Opposition from fire chiefs sinks bid to allow taller single-stairway apartment buildings

Facing a wall of opposition from fire officials, Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday killed a bill that would have allowed taller apartment buildings to be constructed in a single-stair style that’s common in Europe.

House Bill 1239, had it passed, would have allowed developers in Colorado to build five-story buildings around a single stairway, rather than the doublestairwell configuration now required for residential structures with more than three floors. Advocates said the approach would allow for denser, more unique development on smaller lots, allowing for configurations with larger units.

But fire chiefs, concerned about tenants’ ability to escape during a fire, testified against the measure.

Rep. Alex Valdez, the Denver Democrat who sponsored the bill, voluntarily killed it in the House’s Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee.

In anticipation of the vote, members of the committee played the songs “Stairway to Heaven” and “Burning Down the House” over the room’s speakers.

Valdez said other states had started to embrace more singlestair development and that advocates elsewhere had successfully worked with fire chiefs to quell safety concerns. But he said no deal could be reached to save his bill.

“I know single stair is safe — it’s already 30% to 40% of the building in Denver,” Valdez said before the vote.

“It is also the building code in most of the countries that are, quite frankly, getting way ahead of us in terms of their public housing and their housing priorities. …

“It’s unfortunate that it ends here today for Colorado, but we look to our friends in those other states to continue to move this legislation forward so that maybe we can follow.”