Building Compliance With the ADA is Just Black and White.

There is no mystery.  The ADA has been here for 20 years and the ADA Amendments Act since 2008.  Building owners are either in ADA compliance or not in ADA compliance.  Let me step back a minute.

When I use or refer to ADA it is the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 with an effective date of January 1, 2009.  There is a strange situation with the ADA.  Nowhere have I seen where it says the ADA of 1990 has been replaced by the ADA of 2008.  But, really, that is what has happened.  The big change is the numbering system and a more definitive explanation of who is disabled.  The result is more people fall under the umbrella of being disabled.  Age is not mentioned and it is obvious that as our population ages we will have more people that will fall under the umbrella of being disabled. 

So, what does all this mean to building owners?

Get your act together and get your building ADA compliant.  Yes, it will cost money.  The cost of a lawsuit will also cost money.  That cost could be a quarter of a million dollars and not a penny going into getting your building ADA compliant.  Most architects and contractors solutions are the same.  They have been using the same formula for years and were not, and still not as of today, in ADA compliant.

As an architect, what upsets me the most is when I see building owners spend money for ADA compliance and do not get it.  The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says that they are seeing more litigation each year.  We now have law firms that specialize in ADA building non-compliance.  If your building is not compliant, you may be next in line for that ADA building non-compliance complaint. 

For more than a year now we have been offering our professional accessibility architectural service to the wheelchair users to file ADA non-compliant building complaints free of charge.  ACCESS enjoys our work with the wheelchair user community.  We are at you service and welcome all inquiries.

Give us your questions or thoughts on the above article.  You can post them here or on our FaceBook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Access-Technologies-Services-Inc/268659564730.  You can also reach us at hfalstad@accessts.net or call us at (702) 649-7575.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Hank


The above are opinions of Hank Falstad, AIA, Managing Senior Associate of Access Technologies Services, Inc. (ACCESS).  See our web site for additional information:  www.accessts.net.

More Findings on Private and Public Areas (Condominiums)

36 CFR Parts 1190 and 1191; Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Rules and Regulations page 44084 have the following sentence:

“The ADA applies to places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, and State and local government facilities.”

In the ADA of 1990 commercial facilities are Title II and State and local government facilities are Title III.  So what are places of public accommodations?

In the opinion of ACCESS, these public accommodations are public amenities within a building, in a separate building or on the site that are not in the private areas of the building.  The private area of a building is the space inside ones front door.  In the case of a condominium, it would be all the common areas on the other side of ones front door.

Give us your questions or thoughts on the above article.  You can post them here or on our FaceBook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Access-Technologies-Services-Inc/268659564730.  You can also reach us at hfalstad@accessts.net or call us at (702) 649-7575.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Hank


The above are opinions of Hank Falstad, AIA, Managing Senior Associate of Access Technologies Services, Inc. (ACCESS).  See our web site for additional information:  www.accessts.net.

Wheelchair Users in Condominiums Are Being Stiffed Regarding Common Area Accessibility

The purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to prevent discrimination especially in Civil Rights Law.  These building accessibility requirements are addressed in the Civil Right Laws of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) of 1968 and 1988 plus the ADA of 1990 and 2008. 

In the early 1990's, the Ingersoll case is especially interesting.  Marriott was concerned about its time shares.  Was the jurisdiction FHA, ADA or both?

The ruling by the Federal Judge was ADA.  The reasoning was they operated and functioned more like hotels than residences.  Condominiums are a little more of a challenge.  It's obvious that inside the unit (ACCESS calls this "private space"), the jurisdiction is FHA.  But, what about the accessible route to and around the building, the common areas within the building, and outside the building?  These areas (ACCESS calls "public areas") are available to all owners or renters.  The common areas really operate and function more like public areas of buildings, therefore, in the opinion of ACCESS, are public areas.

There is jurisdiction in the ADA Amendment Act of 2008 that addresses housing in Title 42, Chapter 126, Section 12101 (a) (3); and it is here, in the opinion of ACCESS, where the jurisdiction for the condominiums accessible routes and common areas requirements are those of the ADA.  Those building requirements of the ADA are called guidelines.  These guidelines and ANSI are 95% the same; so, they are both on the same track.

The difference is that ANSI is enforced by building officials.  ANSI has been around since the early 1960's.  Forty years later, we get the ADA, a Civil Right Law addressing building accessibility for the disabled with enforcement by Federal Judges.  This resulted in uniform building accessibility with real enforcement.  In the opinion of ACCESS, this is what is really needed today in housing as it pertains to condominiums and apartments.

Give us your questions or thoughts on the above article.  You can post them here or on our FaceBook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Access-Technologies-Services-Inc/268659564730.  You can also reach us at hfalstad@accessts.net or call us at (702) 649-7575.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Hank


The above are opinions of Hank Falstad, AIA, Managing Senior Associate of Access Technologies Services, Inc. (ACCESS).  See our web site for additional information:  www.accessts.net.