Mountain View YIMBY

The Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee heard AB 2252 (Lee) this afternoon on what the chair described as a presentation-only basis. No vote was taken, and AB 2252 is done for this session with no four-story fallback version planned.

We’ve been pushing for single-stair reform for a while. I spoke in support at Council in December. We asked it be included in the 2026 legislative program, and Council adopted it as platform item C.37 in February. Most recently, we asked the City to make AB 2252 a priority at the Cities Association.

What the bill does

AB 2252 directs HCD to develop building standards for single-stair residential buildings up to six stories. It would also authorize local governments to adopt equally or more stringent single-stair standards immediately, ahead of HCD’s work. Current California code requires two stairways in nearly every mid-rise, which forces the double-loaded corridor layouts that produce the boxy, repetitive buildings residents complain about. Single-stair designs are standard in Seattle, New York City, and essentially the entire developed world outside the US.

Lee’s presentation

Alex Lee opened by reminding the committee that he already carried a Fire Marshal study bill (AB 835) in the prior session. That study, delivered to the legislature, recommended single-stair up to four stories. Lee wants six. He cited a recent Minnesota analysis finding that sprinklered single-stair buildings up to eight stories have fire risk equal to or lower than double-stair alternatives. He also pointed to the International Building Code, which has now adopted a four-story single-stair pathway.

From his close:

If California with our large cities can’t do it, I don’t know why Colorado and Montana can do it faster than us. A single stair is not just a matter of cost saving. It is an architectural ability to unlock small lots to be multi-family.

Witnesses in support

Ali Sapirman of the Housing Action Coalition described the bill as a housing production tool, not just a code fix. Double-stair requirements set a floor on building floor plates and rule out a significant share of California’s urban infill parcels. Single-stair designs allow family-sized units with multiple bedrooms, cross-ventilation, and natural light. She addressed the fire-safety question directly:

The leading cause of fire fatalities is not the fire itself, it’s smoke inhalation. And it’s long, double-loaded corridors, not stairwells, where smoke accumulates and kills. Single-stair buildings eliminate that chokepoint entirely.