The Brief

Los Angeles building codes require new apartment buildings to have at least two staircases. But that soon could change.

The L.A. City Council voted Wednesday to advance plans that would allow apartment buildings up to six stories tall to include just one staircase.

Proponents said the change would make it feasible to build new apartments on smaller plots of land. And, they said, cutting down on space for stairs could make room for larger apartments suitable for the kinds of young families who have been fleeing the city.

The ordinance still needs to come back to the council for a final vote. Though some council members expressed concern about potential fire safety issues, 13 of the body’s 15 members voted in favor of moving forward with the proposal.

Councilmember Traci Park voted against the proposal, citing safety concerns. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado was absent.

What the council members say

Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who co-authored the proposal, said the change would allow L.A. to permit “a building type that's actually found across most of the world.”

“These changes are going to allow for smaller, more attractive apartment buildings and also make it easier to build family-sized apartments because there's not so much space set aside for a second stairwell,” Yaroslavsky said.

The proposal was first introduced in March by Yaroslavsky and Councilmember Nithya Raman. Bob Blumenfield, chair of the council's Planning and Land Use Committee, seconded the motion.

The proponents have noted that L.A.’s adoption of a single-stairway policy would follow in the footsteps of other cities already enacting or pursuing the change, including New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Honolulu.

Park said she believed the city had not fully considered the fire safety implications of the change.

“The state fire marshal is going to be producing a report on this in January of next year, and it’s possible that the international building codes may change in coming years,” Park said. “But none of those things have happened yet.”

What the research says

Earlier this year, the Pew Charitable Trusts published a study that found the rate of fire deaths in modern single-staircase buildings in New York City between 2012 and 2024 was no different than the fire death rate in other residential buildings.

A recent report from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety reviewed single-stairway policies in other cities. The department recommended the City Council direct staff to draft updated rules allowing single staircases in many apartment buildings in consultation with the L.A. Fire Department, the City Attorney's Office and Planning Department.

If you’ve noticed more wildlife visiting your yard in recent years — maybe digging up your vegetable garden or even drinking from your pool — you’re not alone.

A recent study from UCLA found that larger predators like mountain lions and bears are more likely to interact with humans and travel closer to population centers in drier years. To determine this, the researchers analyzed state data collected on reported property damage, nuisances, conflicts and sightings.

“It kind of runs the full gamut of how people interact with wildlife around their neighborhoods and their homes,” said UCLA postdoctoral researcher Kendall Calhoun, the lead author on the study.

It's not just P-22. Mountain lions across the whole state are forced to leave their habitats for survival.

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Courtesy Kendall Calhoun

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Different motivations for different animals

As you might expect, different animals might have different reasons for entering populated areas. But in large part, Calhoun said, it comes down to animals’ survival instincts.

The primary motivator for many herbivores is likely to be food. That’s because with less precipitation, there’s also less plant material for them to eat. (Don’t forget: even with all the rain we’ve had recently, much of Southern California is still in a drought.)

“ Deer and elk might be pushed to find those food resources in places that they normally wouldn't go, like agriculture, crops, things from people's yards, persimmons from your tree,” Calhoun said.

And as herbivores get pushed toward humans, the animals that prey on them are too. In fact, the species that saw the highest increases in clashes with humans were omnivores and carnivores, specifically mountain lions, coyotes, black bears and bobcats.

But even these animals have varying reasons for getting close to people.

“Mountain lions might be more inclined to look for supplemental food in livestock — that might be a sheep or a goat,” Calhoun said. “Black bears may be more willing to go into your trash to look for food to help supplement what they're missing in their resource-scarce natural areas.”

Meanwhile, animals of all kinds might enter a yard even when they have enough food to look for standing water.

About the data

Researchers analyzed data from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that were reported over the last several years as part of a citizen science initiative.

One important caveat is that the researchers primarily looked at conflicts between wildlife and residents, and there may be differences in how these interactions are reported.

For example, you might not report a deer eating fruit from an overloaded tree as a nuisance, but even a peaceful black bear digging through your trash could raise alarm bells.

 "People also really value having wildlife living alongside them," Calhoun said. "It really is important for us to try to strike that balance where there's pros for both sides, without some of the negative interactions that come with living in close proximity with wildlife species."

Learn more about human-wildlife interactions

There’s more background on the research on UCLA’s website, and you can find the full study here.

You can also learn much more about interactions between humans and wildlife in LAist’s Imperfect Paradise podcast series, “Lions, Coyotes, & Bears.”

Low-cost internet service will soon roll out in parts of L.A. County at the end of this year, and organizers say eligible households can sign up for alerts when the service becomes available.

The service — a partnership between L.A. County and internet provider WeLink — is the latest project from the county’s “Delete the Divide,” an initiative meant to bridge the digital divide in underserved neighborhoods.

Major funding for the project comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, as well as a grant from the California Public Utilities Commission.

It’s badly needed

About 23%, or more than 20,000, households in the East L.A. and Boyle Heights area don’t have home internet, according to Delete the Divide.

The service will also soon be coming to South L.A., where more than 40,000 households were identified as lacking home internet.

What you need to know

There will be different plans available — including low-income, market-rate and small business options — at fixed prices. The low-cost plan will start at $25 per month for qualifying families. Those who don’t qualify could also purchase plans starting at $65 a month. Monthly rates are fixed until at least September 2027.

Every plan includes unlimited data, a router and parental controls.

Low-cost internet service will soon roll out in South L.A. at the end of this year.

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Courtesy of L.A. County

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Low-cost internet service will soon roll out in parts of East L.A. and Boyle Heights at the end of this year.

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Courtesy of L.A. County

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How it works 

WeLink will install a Wi-Fi router inside a home and a 4-inch radio on the roof to connect the household to the internet.

Interested households can sign up for updates and be notified by WeLink when service is available here.