Issue: Vertical accessibility to the second floor of a commercial building.
Analysis: The applicant is requesting a waiver from providing vertical accessibility to the second floor of a four tenant office/commercial building. The project is a historic structure built in 1878 located on a zero lot line plot. The scope of the tenant improvements is $30,000 and estimates of $208,700 and $209.400 were submitted as the cost to make the building fully accessible. Because of the internal configuration and building geometry as well as its site constructions, installation of an elevator is the only feasible method of providing vertical accessibility. Two accessible toilet rooms will be provided on the first floor as part of the scope of the tenant improvements.
Project Progress:
The project is in plan review and under construction.
Items to be Waived:
Vertical accessibility to the second floor, 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.