After debating the package at length, Connecticut lawmakers late Wednesday night approved a bonding package that touches on borrowing for capital projects, higher education and concentrated poverty.
But a housing measure tucked away in the 101-page document got little discussion. The addition to the bonding package would change state building code, allowing residences to have a single exit stairway.
Single-stair ordinances have been used in a few cities across the country including New York City, Seattle and Honolulu. It’s meant to be a way to offer more flexibility in housing design and development so that units will be easier to construct at a time the country is grappling with a housing shortage.
“I think it’s a good direction for us to move in, in terms of housing policy,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford. “And yeah, this gets us moving.”
Rojas has been an advocate for changes in Connecticut law that encourage more housing in the state and has pushed for the single-stair legislation.
In effect, the bill says that — with safety and cost considered — single stairways as exits can be used in some smaller residences. Current state building code allows single-stair exits for residences up to three stories tall. The state’s next adopted building code could allow single-stair exits for taller buildings with up to four units, as officials deem safe.
Fire officials across the state have expressed concern about safety with only one stairway as an exit. About 80% of fire deaths in the United States occur in one- or two-family homes, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Senate Bill 343 went through a public hearing earlier in the legislative session and the idea was rolled into the bond bill.
“There are other avenues that can be taken to reduce building costs, not by reducing the minimum fire and life safety requirements,” Bob Buch, fire marshal for the town of Darien, wrote in public testimony.
Supporters say that the change would be in keeping with safety needs. They say that modern fire prevention technology, such as sprinkler systems and fire-resistant building materials, means that apartment buildings are typically safe and that changing the code would help alleviate the state’s housing crisis.
Single-stair makes it easier to use small lots because there’s more flexibility in design, said Sean Jursnick, a Colorado architect and single-stair advocate, in a previous interview.
“There are misalignments between goals and aspirations that cities and states have and what codes allow,” Jursnick said. “And so this conversation is really trying to bring a critical eye to what codes allow.”
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said it wasn’t necessarily a piece of the bonding package he supported 100%, but that the legislature needed to pass the overall bill. The language was “softer,” he said.
“It didn’t completely take away local control,” Candelora said. “I think generally, you weigh the pros and cons with a yes or no vote. And so it’s a bill that has to move. It’s a provision that’s not coming out.”