• Welcome to the new and improved Building Code Forum. We appreciate you being here and hope that you are getting the information that you need concerning all codes of the building trades. This is a free forum to the public due to the generosity of the Sawhorses, Corporate Supporters and Supporters who have upgraded their accounts. If you would like to have improved access to the forum please upgrade to Sawhorse by first logging in then clicking here: Upgrades

Is it a building or not?

They don't want to pay (rightfully) because they're not shade structures, they're solar panels. There are no "ADA site compliance requirements" because, again, they're solar panels.
 
Look at it this way:

Your school gets free solar panels, saves a dollar or two on the energy bills, maybe a teacher gets a dollar or two raise, and maybe a shovel or two of coal doesn't get burned. Everybody's happy, kumbaya.

OR: Your school gets offered free solar panels, the government gets in the middle and throws a bunch of BS at the offerer of said panels, which cost more money than they had to spend on the free system, so the offer goes away and they go to a school a town or two away. Now your neighboring school is singing, but no dollar raise for your teacher, and another shovelful of coal goes through the power plant. So sad.

I just think you're looking for a solution when there isn't a problem. Sometimes, it's OK to let things be.
 
If the provider is under no obligation to provide free panels, why expect them to provide free fencing?

Don't install the solar panels; accessibility not required.

Install the panels on a roof; accessibility not required.

d. When located on sloping ground (running slope exceeds 5%) the area below
the elevated PV system components need not be made accessible.
Grade the site to exceed 5% slope, accessibility not required.

until use is made of the shade for lunch, lectures, install of low bleachers, etc.
At that time, accessibility would be required, but not before.
 
until use is made of the shade for lunch, lectures, install of low bleachers, etc.
When does the violation occur? When the panels are installed or when the school employees start promoting the use of the space? My take would be the latter. Buildings cast shadows, do you make sure the east and west perimeters of the building are accessible because people may congregate in these shaded areas? Probably not. This means that the presence of the panels is not the trigger to require accessibility. It is when the use of the space is promoted as something more than it is currently. School administration needs to be aware that if they use this space for anything other than what it is used for today, there may be issues.
 
Top