tested with the NVDA screen reader in Chrome on Windows and with VoiceOver on a phone, and it is built with standard web code so that it should also work with other common screen readers, such as JAWS and TalkBack, which have not yet been tested.
• The site is not designed for Internet Explorer or for browsers more than two years old.

Technical Specifications

The accessibility of the tracker relies on the following technologies working with your browser and any assistive technology you use: HTML, WAI-ARIA, CSS, and JavaScript.

Limitations and Alternatives

• Scanned documents from municipalities: many ordinances and minutes that the tracker links to are scanned documents posted by counties, cities, and towns, and they may not be readable by a screen reader. The tracker’s own summary of each document is plain text. On request, the tracker will send the key provisions of a document as text within 10 business days.
• Interactive maps: the maps are easiest to use with a mouse or touch screen. The search box and the tables below each map give the same information.
• Downloaded report cards: the printable report cards and Word drafts are created in your browser and may not be fully tagged for screen readers. The same information appears as text on each local government’s page.
• Document previews: the previews on the Resources page are pictures of each document’s first page. Each card also gives the document’s title and publisher as text.

Assessment Approach

The tracker assessed its accessibility by self-evaluation. On October 25, 2026, ten of the main pages, including the home page, Find Your Ordinance, a county page, a local government page, How Ratings Work, the Ordinance Builder, Resources, About, For Reporters, and Coming Up, were tested with the axe automated checker against WCAG 2.1 Levels A and AA, and no errors were found. Automated testing finds only some kinds of problems, so pages are also reviewed by hand at phone and laptop sizes and in dark mode. On October 25, 2026, the site was also tested with the NVDA screen reader in Chrome on Windows, including reading pages, moving through headings and controls with the keyboard, and searching on Find Your Ordinance, and it worked fully. The same day, the correction form, status messages, the state map, 200 percent browser zoom, and VoiceOver on a phone in both portrait and landscape orientation were tested by hand, and all passed. No external audit has been done.

Formal Approval of This Statement

This statement was approved by the tracker’s maintainer.

Formal Complaints

If you are not satisfied with a response, please write again to [email protected] and describe the problem as a formal complaint. The tracker aims to reply within 5 business days and to propose a solution within 10 business days.

Date

This statement was created on October 25, 2026, and was last reviewed on October 25, 2026.