§ 17.216 - General program requirements for construction and acquisition of and equipment for State home facilities.

(a) Introduction. (1) The general program requirements set forth in this section have been established to guide the State agencies and their architects in preparing drawings, specifications, cost estimates, and the equipment list for the grant application.

(2) States shall apply the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) (24 CFR part 40, appendix A), during the design and construction of State home projects. UFAS standards establish requirements for facility accessibility by physically handicapped persons for Federal and Federally-funded facilities and were jointly developed by the General Services Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Defense, and the United States Postal Service, under the authority of sections 2, 3, 4, and 4a of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, as amended, Public Law 90-480, 42 U.S.C. 4151-4157.

(3) States must comply with these requirements where they exceed any National, State, or local codes. If the State or local codes exceed these general requirements, compliance with the more stringent standard is required.

(4) The space allotted to the various services (i.e., medical, nursing, dietary, and the like) will depend upon the requirements of the facility. Some services that are required by these regulations to be in separate spaces or rooms, may be combined if the result will not compromise safety and medical and nursing practices. The Department of Veterans Affairs shall accept a design and waive minimum requirements where a service or services will have minimal renovations and remain in their present locations.

(b) General conditions of the contract for construction. The applicant may use the general conditions of the contract for construction of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) or other general conditions as required by the State in awarding contracts for State home grant projects. (See 37 CFR part 43 for contract requirements.)

(c) Program criteria. The State will use the program criteria in §§ 17.217 and 17.218, as required by the scope of the project, subject to the approval of the Department of Veterans Affairs.