B.C. looks to change building code to develop single-stair apartment buildings

B.C. will look at changing its building code to allow small apartments to be built with a single stair, adding to its reputation as the province most willing to try new ideas to create more housing supply, though the move is also drawing safety-related concerns.

Mr. Kahlon said that the option of “single-egress” buildings, as they’re also called, will be confined to areas where there is professional fire services and good water supply, as is the case in Seattle. That city has allowed single-stair buildings since 1974.The change would limit the single-stair options to buildings of no more than six storeys, with no more than four apartments per floor. There would also need to be other fire-safety measures introduced, such as wider staircases.

Because of the standard of two staircases, most of the country’s current stock ends up with units strung out along a long enclosed hallway with a staircase at each end. That means that each apartment gets a window on only one end, except for those in the corners; the change to a single-stair layout will allow for windows on at least two sides of each unit.

Early on in the province’s consultations, Jason Cairney, a representative for the Fire Chiefs’ Association of B.C., said their group wanted to be reassured that firefighting strategies wouldn’t be affected.Brad McCannell, a representative with the Rick Hansen Foundation, a registered charity that tackles disability barriers, said one merit the community sees with the changes is that it will likely mean that the requirement to have areas of refuge built in will come back.

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