ADA Parking Lot Compliance in Sweet Home, Oregon: 2026 Guide

ADA Parking Compliance in Sweet Home

Sweet Home sits in the Cascade foothills of east Linn County, where the Santiam meets timber country along Highway 20 between Lebanon and the mountains. Its commercial core along Main Street and the Highway 20 corridor serves a close-knit community and the recreation traffic heading to Foster and Green Peter reservoirs. Every commercial parking lot in town is subject to the same accessibility law: the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design federally and ORS 447.233 at the state level.

For Sweet Home property owners, ADA parking compliance is a legal obligation backed by federal complaints, private lawsuits, and Oregon enforcement, and a practical duty to the customers, patients, and employees who depend on accessible parking. This 2026 guide explains what a compliant Sweet Home lot looks like, with attention to the wet-winter, dry-summer foothill conditions that wear markings on a predictable cycle.

For the full statewide framework, this page links up to our ADA parking compliance guide for Oregon.

How Many Accessible Spaces Sweet Home Lots Need

The required number of accessible spaces scales with total capacity under the 2010 Standards:

Total Parking Spaces	Required Accessible Spaces	Van-Accessible Minimum
1–25	1	1
26–50	2	1
51–75	3	1
76–100	4	1
101–150	5	1
151–200	6	1
201–300	7	2

That works out to roughly one accessible space per 25 total spaces at smaller sizes. At least one in every six accessible spaces, rounded up, must be van-accessible. Outpatient medical facilities require 10 percent of spaces to be accessible and rehabilitation facilities 20 percent. For the full lookup, see our how many accessible spaces your lot needs guide.

Dimensions, Aisles, and Slope

Stall width. Standard accessible spaces must be at least 8 feet wide, each with an adjacent access aisle.

Access aisles. Standard accessible spaces require a 5-foot aisle; van spaces an 8-foot aisle (or an 11-foot space with a 5-foot aisle). Aisles must be hatched, kept clear, and connect to an accessible route to the entrance.

Slope. Accessible spaces and their aisles must not exceed 2 percent slope in any direction. Sweet Home's foothill terrain means many lots were graded on natural slope, and settling over time can push once-compliant grades out of tolerance — a real concern on sloped sites.

Signage Requirements

Each accessible space needs a vertical sign with the International Symbol of Accessibility mounted at least 60 inches above the ground to the bottom of the sign and visible when a vehicle is parked. Van-accessible spaces add a "Van Accessible" plate. Oregon also requires a plate stating the fine for illegal parking in accessible spaces — a requirement out-of-state contractors often miss. Our ADA parking sign placement in Oregon guide covers mounting and content.

Foothill Conditions and Sweet Home Compliance

Sweet Home's climate is wetter than the valley floor, with the Cascade foothills pulling down heavy winter rain and occasional snow and ice. Long, damp winters keep surfaces wet for months and work into pavement cracks, while dry summers fade traffic paint. The sloped terrain common to foothill lots adds drainage and grading challenges that compound surface wear.

This matters for compliance because the ADA extends beyond design to maintenance. Faded accessible symbols, worn aisle hatching, winter-widened cracks over half an inch in accessible areas, potholes in accessible routes, and standing water from settled or poorly drained slopes are all citable conditions. A Sweet Home lot striped in good faith can drift out of compliance as summer sun fades the markings and winter works the surface. Inspecting accessible markings annually and restriping when contrast drops keeps the lot defensible.

Surface Maintenance and Compliance

Keeping a Sweet Home lot compliant means staying ahead of surface issues in accessible areas specifically:

• No abrupt level changes greater than a quarter inch along the accessible route
• No cracks wider than half an inch in accessible spaces, aisles, or routes
• No potholes in any accessible area
• No standing water in accessible spaces or aisles
• A firm, stable, slip-resistant surface

Routine maintenance — sealcoating, crack sealing, restriping existing markings — does not by itself trigger ADA upgrade requirements, but a full repave counts as an alteration with added obligations. Sealing cracks before the rainy season is especially worthwhile in the foothills, where heavy winter moisture turns small cracks into surface failures fast. An ADA compliance audit process is the cleanest way to confirm where your lot stands.

Get Sweet Home ADA Compliance Help

Compliance costs a fraction of a violation — federal first-violation penalties run into the tens of thousands, with private settlements adding attorney fees. Cojo Excavation & Asphalt helps Sweet Home and Linn County property owners assess accessible parking, correct counts and dimensions, install compliant signage, and apply durable striping.

These figures and standards are general guidance. Your exact obligations depend on your lot's size, use, and condition, which a site-specific review determines. See our professional striping services, compare local pricing in our parking lot striping in Sweet Home guide, or request a free quote — we respond within 24 hours.