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1105D.1. Equivalent Facilitation. The Department shall develop an Approved Barrier Removal Standard in consultation with the Access Appeals Commission, the Planning Department, and the Department of Public Works. The Disability Access Compliance Unit shall maintain the Approved Barrier Removal Standard and review any proposal for Equivalent Facilitation under this Chapter 11D for compliance with that Standard. Any proposal for Equivalent Facilitation that does not comply with the Approved Barrier Removal Standard must be approved by the Access Appeals Commission.
1105D.2. Technically Infeasible. A request for a finding that compliance is Technically Infeasible can be based upon either a structural or a non-structural condition.
(a) Structural Technical Infeasibility. A structural Technical Infeasibility is an existing condition of the building where full compliance would require the removal or alteration of a load-bearing structural element that is an essential part of the structural frame.
(b) Non-structural Technical Infeasibility. A non-structural Technical Infeasibility may include conditions where full compliance would require encroaching into the required egress width, interfering with pedestrian use of the sidewalk or a permanent easement, and similar conditions that do not impact the structural elements or frame. The Disability Access Compliance Unit shall compile a list of non-structural conditions that the Department would accept as supporting a request for a finding of Technical Infeasibility and provide other written guidance, and may require that a request based on a non-structural condition be ratified by the Access Appeals Commission pursuant to Section 105A.3.3 of this Code.
1105D.2.1. Acceptance of previously-granted determinations of Technical Infeasibility. Under the California Building Code, all findings of Technical Infeasibility must be documented by the Department and can only be made on a case-by-case basis. The Department will accept and record a previously-approved finding of Technical Infeasibility for a building within the scope of this Chapter 11D if: (1) the finding of Technical Infeasibility was approved by the Department and can be documented, (2) the finding of Technical Infeasibility is applicable to the elements covered by this Chapter 11D, and (3) an Inspector has submitted written documentation acceptable to the Department that all conditions and requirements of the Technical Infeasibility are unchanged and remain applicable.
1105D.3. Unreasonable Hardship. The Compliance Unit, in consultation with the Access Appeals Commission, shall develop and publish guidelines specifying the conditions under which an Unreasonable Hardship would be approved by the Department. All Unreasonable Hardships must be ratified by the Access Appeals Commission pursuant to Section 11B-202.4, Exception 8, and Section 1.9.1.5 of the California Building Code.