61G20-4.001 Procedures.

(1) All applications for a waiver or modification of the requirements of the Act or the Code shall be accompanied by a fee of $250.00 and filed on Form FBC 2014-01, Request for Accessibility Waiver, effective August 2015, adopted and incorporated herein by reference and available from the Building Code Information System at https://floridabuilding.org/aw/accessibility_application_options.aspx or at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-05667. Upon certification from an applicant that all information requested by these rules has been furnished and after review and verification by Commission Staff, the request will be scheduled for consideration at the Accessibility Advisory Council’s next scheduled meeting provided that at least 7 days’ notice can be given to the members of the Advisory Council.

(2) All Requests shall be prepared in accordance with the instructions on Form FBC 2014-01, but the Commission may waive a requirement in the instructions if the Commission finds the requirement unnecessary to the consideration of the Request. A Request shall be for one Project only, and no Request shall be considered by the Commission unless it shall have first been reviewed by the Council.

(3) At its meetings, the Council shall consider all Requests, and shall prepare a recommendation for the Commission on each Request. The recommendation may be for approval, approval for a specified time, approval with a specified condition, or disapproval. If the Council finds that the Request does not give it sufficient information to make a recommendation, it may also recommend that the Commission defer action on the Request until such information is furnished. In the absence of a quorum, individual members of the Council may present recommendations to the Commission.

(4) At the meeting of the Commission, the Chairman of the Council or his designee shall present the recommendations of the Council on each Request. At its discretion, the Commission may hear any argument in support of or opposition to any Request and it may at its discretion vote upon more than one Request together. In acting upon a Request, at its discretion the Commission may wholly or partly agree or disagree with the recommendation of the Council, and may approve any Request, may approve it for a specified time, may approve it with a specified condition, may disapprove it, or may defer it for additional information.

(5) The Commission may, subject to the limitations and requirements of Section 553.512, F.S., waive one or more Florida specific requirements of the Act or the Code created pursuant to Sections 553.504-553.511, F.S., if it finds that compliance with the literal requirements will cause an unnecessary, unreasonable, or extreme hardship. A waiver or denial of a waiver shall be applicable only to the project in the Request, and no waiver shall stand as precedent for any other project or projects. In order for the Commission to find an unnecessary, unreasonable, or extreme hardship, the owner of the project must show the following:

(a) That the hardship is caused by a condition or set of conditions affecting the owner which does not affect owners in general.

(b) That substantial financial costs will be incurred by the owner if the waiver is denied.

(c) That the owner has made a diligent investigation into the costs of compliance with the Code, but cannot find an efficient mode of compliance.

(6) The Commission shall reflect its action in a Final Order. The original of each Final Order shall be filed with the Clerk of the Department, who shall also act as Clerk of the Commission. Copies of each Final Order shall be sent by United States mail or electronic notification to the owner, to all professionals engaged in designing or building the project, and to the Building Official of the permitting jurisdiction. In addition, pertinent information concerning each Final Order shall be entered in a Master Topical Index of Final Orders, which shall be maintained by the Clerk of the Commission.

Rulemaking Authority 553.512(1) FS. Law Implemented 553.512(1) FS. History–New 1-31-79, Formerly 9B-7.03, Amended 10-1-96, 9-14-97, 9-7-00, 1-20-02, 10-18-07, Formerly 9B-7.003, 9N-4.001, Amended 4-25-13, 9-9-13, 10-12-15.