1. TITLE II AND TITLE III
OF THE ADA
NEW REGULATIONS FOR POOLS
Contact: Robert S. Fine, Esq., AIA  Shareholder  May 1, 2012
GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP  ATTORNEYS AT LAW  WWW.GTLAW.COM
©2011. All rights reserved.

2. What is the ADA?
 The ADA is the acronym for the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 as amended in
2008.

3. What does the ADA do?
 The ADA provides protections for persons
with disabilities from being discriminated
against based on their disability. The
mandate of the ADA is to provide “equal
access,” not necessarily affirmative access
or action.

4. What constitutes a disability under the
ADA?
 Under the ADA and similar laws, a disability
is a physical or mental impairment that
significantly limits one or more major life
activities.
A person with a disability is a person who…
 has such an impairment;
 has a record of such an impairment; or
 is regarded as having such an impairment

5. The phrase physical of mental
impairment means…
 Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic
disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of
the following body systems: neurological;
musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory,
including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive;
digestive; genitourinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and
endocrine; Four bullets on each page work best
 Any mental or psychological disorder such as mental
retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental
illness, and specific learning disabilities;
 The phrase physical or mental impairment includes, but is
not limited to, such contagious and noncontagious diseases
and conditions as orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing
impairments, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular
dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease,
diabetes, mental retardation, emotional illness, specific
learning disabilities, HIV disease (whether symptomatic or
asymptomatic), tuberculosis, drug addiction, and
alcoholism;

6. The phrase major life activities means…
 functions such as caring for one’s self,
performing manual tasks, walking, seeing,
hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and
working.
Mitigating measures (measures that
alleviate the symptoms of the
impairment) do not take a person
with a disability out of the protective
umbrella of the ADA.

7. Title II Entity
 Title II of the ADA covers programs of state
and local governments
□ New construction or alterations must meet the
applicable architectural standards
□ Facilities in existence prior to 1992 may utilize
program accessibility
 The program, when viewed in its entirety, must be
accessible
– Not every one of each type of facility must
necessarily be accessible.

8. Title II Entities
 Factors to determine which pools must be made
accessible:
□ How to provide swimming programs in the most
integrated setting appropriate;
□ The ways in which people participate in the programs
(e.g., individually, in families, in youth groups);
□ Locations where the programs are offered;
□ What programs are offered at each pool and to which
constituencies (e.g., family swims, children's swimming
lessons, older adult exercise classes, high school swim
meets);
□ Which pools are accessible and to what extent; and
□ Level of dispersion of the accessible locations and
convenience to reach them (e.g., one pool in each
quadrant of the town, all on accessible mass transit).

9. Title III Entities
 Title III covers places of public
accommodation and commercial facilities
□ Includes
 Places of lodging including hotels, motels
 Stadiums or other place of exhibition or entertainment
 Gymnasium, health spa or other place of exercise or
recreation

10. Title III Entities
 Construction standards
□ New construction
□ Alterations
□ Removal of barriers (existing facilities)
 Readily achievable hardship standard

11. Title III Entities
 Readily achievable means easily
accomplishable and able to be carried out
without much difficulty of expense.
□ Factors to determine if readily achievable
 Cost of construction
 Difficulty of construction
 Health and safety considerations
 Effect on revenues
 Impact on operations

12. Title III Entities
 In determining whether an action is readily achievable,
must consider:
□ The nature and cost of the action needed
□ The overall financial resources of the site or sites involved in the
action; the number of persons employed at the site; the effect
on expenses and resources; legitimate safety requirements that
are necessary for safe operation, including crime prevention
measures; or the impact otherwise of the action upon the
operation of the site;
□ The geographic separateness, and the administrative or fiscal
relationship of the site or sites in question to any parent
corporation or entity;
□ If applicable, the overall financial resources of any parent
corporation or entity; the overall size of the parent corporation
or entity with respect to the number of its employees; the
number, type, and location of its facilities; and
□ If applicable, the type of operation or operations of any parent
corporation or entity, including the composition, structure, and
functions of the workforce of the parent corporation or entity.

13. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Pools
 Original compliance date was March 15,
2012
 Emergency rule (covering existing pools
only) extended that by 60 days
 Current rulemaking in process which may
extend compliance date to mid-September,
after Labor Day
□ Large number of pools closed between Labor Day
and Memorial Day
 (Free pass for many pools for one more season?)

14. Design Standards for Pools
 At least two accessible means of entry shall
be provided for swimming pools.
 Accessible means of entry shall be
swimming pool lifts complying with 1009.2;
sloped entries complying with 1009.3;
transfer walls complying with 1009.4;
transfer systems complying with 1009.5;
and pool stairs complying with 1009.6.
 At least one accessible means of entry
provided shall comply with 1009.2 or
1009.3. [Swimming pool lifts or sloped
entry]

15. Design Standards for Pools
 EXCEPTIONS:
□ Where a swimming pool has less than 300 linear feet (91
m) of swimming pool wall, no more than one accessible
means of entry shall be required provided that the
accessible means of entry is a swimming pool lift
complying with 1009.2 or sloped entry complying with
1009.3.
□ Wave action pools, leisure rivers, sand bottom pools, and
other pools where user access is limited to one area shall
not be required to provide more than one accessible
means of entry provided that the accessible means of
entry is a swimming pool lift complying with 1009.2, a
sloped entry complying with 1009.3, or a transfer system
complying with 1009.5.
□ Catch pools shall not be required to provide an accessible
means of entry provided that the catch pool edge is on an
accessible route.

16. Design Standards for Pools
 Wading Pools. At least one accessible means of entry
shall be provided for wading pools. Accessible means
of entry shall comply with sloped entries complying
with 1009.3.
 Spas. At least one accessible means of entry shall be
provided for spas. Accessible means of entry shall
comply with swimming pool lifts complying with
1009.2; transfer walls complying with 1009.4; or
transfer systems complying with 1009.5.
 EXCEPTION: Where spas are provided in a cluster, no
more than 5 percent, but no fewer than one, spa in
each cluster shall be required to comply with 242.4.

17. State Administrative Requirements
 True health and safety standards may be taken into
consideration in R.A. analysis
□ Guidance from Florida Department of Health:
 Note that the ADA requires 12 inches from the pool to the
centerline of the lift and 36 inches behind the lift. This
results in approximately 5 feet of required decking.
 Additionally, Florida rule 64E-9 requires 4 feet unobstructed
decking width around the perimeter of the pool. Therefore,
for an existing pool with 4 feet of unobstructed decking, two
additional feet will be needed to be added at the time of lift
installation. The additional decking can be poured concrete,
pavers, or other similar material however must be non-
absorbent and slip resistant.
□ Also must consider electrical bonding requirements when
installing lift to deck.