ADA Seminar: The Existing Building

ADA Seminar: Stepping Thru The Existing Building – Access Within & Without

Learning Units: 5 Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) Health|Safety|Welfare Units

The nature of our practice has changed with a higher proportion of renovation and re-use. Under the ADA Standards there are differing requirements for new construction versus alteration. Since these are federal laws local public agencies can only offer limited direction. We will review criteria for existing facilities in regard to scoping to acquire a better sense of the implications of the law and how it applies as well as cover a range of concepts such as Program Accessibility vs Barrier Removal, Proportional Spending, Safe Harbor, and Path of Travel obligations.

An in-depth review for implementing ADAS on existing projects whether or not construction is actually scheduled – in- cluding alteration requirements for public facilities and places of public accommodation from Program Accessibility to Barrier Removal

PRESENTER:

• Janis Kent, FAIA, CASp, Architect – Certified Access Specialist & Subject Matter Expert, Stepping Thru Accessibility

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Understand differences between Public Facilities and Places of Public Accommodation.
• Review the distinctions between Program Accessibility vs Barrier Removal and their impact.
• Learn about Proportional Spending and Disproportionality with its application to Path of Travel requirements.
• Overview Safe Harbor and when it can or can not be applied to existing elements.

Janis Kent, FAIA, CASp, Architect

Janis Kent, FAIA, CASp is a licensed California Architect, and has been involved in the world of Accessibility since the mid-1980’s. She is designated a Subject Matter Expert (SME) by the California Division of the State Architect, a Certified Access Specialist, and participates in developing the state CASp exams. In addition to having managed a variety of architectural projects, she has surveyed numerous facilities for accessibility compliance and provided quality control for facilities throughout the country.

Additionally, Ms Kent has been asked to speak on Accessibility at a variety of venues from the Dwell conventions in Los Angeles, to Design DC in Washington, to National AIA Conventions in Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, NYC, and to the Nevada State Board of Architecture, Interior & Residential Design. She has been invited to speak at a number of business associations including BOMA-LA, CSI, ICC, CA Hotel & Lodging Association, Southern CA Association of Non-Profit Housing (SCANPH), CA Public Parking Association (CPPA) as well as a number of AIA Chapters, to name a few. Her book, ‘ADA in Details – Interpreting the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design’ is a compilation of architectural details on Accessibility used by architects, designers, plan checkers/inspectors, and facility managers, published in 2017 by Wiley.

As Founding President of the Certified Access Specialist Institute (CASI), she steered the organization to serve those involved with Access in the built environment both in private practice as well as public sector. She has served on the Cerritos College Architectural Advisory committee and the AIA Long Beach/South Bay chapter board . Janis received her M.Arch from the University of California, Los Angeles and is currently the principal of Stepping Thru Accessibility in Long Beach, California.

ABOUT STEPPING THRU ACCESSIBILITY:

Stepping Thru Accessibility was founded in 2009 in response to the need for information on Access in the built environment. STA assists building owners, property managers, tenants, attorneys, administrative authorities, and architects navigate their way thru accessibility concerns, both for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as other federal Access regulations and California state codes. Navigating the intricacies of these regulations and codes is our specialty. STA surveys existing facilities and provides detailed reports of items in non-compliance with today’s Access standards. Construction drawings for new buildings and alterations can be evaluated to verify if accessibility requirements are adequately addressed. And topical seminars for architects, facilities and property managers, interior designers, landscape, civil engineers, & others involved in the built environment are offered.