(1) Residential Bathrooms – FL Statute 553.504(2)

“(2) All new single-family houses, duplexes, triplexes, condominiums, and townhouses shall provide at least one bathroom, located with maximum possible privacy, where bathrooms are provided on habitable grade levels, with a door that has a 29-inch clear opening. However, if only a toilet room is provided at grade level, such toilet room must have a clear opening of at least 29 inches.”

Reference FACBC section: 233.3.6

Recommend to modify the requirement for the accessible bathroom and bedroom doors in single family, duplex and triplex units to match FHA requirements of 32 inch nominal clear opening. Evaluate new construction of single family, duplex and triplex units for Aging in Place and Visitability. If on accessible habitable level, bathroom/bathing room or powder room should match FHA requirements.

(2) Doors - FL Statute 553.504(3)

“(3) Notwithstanding the requirements in s. 404.2.9 of the standards, exterior hinged doors must be designed so that such doors can be pushed or pulled open with a force not exceeding 8.5 foot pounds.”

Reference FACBC section: 404.2.9(3)

I would recommend eliminating this FL specific criteria and defer to the federal standards (which defers to the NFPA Fire Code). NFPA: 10 lbs. maximum; FL: 15 lbs. maximum for exterior hinged doors. There are difficulties maintaining a maximum 8.5 lb. pressure with wind locks and vestibules often used in FL due to the summer heat and egress doors. The NFPA Life Safety Code requires a maximum 10 lbs. of force to operate, which is much more achievable. Heavier doors that are fire rated, inconsistencies in measuring the force (initial vs. continual force) and when to measure (worse case with windy conditions or no wind) add to the difficulties of property owners and are a real concerns for compliance.

Power assisted door openers are often times difficult and expensive to install as a retrofit, as electrical service point is needed which is not always nearby, and the location of the paddle to initiate operation in relation to the door itself has a limited separation distance which proves difficult where there are terrain and elevation changes as a clear floor space is needed for the paddle operation.

(3) Hotels, Motels, and Condominium Features – FL Statute 553.504(4)

“(4) In motels and hotels a number of rooms equaling at least 5 percent of the guest rooms minus the number of accessible rooms required by the standards must provide the following special accessibility features: a) Grab rails in bathrooms and toilet rooms that comply with s. 604.5 of the standards; b) all beds in designed accessible guest rooms must be an open-frame type that allows the passage of lift devices; c) Water closets that comply with section 604.4 of the standards.”

Reference FACBC section: 806.4

Remove the requirements for grab rails and raised water closet and apply the requirements for an open frame bed to all mobility rooms.

(4) Lavatory – FL Statute 553.504(5)(a)

“(5) Notwithstanding ss. 213 and 604 of the standards, required bathing rooms and toilet rooms in new construction shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the following:

(a) The wheelchair accessible toilet compartment must contain an accessible lavatory within it, which must be at least 19 inches wide by 17 inches deep, nominal size, and wall-mounted. The lavatory shall be mounted so as not to overlap the clear floor space areas required by s. 604 of the standards for the wheelchair accessible toilet compartment and comply with s. 606 of the standards. Such lavatories shall be counted as part of the required fixture count for the building.”

Reference FACBC section: 604.8.1.6

Recommend removing the “at least 19” wide by 17” deep, nominal size” from statute

(5) Water Closet – FL Statute 553.504(5)(b)

“(5) Notwithstanding ss. 213 and 604 of the standards, required bathing rooms and toilet rooms in new construction shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the following:

(b) The accessible water closet within the wheelchair accessible toilet compartment must be located in the corner, diagonal to the door.”

Reference FACBC section: 604.8.1.7

Recommend elimination of the diagonal requirement.

(6) Barriers – FL Statute 553.504(6)

“(6) Barriers at common or emergency entrances and exits of business establishments conducting business with the general public that are existing, under construction, or under contract for construction which would prevent a person from using such entrances or exits must be removed.”

Reference FACBC section: 202.3.3

UF recommendation with the removal of “This change might be tempered by making it subject to approval by the AHJ.”

