Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 521 CMR - Architectural Access Board › Title 521 CMR 5 - Definitions › Section 5.1 - GENERAL

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
As used in 521 CMR, the following words shall have the meaning set forth in 521 CMR 5.00 unless the context otherwise requires.
ACCESS AISLE
: An
accessible
pedestrian space between elements such as parking spaces, seating, or desks that provides clearances complying with 521 CMR.
ACCESSIBLE
: A
site
,
building
,
facility
or portion thereof that complies with 521 CMR and that can be approached, entered, and used
by persons with disabilities
. When the term "
accessible
" is used, it shall mean both physical and communication accessible unless otherwise noted in 521 CMR.
ACCESSIBLE ELEMENT
: An element complying with 521 CMR that can be used by
persons with disabilities
(for example, telephone, controls, appliances, equipment and the like).
ACCESSIBLE ROUTE
: A continuous, unobstructed path connecting all
accessible
elements and spaces within or between
buildings
or
facilities
. Interior
accessible routes
may include corridors, floors,
ramps
, elevators, lifts, and
clear floor space
at fixtures. Exterior
accessible routes
may include parking,
access aisles
,
curb cuts
, crosswalks at vehicular ways,
walks
,
ramps
, and lifts.
ACCESSIBLE SPACE
: Space that complies with 521 CMR and that can be used by
persons with disabilities
.
ADAPTABILITY
: The ability of certain
building
spaces and elements, such as kitchen counters, sinks, and grab bars, to be added or altered so as to accommodate the needs of persons with or without disabilities or with different types or degrees of disability.
ADAPTABLE
: Can readily be made
accessible
to, functional for, and safe for use by
persons with disabilities
without
structural change
.
ADDITION
: An extension or increase in floor area or height of a
building
or structure.
ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY
: A governmental agency that adopts or enforces regulations for the design, construction, or alteration of
buildings
and
facilities
.
ALTERATIONS
: A change or modification of a
building
or structure, or portion thereof, that requires a building permit. Alterations shall include but not be limited to:
remodeling
, renovation, rehabilitation,
reconstruction
, historic restoration, changes or rearrangements in the plan configuration of walls and full height partitions, and any
repairs
which require a building permit. Ordinary
repairs
as defined in 780 CMR: The State Building Code are not alterations.
AREA OF RESCUE ASSISTANCE
: An area, which has direct access to an exit or an area adjacent to an exit discharge, where people who are unable to use stairs or are unable to travel more than 100 feet to a public way may remain temporarily in safety to await further instructions or assistance during emergency evacuation.
ASSEMBLY AREA
: A room or space accommodating a group of individuals for recreational, educational, political, social, or amusement purposes or for the consumption of food and drink.
ASSISTIVE LISTENING SYSTEM
: An
assistive listening system
picks up sound at or close to its source, amplifies it, and delivers it to the listener's ear without extraneous sound, reverberation and distortion via a telecoil on the individual's hearing aid and through earphones. An
assistive listening system
may stand alone or augment a conventional public address or audio address system, depending on the requirements of the room. The type of
assistive listening system
appropriate for a particular application depends on the characteristics of the setting, the nature of the program, and the intended audience. Magnetic induction loops, infra-red and radio frequency systems are types of listening systems that are appropriate for various applications.
AUTOMATIC DOOR
: A door equipped with a power-operated mechanism and controls which open and close the door automatically. The switch that begins the automatic cycle may be a photoelectric device, floor mat, or manual switch (see
power-assisted
door).
BATHROOM
: A space or a series of interconnected spaces that contain a toilet, sink, and bathtub or shower.
BOARD
: The Architectural Access Board within the Executive Office of Public Safety, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
BRAILLE
: A standardized system for communicating in writing with persons who are blind. Grade II Braille is standard literary Braille. Standard dimensions for literary Braille are as follows: Dot diameter: .059 inches; Inter-dot spacing:.090 inches; Horizontal separation between cells:.241 inches; and Vertical separation between cells:.395 inches.
BRIDGE PLATE
: An element which makes the final transition between a fixed or floating platform and a vehicle or vessel.
BUILDING
: A structure enclosed within exterior walls or fire walls (as defined in 780 CMR), built, erected and framed in a combination of any materials, whether portable or fixed having a roof, to form a structure for the shelter of persons, animals or property. For the purposes of this definition, "roof" shall include an awning or similar covering, whether or not permanent in nature. The word "
building
" shall be construed where the context requires, as though followed by the words "or part or parts thereof". For application of 521 CMR, each portion of a
building
which is separated from other portions by fire walls (as defined in 780 CMR) and are not dependent on the existing
building
for
accessible
elements shall be considered as a separate
building
.
CHANGE OF USE
: Varying the use of a
building
from a private use to one that is open to and used by the public.
CLEAR
: Unobstructed.
CLEAR FLOOR SPACE
: The minimum unobstructed floor or ground space required to accommodate a single, stationary wheelchair and occupant. Unless otherwise stated, the dimensions of
clear floor space
shall be 30 inches by 48 inches (30" by 48" = 762mm by 1219mm) and shall be
level
.
CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEPHONE
: A telephone with dedicated line(s), such as a house phone, courtesy phone, or security gates with intercoms, that require voice communication to obtain clearance to enter a
facility
or
project
.
COMMON USE
: Refers to those interior and exterior rooms, spaces, or elements that are made available for the use of a restricted group of people (for example, occupants of homeless shelters, office buildings, residences or the guests of such occupants).
