I had a similar situation in the attic of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota Fl. I told them that was not readily accessible. You had to "climb over" and around ductwork etc and it was in such a place that you couldn't be "reached quickly". They ended up cutting in another access right next to the panel with a permanent ladder. It was actually quite a nice ladder for a "pull down". Not your daddy's attic ladder.
The mechanical inspector and the maintenance people thanked me for being a jerk about this since a lot of the maintenance items they expected to be easier to get at were now accessible too.
