Sec. 14.03.02.12. Qualified Historic Buildings and Facilities

A. An owner, operator, manager, or lessor of a qualified historic building or facility that is a place of public accommodation shall comply with the reasonable accommodation requirements of Regulation .10 of this chapter.

B. In determining whether a particular accommodation is reasonable, in addition to the factors set forth in Regulation .11 of this chapter, the impact of the accommodation on the historical significance of a qualified historic building or facility shall be considered. A public accommodation is not required to take any action that would threaten, or destroy the historical significance of the building or facility.

C. In making this determination, the Commission staff shall:

(1) Identify the historically significant features, finishes, materials, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize the property, as well as the secondary features, finishes, materials, spaces, and spatial relationships, including previously altered areas and later additions, that may be less important to historic character;

(2) Consult with the appropriate federal, State, or local government officials or agencies with oversight responsibilities, or all of these officials, including but not limited to, the State Historic Preservation Officer, the Maryland Historical Trust, the Maryland Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Advisory Council on Historical Preservation, or all of these. Other interested persons shall be invited to participate in the consultation process, including State or local accessibility officials, individuals with disabilities, and organizations representing individuals with disabilities;

(3) Seek accessibility solutions that:

(a) Do not cause damage to, permanently alter, or require the removal of, historically significant features, finishes, materials, spaces, or spatial relationships;

(b) Are in scale with the historic property; and

(c) Are visually compatible with the historic property.

D. Examples of accessibility modifications to a qualified historic building or facility may include, but are not limited to:

(1) Regrading the entrance when the entrance steps and landscape are not highly significant;

(2) Incorporating an entrance ramp or interior ramps, carefully designed and appropriately located to minimize the loss of historical features and preserve the overall historic setting and character;

(3) Installing a vertical or inclined wheelchair lift or a portable wheelchair lift if appropriate to make an entrance accessible, or to overcome changes in elevation within the building or facility, preferably in unobtrusive locations;

(4) Retrofitting nonhistorically significant doors, adapting door hardware and altering door thresholds to increase the size of the door opening and upgrade door pressure;

(5) Upgrading historic elevators by modifying control panels and adjusting timing devices;

(6) Modifying interior stairs by adding hand railings and beveled or closed risers; and

(7) Constructing a new addition to the building or facility with an accessible entrance and access to public levels via a ramp, wheelchair lift or elevator, where such addition is carefully located and compatible with the size, scale, and proportions of the property's historic features and materials.

E. If it is determined that modifications necessary to provide physical access to all public areas of a qualified historic building or facility would threaten or destroy the historic significance of the property, the extent of physical access to the property may be limited as follows:

(1) At least one accessible route from a site access point to an accessible entrance, which may be a ramp with a slope greater than that normally required if appropriate safety measures, such as handrails and nonskid surfaces, are used;

(2) At least one accessible entrance which is used by the public, or if not feasible:

(a) Access at any unlocked entrance not used by the general public with directional signage at the primary entrance and a notification system; or

(b) If security is a problem, remote monitoring may be used;

(3) If the building or facility has public toilets, at least one accessible toilet facility along an accessible route; and

(4) Accessible routes from the entrance to all publicly used spaces on at least the level of the accessible entrance, and if practical, to all levels of a building or facility.

F. With respect to historically significant public areas or spaces, in which physical access cannot be provided without threatening or destroying the historical significance of the building or facility, alternative methods of programmatic access shall be provided, for example:

(1) Using audio-visual materials and devices, interpretive panels, tactile models, Brailled exhibits, and other media to depict those portions of an historic building or facility that cannot otherwise be made accessible;

(2) Assigning persons to guide individuals with disabilities into or through portions of historic buildings or facilities that cannot otherwise be made accessible; and

(3) Adopting other innovative measures.