T 2-7-94

DJ 202-PL-133 FEB 10 1994

Mr. Marc N. Katz

Manager, Congressional Affairs
National Association of Convenience Stores
1605 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-2792

Dear Mr. Katz:

This letter is in response to your request for guidance on

the requirements for barrier removal applicable under title III
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I apologize for
the delay in responding to your inquiry.

The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide

technical assistance to individuals and entities that are subject
to 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 application of the statute and it is not binding on the
Department.

In existing facilities that are not otherwise being altered,

a public accommodation is required to remove architectural
barriers to the extent that it is readily achievable, i.e.,
easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much
difficulty or expense. Measures taken to remove barriers should
comply with the Standards for Accessible Design (Standards).
contained in the appendix to the Department's rule. (Barrier
removal in existing facilities does not, however, trigger the
accessible path of travel requirement.) Deviations from the
Standards are acceptable only when full compliance with those
requirements is not readily achievable. In such cases, barrier
removal measures may be taken that do not fully comply with the
Standards, so long as the measures do not pose a significant risk
to the health or safety of individuals with disabilities or
others.

For example, in the situation described in your letter, if

widening a continuous aisle to 32 inches is readily achievable,
such widening would be required. However, if this change would
require the removal of shelves and result in a significant loss

cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Lusher, FOIA

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of selling space, the change would not be considered readily

achievable (see 36.304(f) of the Department's regulations for
title III at 28 CFR Part 36). If in a convenience store it is
not readily achievable to widen all the aisles, it may be
appropriate to widen the most frequently used aisle to 36 inches
and to widen the other auxiliary aisles to widths below 36
inches.

The requirements for barrier removal are not to be

interpreted to exceed the title III rule's alteration standards.
For elements not specifically covered under the alteration
standards, the requirements for barrier removal are not to be
interpreted to exceed the requirements for new construction (see
36.304(g)(1) and (2) of 28 CFR Part 36). The Standards
specifically refrain from applying the requirements for
accessible reach ranges to fixed shelves or display units
( 4.1.3(12)). Therefore, convenience stores are not required to
adjust the height of existing shelves or display units. They
are, however, required by title III to provide assistance to
patrons who use wheelchairs or others who, because of a
disability, cannot independently retrieve items from store
shelves.

For your information I am enclosing a copy of the

Department's Title III Technical Assistance Manual. Readily
achievable barrier removal is specifically addressed on pages 29
through 35. However, further information on the differences
between readily achievable barrier removal and other provisions,
such as requirements for new construction and alterations, are
discussed throughout the text.
 I hope that the above information is helpful to you and the
members of the National Association of Convenience Stores.

Sincerely,

John L. Wodatch
Chief
Public Access Section

Enclosure

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