Architect gives ADA compliant talk at chamber meeting

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations keep changing, Reed Settle told a group of businesspeople, providing tips to protect them from being sued for violations.

Settle, a licensed architect since 1978, an expert witness in ADA cases, and a Ramona resident, was the featured speaker at the Ramona Chamber of Commerce’s Last Wednesday Workshop on Oct. 28.

“We live in a world that’s constantly changing,” he told a group of 10 in the Ramona Library Community Room. “What was good yesterday may not be good tomorrow.”

Reed explained that ADA at the federal level is a law that is non-discriminatory, but at the state level is a building code.

“You have to comply with both,” he said, adding that they don’t always say the same thing.

Whichever requirement is the more stringent is the one that controls what must be done for compliance, he said.

Settle noted that businesses in Ramona and Julian have been sued by individuals for non-compliance. Court is expensive, he said.

The California building code requires that when a business is remodeled, an addition built or improvements made, it must be ADA compliant, he said.

Such requirements include disabled parking, specific parking lot striping and signage, and bathroom and transaction counter accessibility.

The word “disabled” has replaced “handicap,” Settle told the Sentinel. State vehicle code says one cannot use the word “handicap” on a sign, he said.

Settle said there are misconceptions that compliance is not necessary when: 1) a building is older; 2) a business has no disabled customers; and 3) wheelchair access would be impossible to add.

There is no such thing as a grandfather clause, he said.

The first removal of barriers should be path of travel — getting a person inside a building. That includes parking, sidewalk and ramps. That is followed by accessibility for goods and services and for restrooms, said Settle.

“There’s dimensions for everything,” he said.

Door pressure should not exceed 5 pounds and only certain door handles are permitted. Round doorknobs should be replaced, he said.

Signage such as exit signs with “exit” written in Braille need to be a certain height for someone in a wheelchair.

In some lawsuit cases, he said, a couple of $200 to $250 ADA compliant signs would have solved the issue.

He cautioned against purchasing signs online as there are specific ones that are ADA compliant and he advised business owners to work with someone knowledgeable in that field.

The measurements for striping parking spaces and the need for an aisle next to the spaces are also important.

“They’re specific about every single thing,” he said.

Maintenance is also necessary.

“If you don’t maintain it, you’re in violation,” said Settle.

He talked about pedestrian ramps with a 5- to 8-percent grade and the need for railings on both sides.

Bathrooms, he said, should have a 5-foot circle inside for a wheelchair to move around.

Some questioned whether the bathroom of a business needs to be ADA compliant if it is not open to the public and has a sign stating so.

“The consensus is that’s not legal to do,” said Settle.

One store owner said her building is from the 1940s and has a small bathroom. She doesn’t own the building so she cannot increase the size of the bathroom.

He suggested that if a business’s bathroom is too small, other compliant elements can be added, such as changing the doorknob, installing grab bars and adding signs.

“Those are readily achievable,” he said.

Settle said in many cases, a disabled person will come in to a business, run into barriers and say certain things need to be fixed. That person will then check back in a few months to see if anything has changed and, if not, eventually bring an attorney.

He provided a list of websites with more information about ADA, including www.access-board.gov, www.ada.gov and sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=4207.