Sometimes it happens that the most significant vote of a City Council meeting comes in so late, it’s already tomorrow. The Culver City council’s approval of Item A-3, at 1 am on Sept. 9, 2025, made ‘single stair’ reform a unanimous vote.
The idea of simplifying the requirements of the building code away from requiring for two exits in case of a fire to a single accessible staircase has been discussed in front of council on several occasions. Putting it on this agenda was about getting ahead of a new California law going into effect this October, prohibiting any changes to local building codes for the next six years.
A presentation to the council by Travis Morgan of the Living Communities Initiative, a non-profit organization that advocates for housing reform. focused on the globally popular concept of having housing above retail. Morgan noted many cities and states that include this in their building code, and cited International Code Council “egress recommendations.”
“The commercial lots on Culver Boulevard and Washington Boulevard are only 25 to 30 feet wide, and so the [current code requirement for two exits] needs 55 to 60 feet for a build prevents [adding housing to our] retail corridors.”
Council member Bubba Fish, addressing the fact that it was a change in fire safety code, emphasized the data that it would not have a negative impact on fire safety. “Cities such as Seattle, Honolulu and New York City…all have ‘single stair’…you see these buildings all over New York [City] and wonder – why don”t we have these buildings?” Fish noted that the zoning code in NYC dates to 1938, “so, this isn’t new.”
Council member Albert Vera, Jr. asked for the Culver City Fire Department to address the proposed change, who offered concerns about “…worst case scenario; it’s dangerous for first responders, and dangerous for residents as well. If that stairwell is blocked, it’s dangerous…From our perspective, we’d like to wait for the outcome on the studies.”
Planning and Development Director Mark Muenzer stated that the studies “…won’t be out until 2026, and we have [California law changing] on September 30… If we want to move forward with the single stair ordinance we’d have to do it now.”
Despite the late hour, more than a dozen residents spoke to the meeting in regard to the reform.
With the vote, all council members and the mayor voted in favor of making the change.
The motion that passed directs City staff to “prepare an urgency ordinance for a local amendment” to the California Building and Fire Codes that would allow a single exit stairway in residential buildings up to six stories in height.
The council is expected to finalize the change at the next meeting on Sept. 29, one day before the California deadline.
Judith Martin-Straw
