Appeal 33671

OSSC 1003.4, ICC A117.1 402.1, OSSC 1104.3

1003.4 Slip-resistant Surface – Circulation paths of the means of egress shall have a slip-resistant surface and be securely attached.
ANSI A117.1, 302 .1 – Floor surfaces shall be stable, firm, and slip resistant.
1104.3 Connected Spaces – Where a building or portion of a building is required to be accessible, at least one accessible route shall be provided to each portion of the building, to accessible building entrances connecting accessible pedestrian walkways and to the public way.

The intent of the appeal is to allow wood chips in lieu of a slip-resistant, securely attached, firm, stable surface.

We are proposing to construct a free-standing shade structure to cover a portion of an existing outdoor dog run on the Oregon Humane Society’s campus adjacent to their recently constructed Behavior and Rehabilitation Center (BRC). This dog run is used by employees and volunteers and is not open to the general public.

We are proposing to keep the walking surface as wood chips.

The use of wood chips at this location is needed because it is the only outdoor dog run on site that will have wood chips instead of a paved surface. There are (7) other outdoor dog runs adjacent to the BRC that are all completely covered and have a paved concrete surface. The dog runs allow the animals that are receiving care at the BRC to have time outdoors and off-leash in a safe, enclosed environment. The dog run where the new shade structure is proposed is the only one where wood chips are installed on the ground in lieu of concrete paving. The wood chips allow the animals to run around off-leash without hurting their paws.

In addition, the wood chips are an existing surface in this dog run and are a familiar walking surface for employees. There are also wood chip paths throughout the campus grounds that employees use to walk dogs. Because of this, we believe that wood chips do not pose a walking hazard.

The (7) other dog runs are already accessible. In the unlikely event that a mobility challenged employee or volunteer is working with a dog, they have multiple other dog run options to use.

1010.1.9, 1010.1.9.1, 1104.3.1, ANSI A117.1 404.2.6

1010.1.9 Door operations – Except as specifically permitted by this section, egress doors shall be readily openable from the egress side without the use of a key or special knowledge or effort.
1010.1.9.1 Hardware – Door handles, pulls, latches, locks and other operating devices on doors required to be accessible by Chapter 11 shall not require tight grasping, tight pinching or twisting of the wrist to operate.
1104.3.1 – Employee work areas – Common use circulation paths within employee work areas shall be accessible routes. Exception 1. Common use circulation paths, located within employee work areas that are less than 1,000 square feet in size and defined by permanently installed partitions, counters, casework or furnishings, shall not be required to be accessible routes.
ANSI A117.1 404.2.6 – Handles, pulls latches, locks, and other operable parts on accessible doors shall have a shape that is easy to grasp with one hand and does not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist to operate.

The intent of the appeal is to provide a standard fork gate latch at the covered dog run canopies in lieu of a lever handle lockset.

During plan review, it was noted that since the fenced-in dog runs on site will have canopies over them, they are now considered buildings. As such, the fence gates are required to have lever hardware to comply with the code sections listed above. We propose to use standard fork gate latches in lieu of lever hardware.

Reconsideration Text: We are adding a new sunshade structure inside an existing dog run. As such the fence gates are required to have lever hardware to comply with the code sections listed above. We propose to keep the existing standard fork gate latches in lieu of changing them to lever hardware.

All of the areas under consideration are employee work areas and not open to the public. There are other gates and uncovered dog runs on site that will use fork gate latch hardware, so employees will be using this hardware in other areas of the site.
Nothing about the use of these dog runs, or the activities being conducted inside them has changed. We have simply added a roof over them to provide shelter. There is minimal increased risk to life safety because these dog runs now have roofs over them.
The gates on these dog runs need to be able to latch to prevent a dog from escaping. As the other egress gates on site have panic hardware, it is possible that if a dog were to get out of the dog run enclosure it could run into the street. Therefore, the ability to have these gates latch in a way that an animal can not escape is important to protect the safety of both the animal, and employees or the public if a particular dog is dangerous.
According to staff at the Oregon Humane Society, they have witnessed dogs open deadbolt latch thumb turn hardware and lever hardware. Therefore, there is some risk that an animal could escape from the dog runs if we use deadbolt thumb turn latches or lever hardware.

Reconsideration Text: All of the reasons described above are applicable to the gates serving this new sunshade structure in an existing dog run.