Hotline, thanks for the input. What I am seeing is definitely not is a flood zone... I am an electrical inspector for NYC and the work in question is being done all over Queens and Brooklyn. The thing that concerns me is that the definition of readily accessible does not allow portable ladders, but 440.14 seems to require the disconnect readily accessible from the unit. So it requires the disconnect up by it but IMO I can't see how it is readily accessible if you climb a ladder to get to it. 404.8 gives allowance for a disconnect to be mounted above 6 foot 7 inches but 404.8 is not referenced in 440.14 or anywhere else in 440 so IMO you can't use it. I wonder if this is something relatively new and should be cleared up in future editions of the NEC.
