06-02-2021, 05:13 PM
(06-02-2021, 03:56 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:(06-02-2021, 02:08 PM)jeffster Wrote: I think one issue with these smaller apartment (say basement to level 3) or really, something like even small 6-unit apartment has to have these accessibility rules. This also includes powered doors for entrance and exits. The reality is, that ‘affordable’ housing used to include small apartment dwellings, that can no longer be built unless they fulfill new building code. While these rules are good, they haven’t help when it comes to affordable housing, nor the building of smaller apartment units. And to be honest, I haven’t seen anything like this being built in years.
Wait, is that really true? A 4 story apartment building with 8 apartments (2 on the “basement” level, a half story below grade) has to have the apartments accessible? If true that is appalling. Not every apartment in the city needs to be accessible.
You can build a large 3-storey apartment building without elevators, though. An elevator for a four- or five-storey building might cost something like $50K so the impact is significant in a small building, but in a 20-unit building (five units x four floors) you might only be adding a few thousand per unit, assuming you install only one.
You do still need 15% accessible units, but the cost of an accessible unit is not really significantly higher.