AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY PRESS BOX

Issue; Vertical accessibility to a press box.

Analysis: The applicant is requesting a waiver from providing vertical accessibility to a new, 2-story 360 square foot press box at a private university football field. The 2010 edition of the Florida Building Code, Accessibility, provides an exemption for scoring boxes less than 500 square feet; however, the same exemption is not extended to press boxes, thus necessitating the waiver. The building will cost $120,000 and if a ramp were installed, the entire length would be 225 linear feel. Bids of $54,000 $57,000 were submitted as the cost to install an elevator. According to the applicant, because of the use of the facility, it would only be used 6-7 times per year.

Project Progress:

The project is completed.

Items to be Waived:

Vertical accessibility to a press box, as required by Section 553.509, Florida Statutes.

553.509: Vertical accessibility - Nothing in sections 553.501-553.513 or the guidelines shall be construed to relieve the owner of any building, structure or facility governed by those sections from the duty to provide vertical accessibility to all levels above and below the occupiable grade level, regardless of whether the guidelines require an elevator to be installed in such building, structure or facility, except for:

(1) Elevator pits, elevator penthouses, mechanical rooms, piping or equipment catwalks and automobile lubrication and maintenance pits and platforms;

(2) Unoccupiable spaces, such as rooms, enclosed spaces and storage spaces that are not designed for human occupancy, for public accommodations or for work areas; and

(3) Occupiable spaces and rooms that are not open to the public and that house no more than five persons, including, but not limited to equipment control rooms and projection booths.

Waiver Criteria: There is no specific guidance for a waiver of this requirement in the code. The Commission’s current rule, authorized in Section 553.512, Florida Statutes, provides criteria for granting waivers and allows consideration of unnecessary or extreme hardship to the applicant if the specific requirements were imposed.