IBC 2902.3.2 location of toilet facilities in occupancies other than malls

[eit09]

IBC section 2902.3.2 states the path to travel to facilities shall not exceed a distance of 500 ft, but then in the next paragraph there is an Exception stating the maximum distance can be exceeded if approved.

The building in question has expanded multiple times and now the path to travel to the facilities is greater than 500 ft. What is this Exception meant for and who do they imply would be the entity to approve a great distance?

 

[jayrod12]

I can't speak to that code specifically, however in my experience additions to buildings in the volume you seem to be indicating (i.e. multiple times) are usually manufacturing facilities. As such, I find that their internal operations generally drive the requirements for each addition. I would be surprised if they'd want their employees having to walk through the entire facility just to get to a washroom.

My industrial clients don't always include a bathroom in each new addition, but they rarely would do two additions in a row without adding a bathroom. And if my memory serves me correctly, there is a bathroom within 500 feet of any corner of the plant.

 

[phamENG]

To the question about the entity to approve it, it's the "Authority Having Jurisdiction." The building official in your locality - whether it's a county or a city - will have the ability to approve it. Best bet is for the architect to reach out to the building official or a lead plan reviewer and discuss the local procedure for getting a variance. Also keep in mind that the building official isn't always the final decision. If they give you a decision you don't like, many localities have a review board - the one in my city is made up of appointed professionals, some of them architects and engineers, some of them lay-people in terms of construction and design - that can overturn the building official's code interpretations.