Administrative Rules of Montana
Department 24 - LABOR AND INDUSTRY
Chapter 24.301 - BUILDING CODES
Subchapter 24.301.9 - Building Accessibility Rules
Rule 24.301.903 - BUILDING ACCESSIBILITY
Universal Citation: MT Admin Rules 24.301.903
Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) Section 1109, IBC, is amended to clarify that not every restroom installed in a building or structure is required to be accessible as long as the required facilities are accessible and reasonably available from all areas of the primary function areas of the building. Primary function area means an area of a building or facility in which a major activity for which the building or facility is designed is carried out.
(a)
Subsection 1109.1, General is amended by adding the following: "When buildings
or portions of buildings are required to be accessible, required building
facilities shall be accessible as provided in this section. A person or entity
may not be required to meet fully the accessibility requirements for buildings,
in those rare circumstances where the person or entity can demonstrate that it
is structurally impracticable, due to unique characteristics of terrain and/or
not practicable in relation to the proposed usage of the building, as
determined on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the building
official."
(b) Subsection 1109.2,
Toilet and Bathing Facilities is amended to read as follows: "Required toilet
rooms and bathing facilities shall be accessible. Where a floor level is not
required to be connected by an accessible route, the only toilet rooms or
bathing facilities provided within the facility shall not be located on the
inaccessible floor. At least one of each type of fixture, element, control, or
dispenser in each accessible toilet room and bathing facility shall be
accessible."
(i) A person or entity may not
be required to meet fully the accessibility requirements for required toilet
facilities, where the person or entity can demonstrate that it is structurally
impracticable, due to unique characteristics of terrain and/or not practicable
in relation to the proposed usage of the building, as determined on a
case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the building official.
(c) The following examples are not
intended to be inclusive of the provisions established in (a) and (b) above,
but are provided to help clarify which facilities and plumbing fixtures are
required to be accessible:
(i) In occupancies
which include an office and a shop area, that requires one accessible restroom
for employees, and the owner chooses to install an additional restroom, only
one restroom is required to be accessible.
(ii) In occupancies which provide one
accessible restroom and a shower is installed that is not a required fixture,
the shower is not required to be accessible, even if it is located in the
accessible restroom.
(d)
In the new construction of establishments which serve food or beverages to be
consumed on premises, on a case-by-case basis, the building official shall have
the discretion to approve the installation of one unisex accessible restroom
which includes a urinal, in lieu of one male and one female accessible
restroom, when it can be demonstrated that due to an occupant load which will
not exceed 20 seated persons, it would not be reasonable to require two
separate accessible restrooms. The International Building Code shall be used to
determine occupant load.
(e) In
existing establishments, including those which serve food or beverages to be
consumed on premises, on a case-by-case basis, the building official shall have
the discretion to approve the addition of one unisex accessible restroom or to
allow the alteration of the two existing restrooms to make one restroom single
occupant unisex accessible and the other restroom single occupant unisex, when
it can be demonstrated that it would be impractical to alter the existing
facilities to include two separate accessible restrooms, one male and one
female. In establishments which serve food or beverages to be consumed on
premises, which provide two single occupant unisex restrooms, the unisex
accessible restroom shall have a urinal.
(f) Business or commercial occupancies which
are open to the public and located in portions of a private residence are
required to be accessible even if those portions used for the business or
commercial purposes are also used for residential purposes. The accessibility
requirements extend to and include an accessible route from the sidewalk,
through the doorway, through the hallway and other portions of the home, such
as restrooms, used by clients and customers of the business or commercial
occupancy.
50-60-203, MCA; IMP, 50-60-201, 50-60-214, MCA;
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Montana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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