Re: Common house permitting and Cities...
From: Larry Moss (mossballoonhq.com)
Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 18:06:04 -0700 (PDT)
On Wed, 13 Sep 2006, Lyle Scheer wrote:

Yes, if we had planned this from the start of the project.

Yes, if we had not needed to get a variance and then spend cash to fight
a legal battle with the neighbors just to be allowed to build our project.

after the building has been designed, after we've gotten bank financing,
after we've threaded all of these, to turn around and add an elevator to
our budget?  I don't see how we can do it.

It should have been considered sooner.  Someone earlier in the planning
should have said something.  But, isn't it better to have this come up now
than in an ADA lawsuit in a few years?  It would cost you a lot more to
retrofit an existing building than to modify plans now.

In the spirit of trying to achieve what you want (lower cost) while still
meeting ADA requirements and showing community support, here are some
things to consider.

You got the ok to leave out the elevator.  That's for now.  What about down
the road when, as others pointed out, your population will grow older and
others may move in with other needs?  You can build without the elevator
but make it a possibility for the future.  If the house is designed with
large closets stacked on the first and second floors, an elevator can be
put in later.  Depending on your current design, this may not be a big deal
to add.  Basically, build a shaft that the elvator can go in, but use the
space for closets/storage.  If the second floor shower is accessible, you
won't have to do a bathroom remodel when the time comes to add the
elevator.

Not everyone that can benefit from a roll-in shower is in a wheelchair.
Someone older may be able to make it up the stairs but not have the
strength to stand for long in a shower.  It might be easier for them to get
into a roll-in or low-step shower and move right to a shower seat.  Include
grab bars also in the shower.  Again, this is something that can help some
people.  You don't know exactly what needs different people will have.  ADA
compliance is meant to make things easier for everyone, not to cause
trouble.

Much cheaper than an elevator, and again something that can be added later,
is a chair lift.  at some point in the future, you might have someone
unable to climb stairs that doesn't need a full elevator.

There was a question about why a a building would have a first floor
accessible bathroom with the bedrooms upstairs.  Consider an injury, or a
disaster in one of the main units and someone didn't need permanent or long
term residence, but did need a place to stay for a short time.  A common
room on the first floor could be converted to a temporary residence if an
accessible bathroom exists.

Larry Moss
BalloonHQ.com

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