ADA Parking Compliance Audit in Jefferson, Oregon: What to Expect

Why Audit a Jefferson Parking Lot

Jefferson is a small farming town on the North Santiam River in southern Marion County, where Main Street storefronts, grange and church lots, and roadside agricultural operations make up most of the commercial parking. Owners of those lots often assume that a small property is somehow exempt from ADA accessibility rules. It is not. The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to places of public accommodation regardless of lot size, and Oregon's ORS 447.233 layers state requirements on top.

An ADA parking compliance audit is a measured inspection that compares your lot against the 2010 ADA Standards and Oregon law, point by point. It tells you where you stand before a customer complaint or a demand letter does. For the rules the audit measures against, start with our ADA parking compliance guide for Oregon. This article walks through what the audit itself looks like on a Jefferson lot.

The Seven Things an Auditor Checks

Our full ADA compliance audit process details the methodology. On a small Santiam-valley lot, the inspection covers seven areas:

1. Accessible Space Count

The auditor counts total stalls and checks the accessible count against the 2010 Standards: 1 accessible space per 25 stalls on smaller lots, 2 for 26 to 50, and up from there.

2. Van-Accessible Ratio

At least 1 in 6 accessible spaces, rounded up, must be van-accessible. On most Jefferson lots, that means the single accessible stall must be a van stall — a detail older lots routinely miss.

3. Stall and Aisle Dimensions

Accessible stalls measure at least 8 feet wide. Standard aisles are 5 feet; van aisles are 8 feet (or an 11-foot stall with a 5-foot aisle). Every accessible stall and aisle gets taped.

4. Slope

The most-failed item in the valley. Accessible stalls and aisles cannot exceed 2 percent slope in any direction. Jefferson's wet, freeze-thaw winters settle asphalt and push once-compliant stalls past tolerance. The auditor reads slope on a grid with a digital level.

5. Signage

Each accessible space needs a sign with the International Symbol of Accessibility mounted at least 60 inches above grade, plus Oregon's supplemental fine plate, plus a "Van Accessible" plate where required.

6. Pavement Markings

The auditor checks the painted symbol, the access-aisle hatching, and "NO PARKING" aisle wording for presence and visibility. Wet winters and summer UV fade traffic paint quickly here, and faded markings can be a violation in themselves.

7. The Accessible Route

The inspector follows the path from each accessible stall to the entrance, checking for level changes over a quarter inch, gaps, broken pavement, and excessive slope.

What Usually Turns Up in Jefferson

Older Marion County lots tend to flag a familiar set of issues: faded or missing accessibility symbols, signs that are too low or missing the Oregon fine plate, at least one slope reading over 2 percent from settling, and frequently no true van-accessible stall or an aisle that is too narrow. For the full pattern of what auditors catch most often, see our common ADA parking violations checklist.

Turning Findings Into a Fix

A useful audit ends with a prioritized punch list. The cheapest, highest-impact fixes come first — repainting a faded symbol, adding a missing sign, re-marking an access aisle. Restriping to correct stall and aisle widths is the next tier. Slope correction, which can require localized grinding, patching, or an overlay, is the most involved and is best scoped alongside the striping work.

Because stall widths, aisle dimensions, symbols, and signage are all striping tasks, an audit and a restripe pair naturally. If your Jefferson lot is also due for fresh lines, see our local parking lot striping in Jefferson guide for how the work fits together.

A Word on Accuracy

The counts, dimensions, and slope limits here reflect the 2010 ADA Standards and ORS 447.233 as general guidance. Code interpretation, local permitting, and your lot's actual condition all affect what compliance requires. Only a measured on-site survey by a qualified professional can confirm your lot's exact status.

Schedule a Jefferson ADA Audit

Cojo Excavation & Asphalt audits and restripes parking lots throughout Jefferson and the surrounding Santiam-valley communities of Marion County. We measure, document, and hand you a clear path to compliance.

Request a free ADA parking audit — we respond within 24 hours. Learn more about our professional striping services.