LA moves forward with plan to allow fewer stairs in many apartment buildings

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.