A new Colorado law was passed in 2025 mandating cities with over 100,000 residents to modify their building codes to remove the requirement for the construction of duplicative or second staircases in small multifamily developments.

This law will take effect for all large cities on Dec. 1, 2027. Pikes Peak Housing Network supports this code reform and encourages our local decision-makers to update their building codes to allow builders to develop more compact and modern housing that is better suited for neighborhoods and will be more affordable for our citizens, especially young families who have been priced out of a home purchase.

Requiring two staircases in all multifamily developments began after a deadly tenement fire in New York City in 1860. The safe solution was to add a requirement for a second staircase in all multifamily housing which resulted in the ubiquitous fire escapes we see on all brownstones and apartment buildings in big cities or two internal staircases within smaller walk-up properties. This requirement has likely saved countless lives throughout the years, but new technologies, like sprinkler systems, fire-resistent construction materials, and better design methods have made these second staircases outdated and even superfluous while significantly driving up development costs, which are then passed along to the renter or homeowner.

Colorado’s new law allows properties five stories or fewer with up to 20 units to construct only one staircase for residents’ use. The building must be designed in a way that allows residents to get to the stairway within a minimum number of steps and the stairway itself must be wider than normal. Omitting the second stairway allows properties to add more units, gives homes more windows and light on multiples sides, makes it easier to build larger units for growing families, and facilitates the installation of shared amenities for residents in common areas.

But the best thing about this building code reform is that it will cost developers less to build multifamily properties as stairway construction adds 10%-12% to development costs — costs that will be passed along to renters or homeowners.

I understand the immediate recoiling to this change as safety should always be paramount, especially within the four walls of our homes. I too initially pushed back at the idea of putting families at a higher risk in the event of a fire. But according to findings from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Center for Building in North America, there is no evidence to suggest that single-stairway buildings equipped with modern sprinkler systems pose any increased safety risk.

Data spanning from 2012 to 2024 reveals that fire-related fatalities in modern four-to-six-story apartment buildings in New York City, a city that has passed single-stair building code reforms, remained consistent with other residential structures. Remarkably, during that same 12-year period, there was not a single recorded death in New York City where the lack of a second exit was a contributing factor.

To date at least 10 states have adopted single-staircase reform as these states, which include Texas and North Carolina, understand the need for more affordable housing options, especially within neighborhoods, where vacant land is scarce and prices are out of reach for young families. Allowing this code change will make it possible to develop housing on smaller and irregularly shaped lots, adding to our housing supply and reducing overall housing costs.

The state of Colorado has become increasingly overregulated, and these regulations all cost our residents, either through higher taxes or through an increased cost of living. This code change is a great opportunity for Colorado Springs to reduce its regulatory landscape, and in doing so put more control back in the hands of our citizens.

As this regulatory change comes before our elected decision-makers, please let them know that this common sense building code reform will remove a burdensome regulation that will reduce housing costs and give our builders more tools to build housing that is more affordable for our citizens. There truly is no downside.

Jill Gaebler is executive director of the Pikes Peak Housing Network.