# 108


III-6.1000                                   December 6, 1993


202-PL-00052






G. William Quatman, Esq.
Shughart Thomson & Kilroy
Twelve Wyandotte Plaza
120 West 12th Street
Kansas City, Missouri  64105-1929

Dear Mr. Quatman:

     I am responding to your letter asking for clarification of
the alterations requirements of title III of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) and this Department's regulation
implementing title III.

     The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide
technical assistance to individuals and entities that have rights
or responsibilities under the Act.  This letter provides informal
guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA and the
Department's regulation.  However, this technical assistance does
not constitute a legal interpretation of the statute, and it is
not binding on the Department.

     Your letter asks about the application of the alterations
requirements of the ADA to an addition to a commercial facility. 
In the specific situation that you describe, the plan for an
addition was initially developed by an architect before July
1991.  Pursuant to the plan, an existing portion of the building
that was altered was detached and relocated on the same site in
August 1991.  Construction of an addition to the existing
building was begun after January 26, 1992, the effective date of
the ADA.  You have asked if the alterations requirements of the
ADA apply to the construction commenced after January 26, 1992,
or if the addition to the building is exempt from coverage
because the project began before the effective date.

     Section 36.402(a)(2) of the Department's regulation
implementing title III provides that an alteration to a
commercial facility is subject to the requirements of the ADA if
"the physical alteration of the property begins after that date." 
Construction undertaken pursuant to a single plan, or under the
authority of a single building permit, is a single action for
purposes of determining ADA coverage.  Therefore, if your client
was acting to implement a single building plan, pursuant to a
permit issued prior to the effective date, ADA coverage would not
be triggered because the physical alteration of the facility
began when the prefabricated building was detached from the
existing building in August 1991.  If, however, the project was
undertaken in discrete segments, and a building permit was issued
for the construction of the addition that did not include the
relocation of the prefabricated building in the scope of the
project, then the construction of the addition would be
considered a separate project, subject to the ADA requirements
because the physical alteration of the addition to the existing
building began after the effective date of the Act.

     For your information, I am enclosing a copy of the
Department's regulation implementing title III of the ADA and the
Department's Title III Technical Assistance Manual, which was
developed to assist individuals and entities subject to the ADA
to understand the requirements of title III.  I hope that this
information is helpful to you.

                                      Sincerely,



                                   John L. Wodatch
                                        Chief
                                Public Access Section

Enclosures