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Division of Fire Safety: Vermont already enforces visitability for multifamily units and would oppose extending enforcement to single‑family homes
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Summary
The state's Division of Fire Safety told the House Committee on General & Housing that Vermont has long required visitability and adaptability standards for residential construction it regulates; the division said it lacks authority and staffing to extend enforcement into single‑family owner‑occupied homes and would oppose such a mandate without new resources.
Mike Grohl, executive director of the Division of Fire Safety, told the House Committee on General & Housing on April 22 that Vermont has required accessibility for public and residential construction for decades and that the division enforces both state access rules and federal ADA standards.
"First of all, we don't regulate single family owner occupied homes," Grohl said, adding that the division enforces visitability and adaptability requirements for residential construction under its authority and has done so since the 1970s. He described specific requirements that apply where the division has jurisdiction: at least one 36‑inch exterior entry, interior doors or openings wide enough for walkers and wheelchairs, hallways at least 36 inches wide, switches and outlets between 15 and 48 inches above the floor, and reinforced bathroom studs so grab bars can be installed later.
Grohl identified the legal framework the division relies on and the practical limits of enforcement. He summarized the renovation standard and a disproportionality exemption: when required accessibility modifications would push renovation costs above roughly 20 percent of the project cost, that may be treated as disproportionate and an exemption can apply. He also described the role of the variance board and said the division prioritizes access to primary function areas first.
Asked whether the division could administer a pilot that applied visitability or adaptability requirements to some single‑family homes, Grohl said the division does not currently have authority over single‑family owner‑occupied homes and would lack staffing to take on that broader role. "If we're gonna have legislative mandate that we're in the single family homes for anything, as I sit here right now, I would have to oppose that," he said, citing legal and resource constraints.
Grohl also noted a statutory exemption that can affect manufactured or prefabricated housing produced out of state and said he would follow up with the committee to clarify how those exemptions apply to duplexes and other factory‑built units.
The committee did not take formal action; members asked Grohl to provide follow‑up information about manufactured‑home exemptions, third‑party inspection practices and how the disproportionality provisions are applied in renovation projects.
