Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) An operator of an assisted living residence
must comply with the following standards in addition to the applicable standards
contained in 18 NYCRR sections 487.11, 488.11 and, if applicable, 494.7, as well
as any other regulation applicable to assisted living residences, adult homes or
enriched housing programs adopted subsequent to the date of adoption of this
section.
(b) Existing structures.
(1) Buildings which have both Part 1 and
architectural approval pursuant to 18 NYCRR section 485.6 and for which
construction commenced prior to the date of adoption of this Part, and for which
certificates of occupancy have been issued, or for which occupancy has been
locally approved but which are not yet occupied on such date, or were licensed as
an adult home or enriched housing program prior to such date, will be considered
existing structures. The department reserves the right to re-examine the adequacy
of life and fire safety features in existing licensed structures should it be
determined that codes, rules and regulations that were applicable to the
structure at the time of licensure are not met.
(2) An existing building that is not currently
licensed as an enriched housing program or adult home and is seeking to be
licensed as an ALR, enhanced ALR or special needs ALR shall meet all applicable
structural and environmental requirements currently in effect for either an
enriched housing program or an adult home, as applicable.
(3) In situations where a certificate of
occupancy reflecting currently applied occupancy group designation for an
enriched housing program or an adult home is not available or attainable from the
local authority having jurisdiction, but there is a valid certificate of
occupancy in place for the building, the department will accept an architect's or
engineer's letter of certification signed by a registered architect (RA) or
professional engineer (PE) certifying that the building under consideration meets
all applicable codes, rules and regulations.
(4) In addition to meeting the requirements set
forth in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, a building used by the operator of an
ALR, enhanced ALR or special needs ALR must comply with the following fire safety
features.
(i) An automatic sprinkler system
throughout the building.
(a) An ALR with five
to 16 beds shall have a NFPA 13R or NFPA 13 automatic sprinkler system
installed.
(b) An ALR with 17 or more
beds, and an enhanced ALR or special needs ALR of any size, shall have a NFPA 13
automatic sprinkler system installed.
(ii) A supervised smoke-detection system
throughout the building, including all bedrooms.
(iii) Fire protection systems directly
connected to the local fire department, or to a 24-hour attended central
station.
(iv) Handrails on both sides
of all resident-use corridors and stairways.
(v) A centralized emergency call-system in all
bedrooms easily reachable from bedside and in all resident-use toilet and bathing
areas, easily reachable from each fixture.
(5) A building used by the operator of an
enhanced ALR or special needs ALR must, in addition, comply with the following
sixth safety feature:
(i) Buildings with a
capacity of 17 or more residents shall have smoke barriers to divide each floor
into at least two smoke compartments, neither of which shall have corridors
exceeding 100 feet in length. For the purposes of this Part, a smoke barrier
means a continuous fire-rated partition or wall, extending from one exterior wall
to another exterior wall, with all openings (doorways, etc.) protected with
fire-rated and smoke-tight doors equipped with appropriate hardware.
(c) New structures.
(1) A new building constructed as an ALR,
special needs ALR or enhanced ALR shall meet the applicable structural and
environmental requirements currently in effect for a new enriched housing program
or an adult home. A new building shall be any building for which construction is
commenced after the date of adoption of this Part.
(2) New buildings will also be required to meet
the five safety features referenced in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. Enhanced
ALRs and special needs ALRs with capacities of 17 or more beds shall also meet
the additional sixth safety feature referenced above in paragraph (b)(4) of this
section.
(3) New buildings, except
for buildings in New York City, are subject to the New York State Building Code,
Occupancy Group I-1. Residences with 5-16 beds may comply with Occupancy Group
R-4 as an alternative to I-1.
(4) New
buildings in New York City are subject to New York City Building Code, Occupancy
Group J-2.
(d) The
following additional standards will apply to every ALR, enhanced ALR and special
needs ALR:
(1) All bedrooms shall be limited to
single or double occupancy.
(2)
Minimum corridor widths shall be 60 inches.
(3) Minimum door widths shall be 32 inches to
assure wheelchair accessibility.
(e) An applicant for initial licensure or
certification for, or an approved operator of, an ALR, enhanced ALR or special
needs ALR may submit to the department a written request for department approval
of an alternate method of assuring resident welfare and safety. The request
should describe how the alternative would meet the intended purpose of the
particular safety feature. Proposals will also be accepted that phase in
modification to permit a facility to meet these standards over a specified period
of time. The department will review such requests on a case-by-case basis,
considering the various facts and circumstances presented, consistent with law
applicable to assisted living residences and adult care facilities. Such review
will include but not be limited to the following: documentation by architects,
local code enforcement and/or fire/safety officials supporting the contention
that the proposed alternative will meet the intended safety outcome of the
particular feature; staffing availability in the event of evacuation; the
proposed timeframe for the applicant to come into conformance with the specified
safety features; documentation of hardship to the applicant if the safety
features were to be included; the fiscal impact of adding the safety features;
the compliance record of the applicant; and any other information applicants wish
to submit.