COMMUTER RAIL
: Short-haul passenger service operating in metropolitan and suburban areas, whether within or across geographical boundaries of a state, usually characterized by reduced fare, multiple ride, and commutation tickets, and by morning and afternoon peak period operations. This term does not include light or rapid rail transportation.
COMPLEX
: Multiple housing developed on one or more sites by a single entity.
For complexes currently owned or financed by public agencies, including local housing authorities, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, or Housing and Urban Development, the
complex
means the whole of one or more residential structures and appurtenant structures, equipment, roads, walks, and parking lots which a single entity owns, within a municipality, and is or will be covered by a single mortgage contract for permanent financing or was originally constructed or acquired under one contract for financial assistance for new construction or acquisition
CONSTRUCTION
: Work for which a building permit is required, work determined to be
construction
by a state or local building inspector, or work for which a certificate of occupancy is necessary upon completion.
CROSS SLOPE
: The slope that is perpendicular to the
running slope
and the direction of travel.
CURB CUT
: A short ramp cutting through a curb.
DETECTABLE WARNING
: A standardized surface feature built in or applied to walking surfaces or other elements to give warning of hazards on a circulation path.
DWELLING UNIT
: A unit providing living facilities for one or more persons. (
See
521 CMR 8.00: TRANSIENT LODGING FACILITIES
for more detailed information.)
EGRESS, MEANS OF
: A continuous and unobstructed path of travel from any point in a
building
or structure to a public way and consisting of three separate and distinct parts:
(a) the exit access,
(b) the exit, and
(c) the exit discharge. A
means of egress
comprises the vertical and horizontal means of travel and shall include intervening room spaces, doorways, hallways, corridors, passageways, balconies, ramps, stairs, enclosures, lobbies, horizontal exits, courts and yards.
An
accessible means of egress
is one that complies with 521 CMR and does not include stairs, steps, or escalators.
Areas of rescue assistance
or evacuation elevators may be included as part of
accessible means of egress
.
ELEMENT
: An architectural or mechanical component of a
building
,
facility
,
space
or
site
, e.g., telephone, curb cut, door, drinking fountain, seating, or water closet.
ENTRANCE
: Any access point to a
building
or portion of a
building
or
facility
used for the purpose of entering. An
entrance
includes the approach
walk
, stairs, lifts, ramp or other vertical access leading to the entrance platform; the entrance platform itself; vestibules, if provided; the entry door(s) or gate(s); and the hardware of the entry door(s) or gate(s).
FACILITY
: All or any portion of
buildings
, structures,
site
improvements,
complexes
, equipment, roads,
walks
, passageways, parking lots, or other real or personal property located on a
site
.
FINAL DECISION
: Determination of the
Board
, arrived at after consideration of the facts brought to its attention in accordance with 521 CMR.
FULL AND FAIR CASH VALUE OF THE BUILDING
: The assessed valuation of a
building
(not including the land) as recorded in the Assessor's Office of the municipality at the time the
building
permit is issued as equalized at 100% valuation. The 100% equalized assessed value shall be based upon Massachusetts Department of Revenue's determination of the particular city's or town's assessment ratio.
EXAMPLE: Town X has an assessment ratio of 40%, the particular
building
in question is assessed at $200,000.00. To determine the equalized assessed value of this
building
, divide $200,000.00 by 0.4. The equalized assessed value equals $500,000.00.
EXCEPTIONS:
a. If no assessed value exists, or the assessed value is more than three years old, a request to substitute the appraised value may be submitted to the
Board
. The request to use the appraised value must be submitted by a certified appraiser or for transit facilities, either a certified appraiser or an independent registered professional engineer and must be submitted prior to obtaining a
building
permit for the project.
b. The value of
multiple dwellings
owned or financed by public sector agencies, local housing authorities, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, or the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be determined by
replacement cost
.
c. The value of buildings owned, constructed, or renovated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall be determined by the
replacement cost
.
When part of a
building
is subject to 521 CMR, the
full and fair cash value
shall be based on the percentage of the
full and fair cash value
of the whole which equals the ratio of the square footage of the part of the
building
to the square footage of the whole
building
; if the
Board
determines the application of this formula to cause an inequitable result, the
Board
may otherwise calculate the
full and fair cash value
of the part of a
building
at issue.
EXAMPLE: Where the whole
building
is 100,000 square feet, the part in question is 10,000 square feet, and the equalized value of the whole is $1,000,000.00, the
full and fair cash value
of the part is $100,000.00
GROUND FLOOR
: The floor of a
building
closest to the level of the exterior grade and any floor within 36 inches (36" = 914mm) of an exterior grade at some or all of its perimeter.
Buildings
on sloped
sites
may have more than one
ground floor
. For
multiple dwellings
with a garage or commercial space at grade level, the first floor of
dwelling units
above the garage or commercial space shall be considered the
ground floor
.
GROUP 1
: Applies to
dwelling units
that have features that can be modified without
structural change
to meet the specific functional needs of an occupant with a disability.
GROUP 2A
: Applies to
dwelling units
that have features similar to Group 1, but have the additional feature of greater floor space to accommodate the needs of occupants who need such space due to their disability.
GROUP 2B
: Applies to
dwelling units
that contain features that provide, at the time of initial construction, full accessibility without need for further modification.
HALF BATHROOM
: A space with a toilet and a sink.
IMPRACTICABLE/IMPRACTICABILITY
: