# 21

III-6.2000
III-7.5115
III-7.6000

July 8, 1992
DJ 202-PL-155

Mr. Gregory W. Silliman

Senior Project Engineer
Code Consultants Incorporated
Fire Protection Consultants
760 Office Parkway
St. Louis, MO 63141

Dear Mr. Silliman:

This letter responds to your correspondence regarding the

application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to a
newly constructed parking structure connected to an existing mall
building.

The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide

technical assistance to individuals and entities with rights or
obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA accessibility
standards. However, this technical assistance does not
constitute a legal interpretation of the statute and it is not
binding on the Department.

Your letter states that an accessible entry to each level of

the mall will be provided from each level of the parking garage
and that the mall building contains accessible elevator service.
You ask if, in lieu of providing an elevator in the parking
structure, this provides an adequate degree of accessibility with
respect to ADA requirements.

The parking structure could be regarded as an addition (see

ADA Guidelines 4.1.5) to the existing mall; as such, the design
would have to in compliance with the applicable provisions of
​4.1.1 through 4.35, the requirements for new construction.
Where the parking structure connects to the existing mall, that
portion would be considered an alteration to an area of primary
function and would trigger the path of travel requirements of
​4.1.6(2). As to the alteration requirements, your affirmative
answer from the DOJ ADA hotline was well-reasoned with respect to
the path of travel. However, this would be considered correct
only if the parking structure is used exclusively for access to
the mall building.

If the parking structure could be used independently of the

mall (e.g., as parking for another building or as parking when
the mall building was not open for business) when direct access
to the street would be necessary, we believe that the parking
structure would be considered a separate new facility subject to
the new construction requirements. In that situation, the
Guidelines 4.1.3(5) would require an elevator serving each level
of the parking structure. Also, because the ADA does not affect
the application or enforcement of state or local building
regulations, if your local building code requires an elevator
within the structure, that requirement would have to be satisfied
irrespective of ADA requirements.

To assist you in complying with the ADA, attached are the

final Title III regulations and a Technical Assistance Manual.
We hope this information is useful to you.

Sincerely,

John L. Wodatch
Director
Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Enclosures

cc: Dave Yanchulis, Access Board