A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning requiring certain municipalities to modify
Page 1, Line 102building codes to allow five stories of a multifamily
Page 1, Line 103residential building to be served by a single exit.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.)
The bill defines a subject jurisdiction as a municipality with a population of 100,000 or more that is served by a fire protection district or fire department that is or was accredited by a specified organization. On or before December 1, 2027, the bill requires the governing body of a subject jurisdiction to adopt a building code, or amend an existing building code, to allow up to 5 stories of a multifamily residential building that satisfies certain conditions to be served by a single exit. This requirement only applies to the area within a subject jurisdiction that is served by a single fire protection district or fire department.
The bill also clarifies that the adoption or amendment of a building code to satisfy the requirements of the bill does not qualify as adopting or enforcing a building code for the purpose of determining whether the governing body of a municipality is required to adopt an energy code.
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that:
Page 2, Line 3(a) During the mid-twentieth century, the International Building
Page 2, Line 4Code, which many state and local governments in the United States use
Page 2, Line 5as the model for their building codes, began requiring buildings over 3
Page 2, Line 6stories to have at least 2 separate stairway exits accessible from all points on each floor;
Page 2, Line 7(b) Multifamily buildings constructed under the current
Page 2, Line 8International Building Code must have 2 stairways, leading to most new
Page 2, Line 9multifamily buildings in the United States being constructed with housing
Page 2, Line 10units off a single corridor with a stairway at each end. This limits the
Page 2, Line 11feasibility of 2 and 3 bedroom units since all units except corner units
Page 2, Line 12only have windows on one side, according to "Exit Strategy: The Case for Single-Stair Egress" in the Architectural Record;
Page 2, Line 13(c) Multifamily buildings with single stairway exits can dedicate
Page 2, Line 14more interior space to create larger family-sized units, with multiple
Page 2, Line 15bedrooms and improved ventilation due to enabling most housing units
Page 2, Line 16to have windows on multiple sides, according to "The Seattle Special: A
Page 2, Line 17US City's Unique Approach to Small Infill Lots" Mercatus Center Policy
Page 2, Line 18Brief;
Page 3, Line 1(d) Multifamily buildings with 2 stairways typically need more
Page 3, Line 2than a quarter of an acre per floor to meet underwriting requirements in
Page 3, Line 3North American markets, which is far bigger than many small infill lots
Page 3, Line 4in Colorado cities, even before accounting for setbacks, landscaping, and other design criteria that limit the buildable area of a lot;
Page 3, Line 5(e) Single stairway designs enable economically feasible
Page 3, Line 6construction on small infill sites, whereas buildings constructed under the
Page 3, Line 7International Building Code with 2 interior stairways and a corridor take
Page 3, Line 8up such a significant portion of the allowable floor space that they are typically not physically or economically viable;
Page 3, Line 9(f) On a typical infill lot of 5,000 square feet, a second stairway
Page 3, Line 10and the hallway to connect it to the first stairway are estimated to take up
Page 3, Line 11about 10% of the potentially rentable or sellable floor space, resulting in an additional 10% of housing cost;
Page 3, Line 12(g) The city of Seattle, Washington allowed up to 6 story
Page 3, Line 13residential buildings to be constructed with a single stairway in 1977,
Page 3, Line 14following the recommendations of a building code advisory board to encourage infill redevelopment;
Page 3, Line 15(h) New York City began allowing single stairway buildings up
Page 3, Line 16to 6 stories several decades ago, and in 2012, the city of Honolulu
Page 3, Line 17adopted nearly identical amendments to its building code with regard to egress as Seattle;
Page 3, Line 18(i) Small multifamily buildings enabled by eliminating the
Page 3, Line 19requirement for 2 stairways would shorten the distance to an egress
Page 3, Line 20compared to large multifamily buildings with housing units on both sides of a long corridor, improving resident safety in those cases;
Page 3, Line 21(j) Between 2018 and 2022, the United States had a higher rate of
Page 4, Line 1fire deaths per 100,000 inhabitants than most countries that allow single
Page 4, Line 2stairway construction greater than 3 stories, including many countries in
Page 4, Line 3Europe, according to the Center for Fire Statistics World Fire Statistics Report, No. 29;
Page 4, Line 4(k) In Colorado, there are 18 Commission on Fire Accreditation
Page 4, Line 5International Accredited agencies that serve 48 local governments.
Page 4, Line 6Accredited agencies are community-oriented, data-driven, and
Page 4, Line 7outcome-focused and exemplify organizations that are strategic-minded, well-organized, and properly equipped, staffed, and trained.
Page 4, Line 8(l) The International Code Council, which crafts the International
Page 4, Line 9Building Code relied upon by states and cities in the United States, is in
Page 4, Line 10the process of drafting a code to enable more housing options served by a single stairway;
Page 4, Line 11(m) Single stair buildings also support quality of life, health, and
Page 4, Line 12energy efficiency by enabling cross ventilation in most units, which
Page 4, Line 13enables residents to use operable windows to bring in fresh air to improve
Page 4, Line 14indoor air quality and draw in cool air in the summer in an energy-efficient way;
Page 4, Line 15(n) Larger jurisdictions in Colorado with a population over
Page 4, Line 16100,000 are all considered urban by the federal census and have
Page 4, Line 17significant opportunities to develop smart stair buildings on smaller lots in infill areas; and
Page 4, Line 18(o) Therefore, the general assembly declares that increasing the
Page 4, Line 19housing supply through more flexible construction design for small multifamily buildings is a matter of mixed statewide and local concern.
