Dr. John Long Middle School

Issue: Vertical accessibility to collapsible seating in the gymnasium.

Analysis: The applicant is requesting a waiver from providing vertical accessibility to all levels of the collapsible seating in the gymnasium. The facility is a 204,757 square foot middle school. The project consists of two, two story classroom buildings, a one story administration, a cafeteria and a gymnasium building around a central courtyard with a cost of $25,194,147.00. It is technically infeasible to comply and financial costs will be incurred by the owner if the waiver is denied.

Project Progress:

This project was completed in 2006. Due to an oversight waiver was never applied for.

Items to be waived:

Vertical accessibility to the structure, as required by section 553.509, Florida Statutes.

553.509 Vertical accessibility. Nothing in Sections 553.501-553.513 or the guidelines shall be construed to relieve the owner of any building, structure or facility governed by those sections from the duty to provide vertical accessibility to all levels above and below the occupiable grade level regardless of whether the guidelines require an elevator to be installed in such building, structure or facility, except for:

(1) Elevator pits, elevator penthouses, mechanical rooms, piping or equipment catwalks and automobile lubrication and maintenance pits and platforms;

(2) Unoccupiable spaces, such as rooms, enclosed spaces and storage spaces that are not designed for human occupancy, for public accommodations or for work areas; and

(3) Occupiable spaces and rooms that are not open to the public and that house no more than five persons, including, but not limited to equipment control rooms and projection booths.

Waiver Criteria: There is no specific guidance for a waiver of this requirement in the code.

The Commission’s current rule, authorized in Section 553.512, Florida Statutes, provides criteria

for granting waivers and allows consideration of unnecessary or extreme hardship to the

applicant if the specific requirements were imposed.