If you’re wondering why there’s been such a push to get single-stair buildings that allow four, five or six stories approved in the Washington State Building Code, take a look at this article. I think it does a great job of laying out the potential livability advantages like cross-ventilation, putting bedrooms on the quiet side of buildings, and allowing more daylight to reach all parts of the unit.
While SB 5491 requires that single-stair rules be included in the code by July 2026, I don’t think it ‘s guaranteed that this will be able to be used for all lot configurations. While it has been pointed out that other countries have these already, work is being done to ensure the necessary safety context is present for these buildings here too, and that might include ladder truck access to all upper units, etc.
When we do see it added to the building code, especially if the condo liability reform effort continues in the Legislature, we could have a shift away from the townhome format. Incentives might also be applied at the local level. Until recently, Redmond had a much lower fee-in-lieu payment for buildings with a stacked configuration, and there could be incentives like that to encourage units without stairs (or with stairs, in the case of stacked maisonette housing).
Although the height limit for middle housing is only two feet higher than the height limit for single family homes, and that will in many cases mean that a building is no more than three stories, the Middle Housing LUCA specifically didn’t create a facade height maximum like the one that applies to single family homes. A slightly shorter version of the Lakefront Luxury vertical arrangement still seems possible on steeply sloped lots with sixplexes, and upcoming changes to the Critical Areas Ordinance may also increase the feasibility of building on sloping lots.
It seems more likely that we will see this affect the design of buildings in our multifamily areas (such as the formerly R-20, now MDR-1).
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