2012 Florida Accessibility Code for Building Construction Pocket Guide
202.4 Alterations Affecting Primary Function Areas. In addition to the requirements of 202.3, an alteration that affects or could affect the usability of or access to an area containing a primary function shall be made so as to ensure that, to the maximum extent feasible, the path of travel to the altered area, including the rest rooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving the altered area, are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, unless such alterations are disproportionate to the overall alterations in terms of cost pursuant to 202.4.1. Alterations to windows, hardware, controls, electrical outlets, and signage shall not be deemed to be alterations that affect the usability of or access to an area containing a primary function.
2010 ADA Standards …and scope as determined under criteria established by the Attorney General.
EXCEPTIONS:
1. Residential dwelling units shall not be required to comply with 202.4.
2. If a private entity has constructed or altered required elements of a path of travel at a place of public accommodation or commercial facility in accordance with the specifications in the 1994 or 1997 Florida Accessibility Code, the private entity is not required to retrofit such elements to reflect incremental changes in the proposed standards solely because of an alteration to a primary function area served by that path of travel.
3. The path of travel requirements shall not apply to measures taken solely to comply with barrier removal requirements.
4. If a public entity has constructed or altered required elements of a path of travel in accordance with the specifications in either the 1994 or 1997 Florida Accessibility Code or the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards, as an equivalent facilitation, before March 15, 2012, the public entity is not required to retrofit such elements to reflect incremental changes in this code solely because of an alteration to a primary function area served by that path of travel.
5. The path of travel requirement shall not apply to alterations undertaken solely for purposes of meeting the public entity program accessibility requirements of s. 35.150, 28 CFR 35.
6. If a tenant is making alterations that would trigger the requirements of this section, those alterations by the tenant in areas that only the tenant occupies do not trigger a path of travel obligation upon the landlord with respect to areas of the facility under the landlord´s authority, if those areas are not otherwise being altered.
In existing transportation facilities, an area of primary function shall be as defined under regulations published by the Secretary of the Department of Transportation or the Attorney General. (See definition of primary function.)Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, section 201.1.1 shall apply.
Advisory 202.4 Alterations Affecting Primary Function Areas. An area of a building or facility containing a major activity for which the building or facility is intended is a primary function area. Department of Justice ADA regulations state, "Alterations made to provide an accessible path of travel to the altered area will be deemed disproportionate to the overall alteration when the cost exceeds 20% of the cost of the alteration to the primary function area." (28 CFR 36.403 (f)(1)). See also Department of Transportation ADA regulations, which use similar concepts in the context of public sector transportation facilities (49 CFR 37.43 (e)(1)).
There can be multiple areas containing a primary function in a single building. Primary function areas are not limited to public use areas. For example, both a bank lobby and the bank's employee areas such as the teller areas and walk-in safe are primary function areas.
Also, mixed use facilities may include numerous primary function areas for each use. Areas containing a primary function do not include: mechanical rooms, boiler rooms, supply storage rooms, employee lounges or locker rooms, janitorial closets, entrances, corridors, or restrooms.
DOJ regulation 28 CFR 36.403(c) gives the following examples of alterations that affect the usability of or access to an area containing a primary function. Such areas include but are not limited to: Remodeling merchandise display areas or employee work areas in a department store; Replacing an inaccessible floor surface in the customer service or employee work areas of a bank; Redesigning the assembly line area of a factory; or, Installing a computer center in an accounting firm.
Florida vertical accessibility requirements of s.553.509, F.S., as incorporated in section 201.1.1 of the code, apply to the path of travel upgrades required by 202.4. Florida requirements may be waived down to the ADA Standards requirements.
202.4.1 Disproportionate Cost. Alterations made to provide an accessible path of travel to the altered area will be deemed disproportionate to the overall alteration when the cost exceeds 20% of the cost of the alteration to the primary function area. Costs that may be counted as expenditures required to provide an accessible path of travel may include: (i) costs associated with providing an accessible entrance and an accessible route to the altered area; (ii) costs associated with making restrooms accessible, such as installing grab bars, enlarging toilet stalls, insulating pipes, or installing accessible faucet controls; (iii) costs associated with providing accessible telephones, such as relocating the telephone to an accessible height, installing amplification devices, or installing a text telephone (TTY); (iv) costs associated with relocating an inaccessible drinking fountain.
202.4.2 Accessible Features in the Event of Disproportionality. When the cost of alterations necessary to make the path of travel to the altered area fully accessible is disproportionate to the cost of the overall alteration, the path of travel shall be made accessible to the extent that it can be made accessible without incurring disproportionate costs. In choosing which accessible elements to provide, priority should be given to those elements that will provide the greatest access, in the following order: (i) an accessible entrance; (ii) an accessible route to the altered area; (iii) at least one accessible restroom for each sex or a single unisex restroom; (iv) accessible telephones; (v) accessible drinking fountains; and (vi) when possible, additional accessible elements such as parking, storage, and alarms.
202.4.3 Series of smaller alterations. The obligation to provide an accessible path of travel may not be evaded by performing a series of small alterations to the area served by a single path of travel if those alterations could have been performed as a single undertaking.
202.4.3.1 If an area containing a primary function has been altered without providing an accessible path of travel to that area, and subsequent alterations of that area, or a different area on the same path of travel, are undertaken within three years of the original alteration, the total cost of alterations to the primary function areas on that path of travel during the preceding three year period shall be considered in determining whether the cost of making that path of travel accessible is disproportionate.
202.4.3.2 Only alterations undertaken after January 26, 1992, shall be considered in determining if the cost of providing an accessible path of travel is disproportionate to the overall cost of the alterations.
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