CITY OF SAN JOSE BUILDING DIVISION POLICY
Policy on California Disabled Access Compliance
Policy No.: CBC 11A-1-95/CBC 11B-1-95
Effective: April 1, 1994
Revised: January 24, 1996
Revised: February 18, 1998
This policy explains compliance with the California Disabled Access Regulations which incorporated portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Federal Fair Housing Amendment (FFHA).The Division of State Architect (DSA) incorporated portions of ADA regulations into State Law with an effective date of April 1, 1994. Housing and Community Development (HCD) incorporated (FFHA) regulations into State Law with an effective date of April 15, 1992, and these regulations were further revised with an effective date of July 15, 1993. This policy is not intended to be a complete listing of all code provisions. Please refer to the actual law for specific code requirements.
I. APPLICABLE CODES
A. Title 24 Part 2 Building regulations:
1. Chapter 11A established rules that are adopted by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that regulate accessibility to privately funded apartment houses with three or more dwelling units and condominiums with four or more dwelling units.
2. Chapter 11B establishes rules that are adopted by the Division of State Architect (DSA) that regulate the accessibility to public buildings, public accommodations, commercial buildings and publicly funded housing. Chapter 11B is divided into the following three Divisions:
°Division I establishes rules for new buildings.
°Division II establishes site accessibility rules for new and existing buildings.
°Division III accessibility for entrance
°Division IV modifies rules of Divisions I and II for existing buildings.
3. Chapter 11C establishes standards for card readers at gasoline fuel dispensing facilities.
4. Chapter 10 establishes rules that regulate exiting requirements. HCD and DSA both have adopted only portions of this chapter, as listed in the Title 24 California Building code adoption matrix.
5. Chapter 30 establishes rules for elevators, dumbwaiters, escalators and moving walks. Again HCD and DSA both have adopted only portions of this chapter, as listed in the California Building Code adoption matrix.
6. Chapter 35 adopts the Uniform Building Code Standards into code. HCD has adopted this chapter in its entirety. DSA has adopted only portions of this chapter as listed in the California Building Code adoption matrix.
B. Title 24 Part 3 Electrical regulations:
The general requirement of this regulation is for electrical receptacles, switches and alarms to be mounted within reach ranges for people in wheelchairs. Articles 210-50, 380-8 and 760-9 are the main sections of National Electrical Code as amended and adopted by the State of California.
C. Title 24 Part 5 Plumbing regulations:
The general requirement of this regulation from Uniform Plumbing Code as amended and adopted by the State of California is for plumbing fixtures to be accessible and usable. Refer to the following sections: 1501 General, 1502 Water Closets, 1503 Urinals, 1504 Lavatories, 1505 Showers, 1506 Bathtubs, 1507 Drinking Fountains and 1508 Kitchen Sinks.
II. COMPLIANCE APPLICATION
A. General Rules
1. Permits trigger Title 24 Accessibility regulations.
2. All publicly funded buildings (housing and commercial) must meet DSA accessibility regulations.
3. All privately funded buildings must be accessible as follows:
a. All commercial buildings are DSA regulated.
b. All HCD regulated residential buildings except the following:
1. Single family residences.
2. Apartments with less than 3 units per building.
3. Condominiums with less than 4 units per building.
4. All spaces available to the general public shall be accessible to employees, customers and residents.
5. Alterations to existing buildings:
a. Buildings regulated by DSA are limited in scope to the area of renovation as per Chapter 11B Division III, plus the following accessible elements that serve the area of renovation: entrance, path of travel, sanitary facilities, telephone and drinking fountain if provided and when possible parking, site access and alarms. (Path of travel includes parking areas, walks or sidewalks, ramps, corridors, an elevator and doorways, etc., as necessary to provide for arrival at the site and traversing to the actual interior area being remodeled).
b. Buildings regulated by HCD are exempt from compliance unless units are being added to buildings that would trigger compliance due to the total number of units in the building.
6. Floors above or below grade without vertical access such as (elevator, lift or ramp):
a. New commercial buildings are no longer exempt, for alterations to existing buildings refer to Division III of chapter 11B.
b. Residential buildings are still exempt.
7. Accessibility features must be maintained in compliance with the regulations in effect at the time of their creation.
B. Requirements for existing buildings Chapter 11B Division III (DSA regulated):
General rule
- For existing buildings regulated by DSA, the specific area of addition, alterations or repairs must comply with the requirements of Division I standards for new buildings. The primary entrance, the primary path of travel, the sanitary facilities, drinking fountains or telephones that serve the area of renovation must comply with Division I and II standards. This general rule has three categories that determine the level of enforcement required as follows:
1. Categories for enforcement:
a. Permits issued for construction valuations below cost threshold ($87,000 in 1998 dollars).
b. Permits issued for construction valuation above cost threshold ($87,000 in 1998 dollars).
c. Permits issued for buildings that were formerly exempt from providing vertical access by an elevator or ramp but are required by current regulations to provide vertical access by an elevator or ramp.
2. Exempted work:
a. Permits for renovations that are made solely to improve accessibility features are limited to the actual scope of work.
b. Permits for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, reroofing, electrical work not involving placement of switches and receptacles and cosmetic work do not trigger disabled access compliance.
3. Modified application
a. Qualified historical buildings shall comply with the State Historical Building Code.
III. EXPLANATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS
A. Projects construction valuation less than cost threshold ($87,000 in 1998 dollars).
All new construction, additions, alteration or repairs must fully comply with the new regulations. All the following features (a through f) serving the new construction area must fully comply with the new regulations:
a. An accessible entrance.
b. An accessible route to the area of alteration.
c. Accessible sanitary facilities (separate accessible restrooms are required if separate restrooms exist or are required for abled persons).
d. Accessible telephone(s) if phone(s) are provided.
e. Accessible drinking fountain(s) if provided.
f. When possible, additional accessible elements such as parking, storage and alarms.
Applicants may file a request for an unreasonable hardship if the cost of providing the above accessibility features (a through f) exceed 20% of the cost of the project without these features. The Building Division will evaluate this request (on time and material basis) and approve it if deemed appropriate. Review and ratification by Disable Access Advisory Board is not required, but maybe requested by the Building Division. When this unreasonable hardship request is approved, only 20% of the cost of the project without these features is required to be spent on accessibility features. All accessible elements that can be provided without exceeding the 20% disproportionate cost shall be provided with priority given to items that will provide the greatest access. It is not permissible to split a single large project into smaller elements for the sole purpose of evading access requirements. It is now required to track the cost of projects over a three year period starting from January 26, 1992. Construction valuation on the same path of travel to the altered area will be cumulative for the purpose of determining if the applicable cost threshold is disproportionate.
B. Projects with construction valuation exceeding cost threshold ($87,000 in 1998 dollars):
All new construction in existing buildings, additions, alterations, or structural repairs must fully comply with the new regulations. All features serving the new construction must fully comply with the new regulations regardless of cost (including but not limited to the following):
a. An accessible primary entrance.
b. An accessible primary path of travel to the area of alteration (starts at the edge of the site, and includes parking).
c. Accessible sanitary facilities (separate accessible restrooms are required if separate restrooms exist or are required for abled persons).
d. Accessible telephone(s) if phone(s) are provided.
e. Accessible drinking fountain(s) if provided.
Applicants may request equivalent facilitation as a substitute for full compliance to Division I and II standards only if a specific stipulated exception listed within Title 24 Chapter 11B Division I or II exists and documentation of an unreasonable hardship request which the Building Division deems appropriate is filed. Any such request must be established by considering the following factors:
a. Cost of providing access.
b. Cost of all construction contemplated.
c. Impact of proposed improvements on financial feasibility of the project.
d. Nature of the accessibility which would be gained or lost.
e. Nature of the use of the facility under construction and its availability to persons with disabilities.
The Building Division will evaluate all such requests on time and material basis. Review and ratification by Disabled Access Advisory Board prior to approval is not required, but may be requested by Building Division.
Any request for exemptions, other than equivalent facilitation based on unreasonable hardship as discussed above, must be based on a specific stipulated exception listed within Title 24 chapter 11B Division I and II and must be completely documented and justified by the applicant. Any such request will be reviewed by the Building Division on a time and material basis and only if the request is deemed justified will it be referred for ratification by the Disabled Access Advisory Board prior to its approval by the Building Division.
C. Buildings without elevators and vertical access:
Prior to these regulations, some multi-story buildings were not required to have elevators. Floors above or below the first floor in buildings that did not have elevator access were exempt from accessibility requirements. Due to changes made by the ADA regulations and incorporated into Title 24 California Building Code, the buildings listed below are now required to have an elevator access and floors without elevator access are no longer exempt.
a. Office buildings and passenger vehicle service stations of 3 stories or more & 3,000 or more square feet per floor.
b. Offices of physicians and surgeons.
c. Shopping centers.
d. Other buildings of 3 stories or more and 3,000 or more square feet per floor if a reasonable portion of services sought by the public are available on the accessible floor.
Therefore, to comply with the accessible path of travel in the above listed buildings, where the cost of construction exceeds cost threshold, an elevator would be required. To prevent this burdensome cost from being imposed to alteration projects involving buildings and facilities previously approved and built without elevators, these buildings were granted the 20% cost disproportionality allowance even if the renovation costs exceeds the cost threshold. (Project costs are not accumulative but assessed based on individual projects for purpose of feasibility of adding an elevator).
IV. UNREASONABLE HARDSHIP EXCEPTIONS
The code allows applicants to request equivalent facilitation as a substitute for full compliance to Division I and II Standards only if a specific stipulated exception listed within Title 24 Chapter 11B Division I and II exists and documentation of an unreasonable hardship request which the Building Division deems appropriate is filed. The following is a partial list of these specific stipulated exceptions:
A. Section 1127B.1: Equivalent facilitation for accessible exterior routes by ramp.
B. Section 1129B.4.3: Equivalent facilitation for parking arrangements.
C. Section 1130B: Equivalent facilitation for parking structure height.
D. Section 1115B.1: Equivalent facilitation for toilet facilities can be provided by one of the following:
1. All sanitary facilities are not required to comply if accessible facilities are located within a reasonable distance. The accessible sanitary facility must be located within maximum distance of 200 feet and must be within the same building.
2. If a lateral or front-transfer toilet stall is provided. Figure No. 11B-1C
3. Doors must have a clear unobstructed opening of at least 30".
E. Section 1117B.1: Equivalent facilitation for water fountain alcoves can be provided as follows:
1. The surface of the path of travel shall be textured on all sides to be clearly identifiable to a blind person, or
2. Wing walls shall be provided on each side of the fountain.
For additional information on unreasonable hardship exceptions also see this policy sections IIIA, B and C.
Approved by:
Chief Building Official