Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. An owner, operator, manager, or lessor of
a qualified historic building or facility that is a place of public
accommodation shall comply with the reasonable accommodation requirements of
Regulation .10 of this chapter.
B.
In determining whether a particular accommodation is reasonable, in addition to
the factors set forth in Regulation .11 of this chapter, the impact of the
accommodation on the historical significance of a qualified historic building
or facility shall be considered. A public accommodation is not required to take
any action that would threaten, or destroy the historical significance of the
building or facility.
C. In making
this determination, the Commission staff shall:
(1) Identify the historically significant
features, finishes, materials, spaces, and spatial relationships that
characterize the property, as well as the secondary features, finishes,
materials, spaces, and spatial relationships, including previously altered
areas and later additions, that may be less important to historic
character;
(2) Consult with the
appropriate federal, State, or local government officials or agencies with
oversight responsibilities, or all of these officials, including but not
limited to, the State Historic Preservation Officer, the Maryland Historical
Trust, the Maryland Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National
Advisory Council on Historical Preservation, or all of these. Other interested
persons shall be invited to participate in the consultation process, including
State or local accessibility officials, individuals with disabilities, and
organizations representing individuals with disabilities;
(3) Seek accessibility solutions that:
(a) Do not cause damage to, permanently
alter, or require the removal of, historically significant features, finishes,
materials, spaces, or spatial relationships;
(b) Are in scale with the historic property;
and
(c) Are visually compatible
with the historic property.
D. Examples of accessibility modifications to
a qualified historic building or facility may include, but are not limited to:
(1) Regrading the entrance when the entrance
steps and landscape are not highly significant;
(2) Incorporating an entrance ramp or
interior ramps, carefully designed and appropriately located to minimize the
loss of historical features and preserve the overall historic setting and
character;
(3) Installing a
vertical or inclined wheelchair lift or a portable wheelchair lift if
appropriate to make an entrance accessible, or to overcome changes in elevation
within the building or facility, preferably in unobtrusive locations;
(4) Retrofitting nonhistorically significant
doors, adapting door hardware and altering door thresholds to increase the size
of the door opening and upgrade door pressure;
(5) Upgrading historic elevators by modifying
control panels and adjusting timing devices;
(6) Modifying interior stairs by adding hand
railings and beveled or closed risers; and
(7) Constructing a new addition to the
building or facility with an accessible entrance and access to public levels
via a ramp, wheelchair lift or elevator, where such addition is carefully
located and compatible with the size, scale, and proportions of the property's
historic features and materials.
E. If it is determined that modifications
necessary to provide physical access to all public areas of a qualified
historic building or facility would threaten or destroy the historic
significance of the property, the extent of physical access to the property may
be limited as follows:
(1) At least one
accessible route from a site access point to an accessible entrance, which may
be a ramp with a slope greater than that normally required if appropriate
safety measures, such as handrails and nonskid surfaces, are used;
(2) At least one accessible entrance which is
used by the public, or if not feasible:
(a)
Access at any unlocked entrance not used by the general public with directional
signage at the primary entrance and a notification system; or
(b) If security is a problem, remote
monitoring may be used;
(3) If the building or facility has public
toilets, at least one accessible toilet facility along an accessible route;
and
(4) Accessible routes from the
entrance to all publicly used spaces on at least the level of the accessible
entrance, and if practical, to all levels of a building or facility.
F. With respect to historically
significant public areas or spaces, in which physical access cannot be provided
without threatening or destroying the historical significance of the building
or facility, alternative methods of programmatic access shall be provided, for
example:
(1) Using audio-visual materials and
devices, interpretive panels, tactile models, Brailled exhibits, and other
media to depict those portions of an historic building or facility that cannot
otherwise be made accessible;
(2)
Assigning persons to guide individuals with disabilities into or through
portions of historic buildings or facilities that cannot otherwise be made
accessible; and
(3) Adopting other
innovative measures.
