Accessibility and ADA Surveys
An Accessibility Review is an evaluation of a property’s compliance with applicable federal, state, and local accessibility regulations. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal regulation that was passed in 1990 with no “grandfathering” clause for older facilities. Other state and local building accessibility codes also apply. The most recent enforceable standards for compliance with the ADA are the http://www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm" target="_blank" title="ADA Standards">2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (Standards). The 2010 Standards set minimum requirements for newly designed and constructed or altered State and local government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. Other regulations include the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards.
Accessibility Reviews can be completed for existing facilities, pre-construction plan reviews for new construction, and barrier removal review and corrective design for plan check. An accessibility review includes an evaluation of the paths of travel throughout the exterior and interior portions of a property, as well as accessible design of parking spaces, ramps, stairs, signage, public spaces, restrooms, signage, guestrooms, residential dwelling units, and other special uses.
Accessibility Reviews can be performed on a building to check compliance against the following regulations:
- http://www.ada.gov/" target="_blank" title="Americans with Disabilities Act">Americans with Disabilities Act
- http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor63409" target="_blank" title="Fair Housing Amendments Act">Fair Housing Amendments Act
- http://www.access-board.gov/the-board/laws/architectural-barriers-act-aba" target="_blank" title="Architectural Barriers Act">Architectural Barriers Act
- http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor65610" target="_blank" title="Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act">Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
- https://www.partneresi.com/services/ada-accessibility-expert-witness-services">ADA/ Accessibility Expert Witness Services
- State and Local Building Codes as they relate to Accessibility