Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 5, §§ 4551–4640 (housing subchs.) § 4582-C

1.
Definitions.
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.



A.
"Alteration" means a change to a facility that affects or could affect the usability of the facility or any part of the facility, including, but not limited to, reconstruction, remodeling, rehabilitation, historic restoration, changes or rearrangement in structural parts or elements and changes or rearrangement in the plan configuration of walls and full-height partitions. "Alteration" does not include normal maintenance, decoration and upgrades, including, but not limited to, reroofing, re-siding, painting or wallpapering, replacement of doors or windows, asbestos removal and changes to mechanical and electrical systems unless they affect the usability of the facility.



B.
"Builder" means the applicant for a building permit in a municipality that requires these permits or the owner of the property in a municipality that does not require building permits.



C.
"Covered multifamily dwellings" means:


(1)
Buildings consisting of 4 or more units if such buildings have one or more elevators; and


(2)
Ground floor units in other buildings consisting of 4 or more units that have no elevators.



D.
"Design professional" means an architect or professional engineer registered to practice under Title 32 .



E.
"New construction" includes, but is not limited to, the design and construction of facilities for first occupancy or an alteration if the cost of the alteration is 75% or more of the replacement cost of the completed facility.



F.
"Public housing" means any housing that is financed in whole or in part with public funds offering housing accommodations containing 20 or more units.



G.
"Standards of construction" means the most recent American National Standards Institute standards, published as ANSI A 117.1. Departures from particular technical and scoping requirements of ANSI A 117.1 by the use of other methods are permitted where substantially equivalent or greater access to and usability of the facility is provided.






2.
Facilities affected.
This section applies to new construction of covered multifamily dwellings and new construction and alterations of public housing if the date when the last application for a building permit or permit extension is certified to be complete by a state, county or local government or, in those jurisdictions where the government does not certify completion of applications, if the date when the last application for a building permit or permit extension received by the state, county or local government is on or after September 1, 2012 or, if no permit is required, if the start of physical construction or alterations occurs on or after September 1, 2012.






3.
Unlawful housing discrimination.
For purposes of this Act, unlawful housing discrimination, in addition to any violations of applicable accessible building requirements in subchapter 5 , includes, but is not limited to:



A.
The failure to design and construct covered multifamily dwellings subject to this section in such a manner that:


(1)
The public use and common use portions of the dwellings are readily accessible to and usable by people with physical or mental disabilities;


(2)
All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises within the dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage by persons in wheelchairs; and


(3)
All premises within the dwellings contain the following features of adaptive design:


(a)
An accessible route into and through the dwelling;


(b)
Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls in accessible locations;


(c)
Reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation of grab bars; and


(d)
Usable kitchens and bathrooms such that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space;



B.
For new construction of public housing subject to this section, to have less than 10% of the ground level units and less than 10% of the upper story units connected by an elevator be accessible to and usable by persons with physical disabilities, and less than 2% of the units, no fewer than one unit, with accessible communication features; and



C.
For alterations to public housing units subject to this section, to fail to have the altered units meet the parts of the standards of construction concerning accessible routes, accessible doors and adaptable bathrooms until at least 10% of the total ground level units and a minimum of 10% of the total upper story units connected by an elevator meet the parts of the standards of construction concerning accessible routes, accessible doors and adaptable bathrooms.






4.
Compliance with standards.
Compliance with the appropriate standards of construction satisfies the requirements of this section.






5.
Statement; inspection.
The builder of a facility to which this section applies shall obtain a statement from a design professional that, based on professional judgment, the plans of the facility at the time of the statement meet the standards of construction required by this section. Prior to commencing construction of the facility, the builder shall submit the statement to:



A.
The municipal authority that reviews plans in the municipality where the facility is to be constructed; or



B.
If the municipality where the facility is to be constructed has no authority that reviews plans, the municipal officers of the municipality.


If municipal officials of the municipality where the facility is to be constructed inspect buildings for compliance with construction standards, that inspection must include an inspection for compliance with the standards required by this section. The municipal officials shall require a facility that is inspected to meet the standards of this section before the municipal officials permit the facility to be occupied.