(7) Parking Spaces –553.5041(4)(a)&(b)

“(4) The number of accessible parking spaces must comply with the parking requirements in s. 208 of the standards and the following:

(a) There must be one accessible parking space in the immediate vicinity of a publicly owned or leased building that houses a governmental entity or a political subdivision, including, but not limited to, state office buildings and courthouses, if parking for the public is not provided on the premises of the building.

(b) There must be one accessible parking space for each 150 metered on-street parking spaces provided by state agencies and political subdivisions.”

Reference FACBC section: 208.2.5

Agree with recommendation to add “a minimum of” one accessible parking space in the immediate vicinity of a publicly owned or leased building… as noted in 553.5041(4)(a) for public entities.

Do not agree with UF recommendation to incorporate the upcoming PROW Guidelines until such time the Guidelines are adopted by DOJ and the DOT.

(8) Parking Spaces – FL Statute 553.5041(4)(c)

“(4) The number of accessible parking spaces must comply with the parking requirements in s. 208 of the standards and the following:

(c) The number of parking spaces for persons who have disabilities must be increased on the basis of demonstrated and documented need.”

Reference FACBC section: 208.2

Revised Recommendation: Define “demonstrated and documented need” and provide criteria on how to determine this. Otherwise provision should be eliminated.

(9) Access Aisle – FL Statute 553.5041(5)(a)

“(5) Accessible perpendicular and diagonal accessible parking spaces and loading zones must be designed and located to conform to ss. 502 and 503 of the standards.

(a) All spaces must be located on an accessible route that is at least 44 inches wide so that users are not compelled to walk or wheel behind parked vehicles except behind his or her own vehicle.”

Reference FACBC section: 502.3

Recommend to delete the requirement that all spaces must be located on an accessible route that is at least 44 inches wide so that users are not compelled to walk or wheel behind parked vehicles except behind his or her own vehicle.

Modify the requirement to allow to go behind your own car and one other vehicle; thereby allowing four accessible parking spaces to be at the end of double loaded parking lanes – two on each side.

(10) Parking Spaces – FL Statute 553.5041(5)(b)

“(5) Accessible perpendicular and diagonal accessible parking spaces and loading zones must be designed and located to conform to ss. 502 and 503 of the standards.

(b) If there are multiple entrances or multiple retail stores, the parking spaces must be dispersed to provide parking at the nearest accessible entrance. If a theme park or an entertainment complex as defined in s. 509.013(9) provides parking in several lots or areas from which access to the theme park or entertainment complex is provided, a single lot or area may be designated for parking by persons who have disabilities, if the lot or area is located on the shortest accessible route to an accessible entrance to the theme park or entertainment complex or to transportation to such an accessible entrance.”

Reference FACBC section: 208.3.1

Recommend eliminating the language requiring accessible parking nearest an accessible entrance for multi‐tenant facilities. The way the current FS is written is confusing in that it is implied (and is typically applied) to mean an accessible space is required to be provided for each accessible entrance. In the case of strip shopping centers, there could be many stores (25 or 30) with accessible entrances while having dispersed clustering of accessible parking and an accessible route to the arcade (sidewalk) in front of the stores. This does not meet the statutes specific criteria, as the spaces are not necessarily nearest to the accessible entrance for a given store. If the statute was applied for exact compliance, accessible parking would need to be in front of every tenant space, along with a curb ramp for each tenant.

Parking dispersion is addressed under the federal law 208.3.1 which adequately addresses dispersion where there are multiple entrances to a single occupant of a facility… “Where parking serves more than one entrance, parking spaces complying with 502 shall be dispersed and located on the shortest accessible route to the accessible entrance.”

(11) Parking Spaces – FL Statute 553.5041(5)(c)1

“(5) Accessible perpendicular and diagonal accessible parking spaces and loading zones must be designed and located to conform to ss. 502 and 503 of the standards.

(c)1. Each parking space must be at least 12 feet wide. Parking access aisles must be at least 5 feet wide and must be part of an accessible route to the building or facility entrance. The access aisle must be striped diagonally to designate it as a no-parking zone.”

Reference FACBC section: 502.2

Strongly recommend reducing the 12’ width of the current accessible space to the universal 11’ width while maintaining the 5’ marked access aisle. Retain the optional 8’ wide space with an 8’ access aisle for attendant lots; retain 8’ minimum width for on street parking without an access aisle. Modify 316 FS to mirror the requirements.

