Topeka ? The Kansas State Fair is not readily accessible to the disabled, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Atty. Gen. Phill Kline does not plan to appeal the decision, and the fair is “actively pursuing” a plan to improve its buildings and grounds, a spokesman said Wednesday.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver decided in favor of three fair patrons who use wheelchairs. They sued the fair board, the fair’s general manager and the state in 2001, arguing the fair did not comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

In an opinion issued Tuesday, the appeals court judges said the fair still had 25 buildings and 22 restrooms that were not accessible to the handicapped. The judges also said a handicapped seating section in the fair’s grandstand did not represent sufficient access.

Writing for the panel, Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr. said federal law required public entities to provide “meaningful access” to their programs and services, not just “mere physical access.” Furthermore, Kelly wrote, when Congress approved the ADA in 1992, it was fighting “a broad comprehensive concept of discrimination.”

“We must therefore determine whether the fairgrounds, when viewed in their entirety, are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities,” Kelly wrote. “We conclude that they are not.”

Kline spokesman Chad Bettes said Kline agreed that the fair needed to comply with the ADA but said fair officials had been making improvements. In 2001, the Legislature authorized $29 million in bonds for renovations.

“It’s not a matter of if we’re going to comply, but how we’ll comply,” Bettes said.

And Denny Stoecklein, the fair’s general manager, said the fair had addressed some issues before its 2002 season.

Some state officials had worried that if the fair lost the case, it could be forced to make millions of dollars in improvements. The appeal panel’s ruling ordered the fair to compile a thorough evaluation of its buildings and grounds and draft a plan for addressing deficiencies.

Senate President Dave Kerr expressed disappointment with the appeals court’s decision, suggesting that fair officials might have to consider moving major events like concerts from the grandstand to another venue to comply.

“They’ve made every effort — and have for years — to accommodate people in wheelchairs and people who needed some accommodation,” said Kerr, R-Hutchinson.

But Stoecklein said the grandstand’s handicapped seating had been improved and needed to be enlarged to bring the fair into compliance with the ADA.

“We want to comply,” he said. “We want to make this a good place to come.”

David Calvert, a Wichita attorney representing the plaintiffs, said he was optimistic that his client and the fair could reach agreement on remaining issues.

“The whole ADA is about equal and meaningful access,” Calvert said.

The fair, represented by Kline’s office, had hoped to convince Kelly and appeals court Judges Monroe G. McKay and Carlos F. Lucero that it was making progress on improving the fairgrounds.

But the appeals court panel said even if the fair completed its master plan, 16 public restrooms would not be handicapped accessible. Also, the judges said, plans for modifying the grandstand would not comply with federal law.

The judges said the handicapped section in the grandstand did not represent meaningful access because patrons there were “effectively trapped,” unable to leave for food or to use restrooms or view the stage, and subject to have other fairgoers climb over them to get to seats.