Appeal 9210

OSSC 1010, 3411, 1104.4, 1104.5.

Plan review comments from the City of Portland request that plans be revised to comply with requirements for ramps (landings, 1:12 slope, handrails) or obtain approval from the Administrative Appeal Board. Code section 1010 is cited as the requirement. E-mail correspondence with Ben Howell he indicated we must also comply with Accessibility requirements.

Section 1010 governs the design of ramps including slope, landings, handrails etc. "shall apply to ramps used as a component of a means of egress".

Section 3411 governs how accessibility requirements are applied to existing buildings undergoing alterations. It states in part "that every project for renovation or alteration that affects the usability or access to an area containing a primary function shall be made to ensure that, to the maximum extent feasible, the paths of travel to the altered area and the rest rooms . . . . serving the altered area are readibly accessible to and useable by individuals with diabilities . . ."

Section 1104.4 states "At least one accessible route shall connect each accessible level ... in multilevel buildings and facilities".

Section 1104.5 states "Accessible routes shall coincide with or be located in the same area as a general circulation path . ."

PECO is consolidating their operations in their building at 4720 SE 17th and leasing the adjacent property, located at 4644 SE 17th Ave. This move is mandated by the Milwaukie light rail project which requires PECO give up a portion of their property on the west side of SE 17th. The scope of this project is to remodel the building at 4644 SE 17th Ave to accommodate their manufacturing operations.

A door and ramp are being added to provide a path for movement of materials and personnel between the two properties. The proposed ramp is 35 feet long by 8 feet and has rise of approximately 48" (11% slope). it is provided with 42 inch high guardrails and 6 inch high curbs on both sides (but not handrails). At the top of the ramp is a fire door that will close upon detection of flow in the fire sprinkler system This fire door was required as part of Appeal #8447 that allowed an opening in a wall on the property line. When the door is closed there will not be a landing at the top of the ramp.

Reconsideration: The casting area Room 101B was raised 12" by adding a 12" reinforced concrete slab over the existing slab. Four new ramps have been added for forklift access.

One fully Code compliant ramp and mandoor (door B101M.) was added to accommodate wheelchair and pedestrian access.
Man doors with landings, steps and handrails are included next to two other ramps.

The forth ramp provides access to the adjacent property similar to the ramp in the original appeal. It is not technically feasible to add a man door next to this ramp due to structural limitations on adding new openings in the existing wall. However, we have determined that we can provide a fully compliant ramp at this location (See attached drawing)

The ramps have 1:12 slope and have hand rails on both sides.
Overhead doors interrupt the ramps at intermediate locations on three ramps. Handrails are not continuous in order to accommodate the overhead doors.

In Chromate room D101 a 3" high berm is required at each door to provide containment for chemical spills. We have revised the berms at the doors to include landings and longer ramps. The ramps have 1:12 slopes. No handrails are included since they are not required for ramps with a rise of less than 6".

There is no configuration that would accommodate a longer ramp and still allow PECO to fit all of their machinery into the building. The machines in the area where the ramp is located are primarily metal casting machines that require safety zones around them to protect people from occasional sprays of hot metal. We have added a code compliant stair and man door next to this ramp as a safety measure so that foot traffic does not need to use the ramp.

The proposed ramp and stairs connects the area being leased by PECO, where alterations are proposed, to PECO's building next door. PECO's building is not accessible, but no alterations are occurring in their building. The leased building is fully accessible from the parking area and will contain new fully accessible restroom facilities. We believe that the accessibility to an area containing a primary function has been provided to the "maximum extent feasible". As stated above, a longer ramp cannot be fit into the space while maintaining the required space for the casting machines and the required working and safety zones. Also as stated before, this move is mandated by Trimet to accommodate the new light rail project.
Reconsideration: In order to avoid worker exposure to contaminated soil and the cost of disposing of contaminated soil and concrete the casting area floor was raised 12". Due to extreme space limitations the ramps had to extend through overhead door openings. The handrail extensions at the top and bottom were not included because of the hazard they would cause by encroaching on forklift traffic areas. To mitigate for the fact that the new ramps do not have handrail extensions and are interrupted by the overhead doors we have provided man doors and a fully accessible ramps as a safety measure so that foot traffic does not need to use the non-compliant ramps.

The ramps in the chromate room could not accommodate 5' long landings on both sides of all doors because they would encroach unacceptably on the industrial operations. We have added landings that provide a fully accessible route to and from the room. The doors that do not have landings on both sides are not required for egress. From a practical standpoint we have provided a safe route through all of the doors into the chromate room.