Page 4, Line 20SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 31-15-604 as
Page 4, Line 21follows:
Page 5, Line 131-15-604. Single exit in multifamily residential structure -
Page 5, Line 2definition. (1) Subject to the conditions set forth in subsections
Page 5, Line 3(2) and (3) of this section and notwithstanding any other
Page 5, Line 4provision of law, on or before December 1, 2027, the governing
Page 5, Line 5body of a subject jurisdiction shall adopt a building code, or
Page 5, Line 6amend the subject jurisdiction's existing building code, to allow
Page 5, Line 7a single exit to serve no more than five stories of a group r-2 occupancy in the same building, so long as that building:
Page 5, Line 8(a) Is protected throughout, including at each landing of
Page 5, Line 9the exit stairway, with an automatic sprinkler system that is designed and installed in accordance with the building code;
Page 5, Line 10(b) Has no more than twenty feet of travel to the exit stairway from the exit or entry door of any dwelling unit;
Page 5, Line 11(c) Has no more than one hundred twenty-five feet of travel to the exit stairway from any point in a dwelling unit;
Page 5, Line 12(d) Does not have a floor with a square footage greater than six thousand square feet;
Page 5, Line 13(e) Has no more than four dwelling units per story;
Page 5, Line 14(f) Only has openings to the exit stairway enclosure that
Page 5, Line 15allow exit access from normally occupied spaces, exit access
Page 5, Line 16from the exit stairway enclosure to another protected exit
Page 5, Line 17component, and access to the exterior from the exit stairway enclosure;
Page 5, Line 18(g) Is fully protected throughout with a manual fire
Page 5, Line 19alarm and automatic smoke detection system, including smoke
Page 5, Line 20detectors in common areas outside of dwelling unitsthat
Page 5, Line 21occupants occupy, in accordance with the International Fire Code;
Page 6, Line 1(h) Does not have electrical receptacles in an exit stairway enclosure;
Page 6, Line 2(i) Has, in accordance with the building code, an emergency escape and rescue opening on every floor;
Page 6, Line 3(j) Has an exit stairway that is constructed in accordance with International Building Code standards;
Page 6, Line 4(k) Has an exit stairway that is protected with two-hour fire-rated stair construction regardless of construction type;
Page 6, Line 5(l) Has an exit stairway that is wide enough to allow
Page 6, Line 6simultaneous ingress and egress so long as the exit stairway is not required to be greater than forty-eight inches wide; and
Page 6, Line 7(m) Has passive and active fire protection features that
Page 6, Line 8are periodically inspected and maintained by a third-party approved by the subject jurisdiction.
Page 6, Line 9(2) To satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) of this
Page 6, Line 10section, the governing board of a subject jurisdiction may
Page 6, Line 11incorporate by reference, or adapt and adopt into the subject
Page 6, Line 12jurisdiction's building code, language from a portion of an
Page 6, Line 13existing building code of any other American jurisdiction that
Page 6, Line 14allows a single exit to serve no more than five stories of a group r-2 occupancy in the same building.
Page 6, Line 15(3) If a fire protection district or fire department does
Page 6, Line 16not serve an entire subject jurisdiction, the governing board of
Page 6, Line 17that subject jurisdiction may satisfy the requirements of
Page 6, Line 18subsection (1) of this section by adopting or amending the
Page 6, Line 19subject jurisdiction's existing building code insofar as it applies
Page 7, Line 1only to the portion of the subject jurisdiction that is served by a single fire protection district or fire department.
Page 7, Line 2(4) The adoption of a building code, or the amendment of
Page 7, Line 3a subject jurisdiction's existing building code, by the governing
Page 7, Line 4body of a subject jurisdiction to comply with subsection (1) of
Page 7, Line 5this section, is not adopting or enforcing a building code for
Page 7, Line 6purposes of determining whether a governing body of a
Page 7, Line 7municipality is required to adopt and enforce an energy code pursuant to section 31-15-602.
Page 7, Line 8(5) Nothing in this section requires the governing body of
Page 7, Line 9a subject jurisdiction to amend a subject jurisdiction's zoning code with respect to multifamily residential housing.
Page 7, Line 10(6) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
Page 7, Line 11(a) "Building code" means the most current edition of the
Page 7, Line 12international building code published by the International Code Council.
Page 7, Line 13(b) "Dwelling unit" means a single unit providing
Page 7, Line 14complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons,
Page 7, Line 15including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.
Page 7, Line 16(c) "Fire code" means the most current edition of the
Page 7, Line 17international fire code published by the international code council.
Page 7, Line 18(d) "Group r-2 occupancy" means a residential occupancy
Page 7, Line 19containing sleeping units or more than two dwelling units where
Page 7, Line 20the occupants are primarily permanent in nature.
(e) "Subject jurisdiction" means a municipality:
Page 8, Line 1(I) With a population of one hundred thousand or greater; and
Page 8, Line 2(II) That is served by a fire protection district or fire
Page 8, Line 3department that has been accredited by the Commission on Fire
Page 8, Line 4Accreditation International, even if the fire protection district or fire department later loses that accreditation.
Page 8, Line 5(f) "Two-hour fire-rated stair construction" means
Page 8, Line 6continuous wall, floor, or roof assemblies enclosing a stairway
Page 8, Line 7that are designed to restrict the spread of fire, excessive heat,
Page 8, Line 8or hot gases, such that the construction continues to perform
Page 8, Line 9its structural function for at least two hours as determined by
Page 8, Line 10test procedures set forth in American Society for Testing and
Page 8, Line 11Materials standard E-119, Underwriters Laboratories standard
Page 8, Line 12263, or other methods approved by the relevant subject jurisdiction.
Page 8, Line 13SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
Page 8, Line 14determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
Page 8, Line 15preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
Page 8, Line 16the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state institutions.