The Dallas City Council said 10-4 to an ordinance proposed by a Lakewood dad to install diaper changing stations in all bathrooms at new restaurants, stores, theaters and city-owned buildings.
The ordinance passed Wednesday by a 10-4 vote. Chris Fox, the Lakewood dad who proposed the ordinance last fall, was in attendance.
“I was nervous when the people who opposed it started talking, but I was excited once it passed,” he said.
Fox worked for months with outgoing District 9 City Councilman Mark Clayton and mayoral candidate Scott Griggs to get the ordinance on the Quality of Life Committee agenda in March. The committee unanimously agreed to send it to the full Council for consideration.
“My wife and I would go out to restaurants or travel, and after a while, it became apparent that there were a lack of changing stations in men’s restrooms,” Fox told the Advocate earlier this year. “That’s a little outdated. We shouldn’t have to walk into a restaurant and my wife change (my son’s) diaper just because there’s a changing table in her restroom. It’s a basic convenience that should be offered to everyone.”
Under the new ordinance, failure to install changing tables in public accommodations would result in a $500 fine. The Dallas Observer reported that the City’s code compliance department would be responsible for responding to violations.
