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Accessibility of Buildings
and Facilities Used by the General Public
Iowa Code section 103A.7, subsection 5 provides that the
State of Iowa Building Code shall include "reasonable provisions"
for
| 5. The accessibility and use by persons with disabilities
and elderly persons, of buildings, structures and facilities
which are constructed and intended for use by the general
public. The rules shall be consistent with federal standards
for building accessibility and shall only apply to those
buildings, structures, and facilities subject to chapter
104A. |
Iowa Code section 104A.2 provides that
| The standards and specifications adopted by the state
building code commissioner and as set forth in this chapter
shall apply to all public and private buildings and facilities,
temporary and permanent, used by the general public. |
A significant change in Iowa's requirements for accessibility
to persons with disabilities of buidlings and facilities used
by the general public took effect January 1, 2004. The standards
now in effect are based upon
The new accessibility requirements are based
upon the federal Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility
Guidelines, also known as ADAAG (28 CFR 36, Appendix A) and,
with some amendments, adopt the federal guidelines by reference.
A significant exception to the use of ADAAG
is the rule setting out accessibility requirements for apartment
buildings (now rule 661-16.720(103A,104A)). ADAAG does not cover
requirements for apartment buildings, which are covered federally
by the Fair Housing Act, rather than the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
Question or comments may be addressed to the Department's
Agency Rules Administrator via e-mail.
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