Greetings from AIA California,

AIA California is vigilant about advocating for code changes that reduce obstacles to development and unnecessary costs, while also protecting the public’s health and safety.

AIA California is actively supporting a proposed change to California’s building code—to allow for single-stair (also called “vertical shared access”) multifamily buildings up to six stories, and whether or not you engage in the design of housing, this issue is important to us all. Creating opportunities to deliver affordable housing stock is essential for our communities to maintain a strong, productive, and diverse workforce.

In 2023, California passed AB 835, requiring the State Fire Marshal to develop safety standards for single-stair buildings above three stories by 2028—a foundational step toward broader acceptance. Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco are also exploring local code amendments to permit six-story single-stair multifamily buildings.

This reform puts design thinking in the forefront and could potentially help address the state’s affordable housing challenges by making more projects financially viable. By reducing non-revenue generating square footage, this change could translate to a roughly 5%-10% lower-per-unit savings while also allowing more flexibility in the design of multifamily housing, including infill development in narrow or irregular urban lots.

While some are concerned with building occupant and first responder safety, studies show that today’s four- to six-story single-stair buildings are just as safe as traditional ones when they include sprinklers, fire-rated materials, and good exit systems.

The State Fire Marshall’s (SFM) hearings about the potential to allow more use of single stair multifamily design in California is nearing the critical final stretch—finalizing the report.  Voices in support of increasing the design professional’s flexibility by using Point Block Design would be welcome at a virtual meeting of the  State Fire Marshall Single-Exit Stair Work Group on September 2, 2025 from 8:00A – 10:00A. For the agenda and Zoom information, click here.

Note that single stair design has been used with success overseas, broadly, and in some major jurisdictions like the cities of New York and Seattle.  It is also on track for approval in the next iteration of the ICodes.  With SFM support, this code change could be incorporated as part of the upcoming ‘midcycle’ code changes.

For anyone interested in this topic, this is an opportunity to both get up to speed, as well as help shape the code of the future.

Advocating for regulatory reform and in support of tools to allow design professionals flexibility, not to mention connecting you with opportunities to advocate for change in the built environment – are just a few more ways AIA California is working for you.