(12) Parking Spaces – FL Statute 553.5041(5)(d)

“(5) Accessible perpendicular and diagonal accessible parking spaces and loading zones must be designed and located to conform to ss. 502 and 503 of the standards.

(d) On-street parallel parking spaces must be designed to conform to ss. 208 and 502 of the standards, except that access aisles are not required. Curbs adjacent to such spaces must be of a height that does not interfere with the opening and closing of motor vehicle doors. This subsection does not relieve the owner of the responsibility to comply with the parking requirements of ss. 208 and 502 of the standards.”

Reference FACBC section: 502.2.1

Due to the extraneous considerations with street design and drainage, it is recommended to adopt the federal PROW Guidelines at the time they are adopted by the DOJ and DOT. Until such time, it is recommended to leave the statute as is, with the exception of removing the “reduced curb height” criteria.

(13) Removing Parking Barriers – FL Statute 553.5041(5)(e)1&2

“(5) Accessible perpendicular and diagonal accessible parking spaces and loading zones must be designed and located to conform to ss. 502 and 503 of the standards.

(e)1. The removal of architectural barriers from a parking facility in accordance with 28 C.F.R. s. 36.304 or with s. 553.508 must comply with this section unless compliance would cause the barrier removal not to be readily achievable. If compliance would cause the barrier removal not to be readily achievable, a facility may provide parking spaces at alternative locations for persons who have disabilities and provide appropriate signage directing such persons to the alternative parking if readily achievable. The facility may not reduce the required number or dimensions of those spaces or unreasonably increase the length of the accessible route from a parking space to the facility. The removal of an architectural barrier must not create a significant risk to the health or safety of a person who has a disability or to others.

(e)2. A facility that is making alterations under s. 553.507(2) must comply with this section to the maximum extent feasible. If compliance with parking location requirements is not feasible, the facility may provide parking spaces at alternative locations for persons who have disabilities and provide appropriate signage directing such persons to alternative parking. The facility may not reduce the required number or dimensions of those spaces, or unnecessarily increase the length of the accessible route from a parking space to the facility. The alteration must not create a significant risk to the health or safety of a person who has a disability or to others.”

Reference FACBC section: 208.1.1 and 208.1.2

Recommend deleting provisions in Florida Statue as this is addressed in federal regulation.

(14) Vertical Accessibility – FL Statute 553.509

“(1) This part and the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design do not relieve the owner of any building, structure, or facility governed by this part from the duty to provide vertical accessibility to all levels above and below the occupiable grade level, regardless of whether the standards require an elevator to be installed in such building, structure, or facility, except for:

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

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

(c) 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.

(d) Theaters, concert halls, and stadiums, or other large assembly areas that have stadium-style seating or tiered seating if ss. 221 and 802 of the standards are met.

(e) All play and recreation areas if the requirements of chapter 10 of the standards are met.

(f) All employee areas as exempted in s. 203.9 of the standards.

(g) Facilities, sites, and spaces exempted by s. 203 of the standards.

(2) However, buildings, structures, and facilities must, as a minimum, comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design.”

Reference FACBC section: 201.1.1

Recommend removing “and the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design” in the first sentence. The ADA does relieve owners from providing vertical accessibility (elevators) in certain circumstances.

Recommend adding press boxes to the list of exceptions to vertical access provided the federal requirements are met. Recommend clarifying that “persons” does not mean “occupants” per Chapter 10. Applying the occupancy formula in Chapter 10 of the FBC to determine whether the “five persons” threshold is met is virtually always used by building officials. This is an unintended consequence as it is currently written. Five occupants in the building code and five actual people are very different. Is it possible to add (not occupants per chapter 10 of the FBC) after persons, or maybe modify “persons” to “actual or physical people”?

Recommend defining “occupiable”, “unoccupiable”, and “enclosed space”. Does “unoccupied” mean it is not intended to be occupied, or that it cannot be occupied (e.g. catwalk). Does “enclosed space” mean anything in the building, fixed modular furniture, walls? Does an “enclosed space” mean four walls and a roof or just a roof with moveable windows to allow outdoor air (patio)?

Require a waiver based on “not to exceed 5 occupants not per occupancy requirements of code”.