I have recently noticed that several of my clients have
added accessible parking stalls without obtaining approval of the Authorities
having Jurisdiction (AHJ’s). Although
this may seem like a cost effective solution, it could result in substantial
cost at a later date.
If there are currently no accessible parking stalls in a
parking lot and a van accessible stall and accessible aisle are added as
required, then more than likely one standard parking stall will be lost. The loss of a parking space is not something
the AHJ’s take lightly. In most cases,
when a van accessible stall and accessible aisle are added to a parking lot,
then plans need to be submitted to the AHJ’s.
In some cities this is simply an administrative procedure, however, in
other cities, there may be certain requirements the must be met before the AHJ’s
grant approval. It’s important that
businesses work with the AHJ’s to gain approval. Failure to do so may have consequences.
I recently worked on a project where the owner has
previously made modifications to the parking lot layout without approval of the
AHJ’s. When the owner wanted to add a van accessible
stall and accessible aisle ( due to a lawsuit ) the AHJ’s made the owner
re-stripe the entire parking lot ( about 30 spaces ) to bring it into
conformance with plans approved in 1960.
Needless to say, this was a substantial cost the owner had not included
in their budget.
If you are adding a van accessible space to your parking
lot, you should enlist the services of an architect ( such as myself ) who can
draw plans of the existing parking lot with the added van accessible space and
submit them to the AHJ’s for approval.
It’s also important to note that if you decide as part of
your normal maintenance to resurface and restripe your parking lot, the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Building Code (CBC)
require that accessible parking be provided based on the codes in effect at the
time of the resurfacing.
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