Field verification of adjustable items

[Yikes]

I have a publicly-funded housing project that received a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy prior to verification of all accessibility issues. The ADA apartments are currently occupied. The kitchen cabinets all have adjustable shelves, and the tenants have already adjusted the shelf heights to their own preference and stocked them with food and dishes, etc.

Problem: the CASp accessibility inspector is refusing to sign off the kitchens as compliant because the tenants have already adjusted the height of their shelves such that less than 50% of shelf space is accessible per 11B-804.5. I have pointed out that the shelves are adjustable, and that it could be adjustable to comply if the tenants wished. He replied that unless he actually inspects it in the accessible configuration, he cannot sign off.

Question: is it normal for inspectors (including CASp inspectors) to insist on witnessing the accessible configuration of something they know can be adjusted per the user's preference?

 

[steveray]

Sounds like a very uptight inspector...

 

[SCBO1]

Who is he working for, the tenants I hope.

Don't anybody show him our secret hand shake!

 

[Keystone]

This is such a pain in the arse. Accessibility demands exact measurements and we all know once we leave everything changes. Hooks get moved,furniture or other fixtures added or delete. Maybe this inspectors is uptight, maybe he's been burned, who knows but it doesn't change the fact the code is in place and if people don't like it then they should gather and seek legal change.

 

[cda]

How many units are you talking about?

Not an Ada person, but does the code say they just have to be adjustable??

 

[Yikes]

2 units, which doesn't sound like much, but it's holding up certificate of completion, and the new tenant us understandably upset that they have to clear out their cupboards just so we can reposition the shelves for an hour while the inspector walks through.

ADA does not require the shelves to be adjustable, but that's how most residential kitchen cabinetry is manufactured these days. After we installed it per ADA, the tenant moved in, repositioned it for their own preference, then loaded it with goodies.
Please keep in mind that this is different than (for example) a restaurant where the employee sets a wastebasket in the door clearance area. In an apartment, the tenant is the only "public" user. A apartment kitchen is not a place where the general public goes to conduct business.

 

[ADAguy]

He is going way beyond the standard of care. Call Ida Clair at dsa hq, she is in charge of the CASP program.

 

[cda]

2 units, which doesn't sound like much, but it's holding up certificate of completion, and the new tenant us understandably upset that they have to clear out their cupboards just so we can reposition the shelves for an hour while the inspector walks through.

ADA does not require the shelves to be adjustable, but that's how most residential kitchen cabinetry is manufactured these days. After we installed it per ADA, the tenant moved in, repositioned it for their own preference, then loaded it with goodies.
Please keep in mind that this is different than (for example) a restaurant where the employee sets a wastebasket in the door clearance area. In an apartment, the tenant is the only "public" user. A apartment kitchen is not a place where the general public goes to conduct business.

Any pictures showing pre tenant adjustment??

That the inspector might accept?

Or manufacture paperwork showing it meets the requirements, that the inspector might accept?

Or talk to his boss and ask what up?

 

[Yikes]

cda, when I talk to him about how it seems unreasonable to displace the tenant's stuff for a few hours in light of the self-evident compliance of adjustable shelves, he thinks it is the owner who is being unreasonable by not calling him to inspect prior to occupancy.