How Minnesota Is Legalizing Point Access Blocks
Point Access Blocks (dual aspect) vs. Double loaded corridors (single aspect) by Alfred Twu https://ordinaryhomes.blogspot.com/2023/09/point-access-block.html
Mid-rise (around 4-6 story) multi-family buildings can provide high-quality homes for families, particularly in urban and suburban areas where land is more expensive. But building code requirements often make mid-rise multifamily housing difficult and cost-prohibitive to develop.
Minnesota building code currently requires every multifamily building above three stories to have hallways with access to two sets of stairs. These almost always look like a single, sometimes block long, hallway with apartments on either side of the building. Much like a hotel, those apartments only have one set of windows since they are blocked from more window space by the hallways and the neighbors. And the long halls typically are fluorescently lit, no sunlight. Since bedrooms require outdoor windows, this building style prevents family-sized homes and home diversity by regularly limiting homes to 1 bedroom in the middle units and two bedrooms on the corner units.
Minnesotans care about making sure we take care of our neighbors, and passing policy that improves lives.
The way we’ve approached single-stair reform is uniquely Minnesotan. Point Access Blocks allow more windows and balconies, more efficient floor plans, larger family-sized units, and better energy efficiency. They allow builders to shift space now mandated for corridors into a third or fourth bedroom. They are one part of removing barriers and lowering housing costs for families. We can build better quality homes, while reducing building and maintenance costs, by choosing to make more types of homes legal.
The “Single-Egress Stairway Apartment Building Report” bill (HF 5242; See Section 46 lines 276.8 to 276.27) passed in 2024, did not outright direct a building code change. What it did do is direct our Department of Labor and Industry to study fire safety in jurisdictions that already allow single-stair/point access block buildings (like Seattle and New York City) up to 75 feet tall (about 6 stories) and compare actual life safety and overall safety of these buildings to current buildings that are legal here in Minnesota. This report will then come back to the legislative committees with jurisdiction on homes and building codes for a future code change. The bill also directs the Department of Labor and Industry to talk to relevant stakeholders as a part of the report including single-stair proponent Center of Building in North America and the local Fire Fighting associations.
This unique approach, directing experts in the field to collect data, and basing our resulting policy on that data, will hopefully lead to a robust change in our building code towards more homes in buildings we know, and can prove, are safe. We are happy to see more folks talking about point access blocks! And we are hopeful that sharing our success and the policies passed in Minnesota, can help make positive change toward more homes.
Thank you to our supporters and volunteers, and to our state policy coalition partners, Footprint Development, Sierra Club, Minnesota Housing Partnership, Housing First, MoveMN, and others that worked with our legislative champions to pass the bill through a narrowly divided chamber. And thanks to Gov. Tim Walz for his leadership and signing our work into law. We work to build together towards a better future with abundant homes for all of our neighbors.
Actual bill language from the Omnibus:
Originally published August 8, 2024