ANSI A117
Call for Public Comment
ICC/ANSI A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities
The deadline for public comments on the technical standard ICC/ANSI A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities is March 31.
The purpose of the standard is to provide technical criteria (i.e., how-to) for sites, facilities, buildings and elements to be accessible and usable by people with physical disabilities. The 2006 International Building Code (IBC) references the 2003 edition of the A117.1 for its accessibility requirements.
The International Code Council serves as the administrative secretariat for the A117.1. Developed through an open-hearing consensus process approved by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI), the standard is on a five-year cycle for revisions.
A 43-member committee is currently in the process of developing the 2008 edition of the A117.1. The committee reviewed proposed revisions to the standard during several public meetings, the last held in St. Louis, Mo., from Jan. 28 – Feb. 1. The resulting draft standard is now available for public comment and can be viewed on the ICC web site.
What’s new?
Coordination with federal requirements continues to be one of the committee’s primary goals. As part of the coordination with the American’s with Disabilities Act/Architectural Barriers Act (ADA/ABA) Accessibility Guidelines, the standard will have a new Chapter 11, which will include technical criteria for recreational facilities such as amusement rides; recreational boating facilities; exercise machines and equipment; fishing piers and platforms; golf and miniature golf facilities; swimming and wading pools, hot tubs and spas; and shooting facilities.
The committee also reviewed the residential requirements for Accessible units, Type A units and Type B units to coordinate and clarify them, while maintaining the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ‘safe harbor’ status for meeting requirements in the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines (FHAG).
The committee continues to work with new technologies. Criteria for variable message signing, a type of electronic signage commonly used in transportation stations and large assembly facilities, will be added.
A special A117.1 subcommittee put forward a proposal for a new ‘Type C’ dwelling unit. While the proposal includes only technical criteria and not scoping, limited access, or visitability, is based on widespread application to dwellings not covered by other federal laws (e.g., single family homes, townhouses). Many communities across the United States have enacted visitability ordinances. Technical requirements can vary widely. To date, more than 30,000 houses in the U.S. have been constructed under these ordinances, with features such as zero-step entrances and wider interior doors. More than 40 municipalities and states have adopted some form of visitability requirements or policies including: Atlanta, Ga.; Austin, Texas; Visalia, Cal.; Howard County, Md.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Southampton, N.Y.; Iowa City, Iowa; Bolingbrook, Ill.; Escanaba, Mich.; St. Louis County, Mo.; Pittsburgh, Penn.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Toledo, Ohio; Arvada, Colo.; Tucson Ariz.; Birmingham Ala., and the states of Texas, Georgia, Kansas and Oregon.
To encourage consistency throughout the country, the subcommittee proposed Type C dwelling unit technical requirements to provide a model that can be adopted for new houses not covered by the Fair Housing Act. Local authorities may consider exemptions where conditions such as extreme topographical conditions warrant them. The minimum criteria allows people with mobility impairments to visit homes of family and friends. In addition, these features would benefit residents who develop a disability or are recovering from an injury to remain living at home.
The items described are just some of the new criteria. Other proposals included a variety of modifications to existing criteria. For example, there is a proposal to include access to circuit breaker boxes in dwellings under the operable parts provisions.
Anyone can provide public comments on the A117.1 standard. Please take a few minutes to provide input into this important process.
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