DEWEY’S INDOOR GOLF AND SPORTS GRILL

Issue: Vertical accessibility to a mezzanine.

Analysis: The applicant is requesting a waiver from providing an elevator to a mezzanine in a restaurant/indoor golf facility. The project was originally designed to accommodate the area via platform lift; however, the mezzanine has an occupant capacity greater than five persons, which the local building department stated a full passenger elevator must be provided. The mezzanine is not open to the public and is used for refrigerated beverage and food storage, food preparation, liquor storage, general storage, computer server and office management. The owner purchased a $23,750 platform lift and an elevator would cost an additional $70,000.

Project Progress:

The project is under construction.

Items to be Waived:

Vertical accessibility via elevator.

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.