Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common house permitting and Cities...

[Philip Proefrock (psp]

Quoting cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org:

> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 13:44:44 -0700
> From: Lyle Scheer <wonko [at] monkeyhouse.org>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Common house permitting and Cities...

> Laura Fitch wrote:
> > Lyle,
> > 
> > How many units are you planning for? 
> 
> It's a 13 unit development.  Does that make a difference for us?  We had
> already planned a handicapped bathroom and ramp access on the main
> floor, but there is no shower in that bathroom and the City is
> indicating that if there is a shower, at least one must be ADA (even
> though it's on the second floor)  We joked about putting in an outdoor
> shower with a rail and bench on the wall in our building committee.

Have you discussed the possibility of making it an "adaptable" bathroom, rather
than putting in all the access hardware at this point?  An adaptable bathroom
would have things like blocking in the walls to support future handrails,
maneuvering room, and a door that was wide enough for access, and so forth, so
that it could be converted to a fully accessible bathroom with minimal
revisions needed.  That way, if, in the future, you were to put in an elevator,
you could then easily convert it to a fully accessible bathroom.  

Also, remember that although wheelchairs are the emblem (and often the most
visible manifestation) of accessibility, they are not the only aspect of ADA
access.  You may well someday have a member who is able to get up and down
stairs (someone who is able to get around on crutches, for example), who would
benefit from the accessible facilities.

Philip Proefrock

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