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Commission backs city program to require front‑entrance ADA compliance and create compliance unit
Summary
The commission approved legislation to require primary building entries be made accessible or documented via equivalent facilitation; the ordinance creates an interdepartmental compliance unit and expands the Access Appeals Commission's role to adjudicate technical infeasibility and unreasonable hardship.
The Building Inspection Commission voted unanimously to support legislation that would require places of public accommodation in San Francisco to bring primary entries into alignment with accessibility standards or document an approved equivalent facilitation.
Supervisor Cathy Tang presented the ordinance as a citywide program modeled on the soft‑story retrofit approach. The measure would categorize buildings by entry condition, require a compliance checklist and, for properties needing work, the filing of permit applications and eventual issuance of construction permits. The ordinance tasks a new compliance unit — bringing together DBI, the Department of Public Works, Planning and the Mayor’s Office on Disability — with recordkeeping, guidance and coordination.
The bill significantly expands the role of the Access Appeals Commission, enabling it to make determinations on equivalent facilitation, technical infeasibility and unreasonable hardship and to grant extensions when departmental processes delay required work. Richard Halloran, DBI’s Certified Access Specialist, said DBI plans personnel increases and bylaw changes to accommodate anticipated hearings and quicker reviews.
Supervisor Tang said the program is intended to help small businesses comply proactively rather than face litigation. "We are trying to get you into conformity with chapter 11D of the state building code," she said, while stressing the city checklist does not guarantee immunity from federal ADA claims.
Commissioners asked about timelines, staffing and how interagency delays (for example, DPW encroachment permits or Planning design reviews) would be handled; the ordinance allows DBI to grant a six‑month administrative extension and escalates longer delays to the Access Appeals Commission, which can grant protections or further extensions based on evidence.
The Commission approved the legislation and recorded a unanimous roll call vote.
