34 Pa. Code § 60.2 - Jurisdiction and effective dates
(a)
Applicability. This chapter applies to government buildings,
private buildings and building sites as follows:
(1) Factories, powerplants, mercantile
buildings, shopping centers, department stores, retail stores, restaurants with
sit-down, interior dining facilities, hotels, motels, office buildings,
financial institutions, hospitals, public and private institutions,
convalescent and nursing homes, schools, colleges, dormitories, auditoriums,
gymnasiums, transportation stations and terminals, warehouses and
garages.
(2) Theaters, motion
picture theaters, museums, concert halls and summer stock theaters.
(3) Public halls, dance halls, banquet halls,
lodge halls, skating rinks, armory halls or any other type of auditorium where
the public assembles.
(4) Places of
worship.
(5) Apartment houses,
multistory condominium complexes, certain multifamily dwellings, clubhouses,
lodging houses and rooming houses.
(6) Grandstands, sports arenas, stadiums and
amphitheaters.
(7) Other buildings,
facilities or complexes used by the public.
(8) Building sites. The standards and
specifications set forth in the act and this chapter also apply to building
sites for a building or facility to which the act applies. These building sites
shall provide an accessible route.
(b)
Effective date. This
chapter shall be effective as follows:
(1)
New construction. New construction of buildings, building
sites and facilities subject to the act and this chapter which was begun on or
after February 18, 1989, shall be accessible to, and usable by, persons with
physical disabilities.
(2)
Existing buildings. Remodeling of buildings, building sites
and facilities subject to the act and this chapter which was begun on or after
March 12, 1994, shall be accessible to, and usable by, persons with physical
disabilities to the following degree:
(i) When
the construction cost of the remodeling is less than 30% of the worth of the
building, only the remodeled area shall be made accessible to, and usable by,
persons with physical disabilities. An accessible route to the remodeled area
is not required.
(ii) When the
construction cost of the remodeling is greater than, or equal to, 30% but less
than 50% of the worth of the building, the remodeled area shall be made
accessible to, and usable by, persons with physical disabilities, and an
accessible route to the remodeled area shall be provided. The cost of providing
an accessible route to the remodeled area may not be considered when
calculating the required degree of conformity.
(iii) When the construction cost of the
remodeling is 50% or more of the worth of the building, the entire building and
building site shall be made accessible to, and usable by, persons with physical
disabilities.
(iv) When a series of
remodeling is made to a building over any 3-year period which accumulates in a
series of construction costs which total 30% or more but less than 50% of the
worth of the building at the beginning of the 3-year period, the remodeled
areas shall be made accessible to, and usable by, persons with physical
disabilities, and an accessible route to the areas shall be provided. When a
series of remodeling is made to a building over a 3-year period which
accumulates in any series of construction costs which total 50% or more of the
worth of the building at the beginning of the 3-year period, the entire
building and building site shall be accessible to, and usable by, persons with
physical disabilities.
(v) The
worth of an existing building shall be determined by using the most current
edition of the Means "Building Construction Cost Data" or the building owner
may submit an appraisal completed by a real estate appraiser certified by the
Commonwealth.
(3)
Government-leased buildings or building space. Effective March
12, 1995, when a new lease is entered to lease new building space of 2,800
square feet or more, the lessor shall lease a building or building space which
is accessible to, and usable by, persons with physical disabilities when the
building or building space is leased, in whole or in part, by the use of
Commonwealth funds, the funds of an instrumentality of the Commonwealth or the
funds of a political subdivision of this Commonwealth. When only a part of a
building is being leased, an accessible route shall be provided to the leased
space.
(4)
New or existing
multifamily dwellings. In new residential construction of seven or
more units and in remodeling of existing residential buildings of 11 or more
units when the remodeling costs exceed 50% of the worth of the building, all
grade level apartments or at least a minimum of 25% of the total apartments in
the building shall be accessible or adaptable units in buildings without
elevators. Twenty-five percent of the total apartment units in buildings with
elevators shall be accessible or adaptable units. Multifamily dwellings covered
by this section shall comply with this chapter and the applicable provisions of
the most current American National Standards Institute Inc. (ANSI) publication
pertaining to accessible and adaptable dwelling units.
(c)
Exemptions. The
following are exempt from this chapter:
(1)
Certain residential construction. Existing single-family,
townhouse and multifamily dwellings which are exclusively residential and which
house ten or fewer families are excluded from the requirements of the act. New
single-family, townhouse and multifamily dwellings which are exclusively
residential and which house six or fewer families are excluded from the
act.
(2)
Certain new
construction. In new construction of a private building as described
in subsection (a) with less than 2,800 square feet of net floor area, only the
ground floor of the building shall be accessible to and usable by persons with
physical disabilities. Existing private buildings that have less than 2,800
square feet of net floor area are excluded from the act. If an existing private
building is remodeled so that the resulting net floor area upon completing of
the remodeling will be 2,800 square feet or more, the building shall comply
with the act and be accessible to and usable by persons with physical
disabilities to the degree required by subsection (b)(2).
(3)
Certain construction. In
the case of new and existing construction with less than 12,500 square feet of
net floor area, an elevator or ramp is not required to provide an accessible
route to nonground level floors. Access is required to ground level
floors.
(4)
Special purpose
spaces. Elevator pits, elevator penthouses, mechanical rooms, piping
or equipment catwalks, electrical or telephone closets, general utility rooms,
walk-in freezers, fur vaults and areas where only employes have occasion to
enter and within which the work cannot reasonably be performed by a person with
a physical disability because of the nature of the abilities required will be
considered "special purpose spaces."
(5)
Comparable service areas.
In the case of remodeled construction, an accessible route is not
required to be provided to the remodeled area if an occupant offers goods,
services or facilities that are comparable to those the occupant offers
elsewhere in the building in an accessible area. The Department will determine
if goods, services or facilities are comparable.
(6)
Designated historic buildings.
Accessibility provisions are not required when the Department or the
State Historic Preservation Officer or other appointed agent for enforcing the
historic preservation provisions of the United States Department of Interior
determines that renovations cannot be accomplished without threatening or
destroying the historic fabric of a building which has been identified and
classified by the Historical and Museum Commission as historic or for which an
approval for a Part I application to the United States Department of Interior
has been granted.
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.