Vancouver to explore single-stair amendments to its building code

Vancouver city councillors have approved a motion to explore single stairs in buildings of up to six storeys in the city, in line with provincial building code changes passed earlier this year.

The changes would allow one exit stairwell instead of two, with the provincial government saying in August that removing a stairwell allows builders to build on smaller lots and gives them more flexibility for multi-bedroom apartments, adding housing density in areas of transit-oriented developments.

The motion from Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung asking staff to look at updating the city's building bylaws passed unanimously last week, with councillors pointing to other cities like New York as examples of places where single-stair apartment buildings have been implemented.

Kirby-Yung's motion is pitched as a bid to deliver more "missing middle" housing options in the city — generally townhomes and low-rise apartment buildings that are located near large skyscrapers and single-family homes.

However, the motion was unanimously opposed by the Vancouver City Planning Commission, an advisory body for the city, with the commission's co-chair saying single stairs would do nothing but increase developers' profits.

Vancouver has its own building code that largely incorporates the B.C. Building Code but with amendments specific to the city.

WATCH | B.C. makes building code changes to allow single-stairwell buildings: 

Updated B.C. building code to allow one stairwell instead of two

3 months ago

Duration 2:29

The B.C. government has announced changes to the province's building code. It's meant to spur more low- and mid-rise multi-family buildings by allowing just one stairwell rather than the minimum two. But as Rob Easton reports, that has B.C.'s fire chiefs worried.

Proponents of the single-stairwell model, including the then-B.C. NDP government, have cited Seattle, Wash., as an example of why the model works.

However, Kirby-Yung's motion notes that B.C. fire chiefs have raised concerns about the provincial code amendments, and her motion calls for more consultation with firefighters.

A Seattle fire official agrees with the concern, saying that she feels compassion for the fire chiefs in the province and that building code changes are generally a multi-year process.

"It asks more of the fire department, and I think they're just trying to say, 'We want to be able to be effective and save your life when you need us most,'" Karen Grove, the executive director of fire prevention at the Seattle Fire Department, told CBC News.

"I think they're just wanting to maintain their operational readiness."

Grove says that many specific things in Seattle have allowed single-stair buildings to work there since the 1970s.

Those include ready access to fire hydrants, quick response times for firefighters to arrive at a scene, aerial ladders and dozens of firefighters available to respond at a time.

"We are only 84 square miles. We are a very well-funded fire department staffed by career professionals," she said. 

"And I don't know Vancouver fire's capabilities and resources, but I think if your fire chiefs are telling you that they're worried about this, that's important to listen to."

The Greater Vancouver Fire Chiefs' Association has expressed concern about the building code changes, saying it could strain staffing levels and affect public safety.

In a position statement, the association says its members were opposed to the codes being changed before a national building code review was initiated.

"If there is a single point of failure in the building design, the most effective alternate life safety design for occupant and responder safety is the second egress stair, and it is proposed to be removed," reads the statement.

The updated B.C. Building Code mandates that the single exit stairwell have sprinklers and be surrounded by non-combustible walls, and should not be more than 15 metres from the closest fire access point.

Concern from policy analyst

Gabrielle Peters, a disabled writer and policy analyst, says that the B.C. Building Code changes may lead to a more hazardous situation if they have to be rescued by firefighters in a single-stair building.

Peters, who is also co-chair of the Vancouver City Planning Commission, said the commission had heard from the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, which said a fire in a single-egress building could present challenges to fire services without aerial ladders.

She added that the province's building code changes do not take into account disability or old age — especially given B.C. had mandated that single-stair buildings not be put seniors' residences — and that rescues from single-stair buildings could prove challenging for those with disabilities.

"Are we just going to have people evicted when they reach a certain age?" Peters asked, saying the code changes could make "aging in place" very difficult for seniors.

In addition, Peters challenged the claim by some single-stair advocates that unit buildings would be made cooler, as opposed to a traditional dual-stair building, due to the potential for more cross-breezes. She said that cross-breezes alone would not help in extreme heat.

"Heat events tend to be concurrent with poor air quality from ground level ozone and other pollutants, as well as the presence of wildfires," she said. "Many of [B.C.'s] hottest days also had advisories to stay inside and keep the windows closed."

The motion passed by Vancouver councillors asks city staff to report by the fourth quarter of this year on how to change the building bylaws.

It also asks for consultation with the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, the International Association of Firefighters, and an architect with expertise in building codes.