New ADA Rules in Effect for Commercial Renovation, New Construction

CHICAGO, Ill. — New Americans with Disabilities Act regulations originally announced in 2010 officially took effect March 15. Property owners will now be required to meet these expanded regulations for renovation or construction projects, or risk ADA-compliance lawsuits.

To help owners and operators avoid legal fees and civil penalties, the Jones Lang LaSalle Project and Development Services group, together with LCM Architects, a leading national architecture and design firm specializing in ADA-friendly design, offers an ADA-compliance platform. This construction-management program assists owners in achieving ADA compliance and is particularly focused on the needs of multi-site property portfolios.

The Jones Lang LaSalle and LCM program combines LCM's comprehensive knowledge of the new requirements and the Jones Lang LaSalle network of more than 1,000 experienced construction-management professionals. It addresses multi-site and campus ADA compliance through a program that includes amassing data about the facilities, and providing portfolio-wide construction management services. The platform enables project stakeholders to share blueprints, documentation and best practices easily across multiple locations. For a retail or hotel chain with hundreds or thousands of similar locations, the ability to generate consistently accurate real-time status reporting for every location is critical to litigation avoidance.

“Compliance is good business. In addition to avoiding litigation, being proactive in enabling access for everyone builds a positive and welcoming brand image,” says Kevin Hughes, vice president of Project and Development Services.

In the following video, Hughes gives an overview of multi-site construction project management, including an ADA-compliance project the firm performed on behalf of a client with more than 5,000 sites. The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMcfw0PQPH4&feature=youtu.be.

What's New
The ADA is a complex law that has not previously had any major refinements since it was signed into law in 1990. In the past, charges of non-compliance have led to a number of lawsuits, which have led to fines and civil penalties when plaintiffs were successful.

Properties for which construction was completed before March 15, 2012 fall under the safe harbor provision and are considered to be in compliance as long as they meet the original standard. Conversely, projects where renovation or construction is completed after the cut-off date will be required to comply with the new rules immediately.

Some of the significant changes to existing regulations include :

> The side-reach range of equipment in accessible areas has been reduced to be no higher than 48 inches (instead of 54 inches) and no lower than 15 inches (instead of 9 inches).
> Construction tolerances for dimensions of equipment (such as grab bars) stated as a range will be eliminated.
> In single-user toilet rooms, the water closet now must provide clearance for both a forward and a parallel approach and, in most instances, the lavatory cannot overlap the required clear space around water closets.
> Increased requirements for accessible routes within buildings.
> More stringent slope requirements for clear floor space at accessible elements.
> Each pool must have its own wheelchair lift—one moveable lift for multiple pools in a facility is no longer acceptable. (A statement from the Department of Justice has extended this requirement by 60 days.)

In commercial buildings, the ADA applies mainly to areas open to the public. In the past, ADA lawsuits have centered mainly on retail, restaurant and hospitality chains, since these are organizations with many locations that often share similar or identical designs. A non-compliance issue at one location is likely to be repeated at many locations, greatly magnifying the potential liability.