ADA, the Florida Accessibility Code, and the 20 percent rule

Two tracks: the permit and the federal law

Accessibility reaches a buildout on two separate tracks. The first is the permit: Sarasota and Manatee building departments review plans against the Florida Building Code's Accessibility volume, which state law builds on the federal 2010 ADA Standards with Florida-specific provisions. The second is ADA Title III itself, a federal civil rights law that applies to public accommodations whether or not any permit was ever pulled. Passing plan review is necessary; it is not the whole legal story, which is one reason this page is construction guidance and not legal advice.

The 20 percent path-of-travel rule, precisely

The rule everyone has half-heard comes from 28 CFR 36.403. When an alteration affects an area containing a primary function, the space where the business's main activity happens, the path of travel to that area must be made readily accessible, and "path of travel" expressly includes the restrooms, telephones and drinking fountains serving the area, plus the route from the entrance, sidewalks and parking. The limit: costs for this path-of-travel work that exceed 20 percent of the cost of the alteration to the primary function area are deemed disproportionate, and you are not required to spend past that point.

When the full list cannot be funded within 20 percent, the regulation sets the spending order:

1. An accessible entrance
2. An accessible route to the altered area
3. At least one accessible restroom for each sex, or a single unisex restroom
4. Accessible telephones
5. Accessible drinking fountains
6. When possible, other elements such as parking, storage and alarms

In practice, this means a buildout budget should carry a path-of-travel line from day one. It is not a surprise; it is arithmetic, and we run it during estimating so the number is in your written scope, not in a change order.

Florida's own layer: vertical accessibility

Florida law goes beyond the federal floor in a way that matters for multi-level spaces. Florida Statute 553.509 requires vertical accessibility to all levels above and below the occupiable grade level, regardless of whether the federal standards would require an elevator, with exemptions for spaces like elevator machinery rooms, non-occupiable spaces, and occupiable spaces that hold five or fewer persons. If you are eyeing a two-story space, or a mezzanine, this statute belongs in the first conversation about it.

What plan review checks, and what changes of use add

On the drawings, expect accessibility review of the entrance and route, door clear widths and hardware, restroom clearances, fixture heights and grab bar blocking, service counter heights, and signage. Manatee County's commercial submittal checklist asks for accessibility dimensions explicitly. And if your project changes the occupancy classification, accessibility obligations attach to the change itself: an accessible entrance, an accessible route, and at least one accessible restroom per sex are part of the package our change of use guide describes. Our office, medical and restaurant buildouts all carry restrooms built to these requirements as standard scope, and the permit path is covered in our permits guide.

How we keep accessibility from becoming a change order

• The walkthrough includes the path of travel. We look at the entrance, the route and the restrooms before pricing, because that is where the 20 percent math lives.
• The estimate carries the line item. Path-of-travel work appears in the written scope with a number next to it.
• The drawings settle it before review. Restroom clearances and door widths are corrected on paper, where they cost nothing.
• The punch list verifies it. Grab bars, heights and signage are checked before the inspector checks them.