Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Accessiblilty in CH Kitchens

[Dick Margulis (dick]

On 12/26/2018 11:07 AM, Ann Zabaldo wrote:
> —BEGIN—
>
> We are planning a renovation of our community kitchen and are considering how 
> to make it more accessible.   Are there others who have tried to do this in 
> their community kitchens who could provide advice to us?

When we started planning Rocky Corner, because we're the first cohousing 
community in Connecticut AND because we are using state money for part 
of the work, our local health department got involved early and ruled 
that our common house* falls under their jurisdiction as a food service 
establishment (we argued otherwise, but they were adamant). As such, our 
kitchen is subject to a number of codes, one of which bears on 
accessibility.

We worked with a commercial kitchen designer. He is employed by a used 
equipment dealer, and he produced a kitchen plan gratis, on the basis 
that the company will supply a good deal of the equipment. Other 
commercial kitchen designers quotes us design fees in the thousands of 
dollars.

The designer was familiar with the various codes, and the plan he drew 
was ultimately approved by the health department as well as by our 
architect's code review consultant.

Main takeaways:

1. All aisles are 4' wide, minimum.
2. One prep table is wheelchair height.
3. Faucets can be reached from a wheelchair.

It's not clear to me that the stove will be accessible, although I guess 
the ovens will be. I'm not sure about the dish line, where height might 
be an issue. I'd have to ask about that. So, overall, I guess we're 
about halfway there, if the goal is that someone who uses a wheelchair 
would be able to do everything in the kitchen. But we meet code.

Hope that helps.

Dick
http://www.rockycorner.org

* The underground plumbing and other utilities are in place and the slab 
is poured. Framing starts next week.