Code of Massachusetts Regulations
780 CMR - STATE BOARD OF BUILDING REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS
Chapter 34 - Existing Buildings and Structures
Section 3402 - DEFINITIONS
Subsection 3402.1 - Definitions
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
The following words and terms shall, for the purposes of this chapter and as used elsewhere in the code, have the meanings shown herein.
DANGEROUS. Any building or structure or portion thereof that meets any of the conditions described below shall be deemed dangerous:
1. The building or structure has collapsed, partially collapsed, moved off its foundation or lacks the support of ground necessary to support it.
2. There exists a significant risk of collapse, detachment or dislodgment of any portion, member, appurtenance or ornamentation of the building or structure under service loads.
EXISTING STRUCTURE. A structure erected prior to the date of adoption of the appropriate code, or one for which a legal building permit has been issued.
PRIMARY FUNCTION. A primary function is a major activity for which the facility is intended. Areas that contain a primary function include, but are not limited to, the customer service lobby of a bank, the dining area of a cafeteria, the meeting rooms in a conference center, as well as offices and other work areas in which the activities of the public accommodation or other private entity using the facility are carried out. Mechanical rooms, boiler rooms, supply storage rooms, employee lounges or locker rooms, janitorial closets, entrances, corridors and restrooms are not areas containing a primary function.
SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. A condition where:
1. In any story, the vertical elements of the lateral force-resisting system have suffered damage such that the lateral load-carrying capacity of the structure in any horizontal direction has been reduced by more than 20 percent from its pre-damage condition; or
2. The capacity of any vertical gravity load-carrying component, or any group of such components, that supports more than 30 percent of the total area of the structure's floor(s) and roof(s) has been reduced more than 20 percent from its pre-damage condition and the remaining capacity of such affected elements, with respect to all dead and live loads, is less than 75 percent of that required by this code for new buildings of similar structure, purpose and location.
TECHNICALLY INFEASIBLE. An alteration of a building or a facility that has little likelihood of being accomplished because the existing structural conditions require the removal or alteration of a load-bearing member that is an essential part of the structural frame, or because other existing physical or site constraints prohibit modification or addition of elements, spaces or features which are in full and strict compliance with the minimum requirements for new construction and which are necessary to provide accessibility.
