Conventions Legend for the 2012 Florida Accessibility Code for Building Construction Pocket Guide

The ETA Editor's Notes in this Pocket Guide are intended to provide clarification and assistance to its readers. Unless stated to be otherwise, these notes are the opinions of the editors and are not official interpretations.

This Pocket Guide includes selected sections from the revised Title II and Title III regulations that are applicable to new construction and alterations that we at ETA believe are typically under the control or responsibility of a design professional, contractor, or facility manager. These selected sections are incorporated throughout this Pocket Guide and are highlighted in gray. Some definitions from Title II and Title III regulations have been included in this Pocket Guide and are double underlined wherever they appear. There are a few places where the requirements between the standards and the regulations differ. In these cases, the regulations prevail.

The Florida Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Implementation Act adopts most of the federal 2010 ADA Standards in the 2012 Florida Accessibility Code for Building Construction -- the FACBC. However, there are certain areas where the FACBC has changed or added to the 2010 ADA Standards. Where this occurs, the text is marked with royal blue text. 

Hyperlinks are used throughout this publication to assist the reader in several ways. Internal hyperlinks point to other sections of the Pocket Guide and are indicated by dark blue font. External hyperlinks point to more information to expand on particular sections and subjects, as well as other websites; these links are indicated by light blue font. The most frequent type of external hyperlink is indicated within brackets as [more info…]. These links point to www.Corada.com, the Comprehensive Online Resource for the ADA developed by Evan Terry Associates.  Each Corada “more info…” link offers significantly expanded information and resources relevant to the particular section you are reading. Please note that you will need Wi-Fi connectivity or a data plan and a compatible PDF reader to access external links from your mobile device.  We’ve had excellent success using Adobe’s Acrobat, Acrobat Readers, and their DC app. Also, ezPDF Reader from the Apple App Store works well on iOS devices. We have found that most Kindle readers don’t allow live hyperlinks to function properly. We expect that some other PDF readers will also have difficulty with hyperlinks and we are testing now to determine which ones work best.  For up-to-date information on PDF reader software compatibility under various operating systems, you can go to www.ETAPocketGuides.com.  You can also register there to be notified when you can purchase updated versions of this pdf book or a printed version of this Pocket Guide at a discount that will include additional clarifications of the safe harbor provisions as they become available.

Due to the complexity of Florida’s safe harbor exception at 202.4, this Pocket Guide does not attempt to identify all of the possible provisions of earlier versions of the FACBC and UFAS that might qualify under the safe harbor exception.  For more information about safe harbors under the ADA and other accessibility codes, standards, and regulations, go to www.ADASafeHarbor.com or Corada.com and perform a keyword search on “Safe Harbor”.

It is important to note that, under the ADA regulations at Sections 36.406(b) and 35.151(d), Scope of coverage, the 1991 Standards and the 2010 Standards apply to fixed or built-in elements of buildings, structures, site improvements, and pedestrian routes or vehicular ways located on a site. Unless specifically stated otherwise, advisory notes, appendix notes, and figures contained in the 1991 Standards and 2010 Standards explain or illustrate the requirements of the rule; they do not establish enforceable requirements.

When considering the accessibility and usability of movable elements not directly covered by the Standards, the Department of Justice has stated, “Once the construction or alteration of a facility has been completed, all other aspects of programs, services, and activities conducted in that facility are subject to the operational requirements established in this final rule. Although the Department may use the requirements of the 2010 Standards as a guide to determining when and how to make equipment and furnishings accessible, those determinations fall within the discretionary authority of the Department.” Therefore, we believe that prudent designers and facility operators should assume that whatever features make a fixed element accessible will usually also make a similar moveable element accessible.  Building code enforcement officials in Florida may ignore movable elements when enforcing the FACBC, but the obligation to make movable elements accessible under the ADA regulations remains.

Design professionals and facility operators are responsible for knowing the requirements of every section of the ADA regulations that affect their projects, facilities, and operations. We have not attempted to include the sections from the regulations that cover employment, program access, readily achievable barrier removal, policies, procedures, contracts, communications, or operational requirements in this Pocket Guide.  More information on these topics can be found on www.ada.gov, www.EEOC.gov, and Corada.com.