The Santa Monica City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to approve two significant changes to the city's building codes, raising the threshold for high-rise buildings from 55 to 75 feet and allowing single-stairway apartment buildings up to six stories despite heated debate over public safety.
Mayor Lana Negrete cast the sole dissenting vote, citing concerns about fire department capabilities and recent wildfire risks.
"After the Palisades fire, we should be extremely cautious about making changes that favor taller, denser construction without fully considering public safety holistically," Negrete said during the meeting. "My questions are, why now? Why this way and why, without addressing the real impacts to our community."
The approved measures align Santa Monica's high-rise definition with state standards and establish an Alternate Materials and Methods Request (AMMR) process for single-stairwell multifamily buildings of four to six stories. Fire Marshal Joe Cavin presented the proposals, arguing that modern fire department capabilities and enhanced building safety systems justify the changes.
"Having assessed our current emergency response capabilities, the advancements in our firefighting apparatus and building fire protection systems, coupled with planned Fire Department enhancements, we're confident that we would be able to address these buildings at 75 feet without these additional features that our current code requires," Cavin said.
The single-stairway provision requires enhanced safety features such as NFPA 13 sprinkler systems, pressurized stairwells for taller buildings, and mandatory peer review for five and six-story projects. Four-story buildings must limit floor areas to 4,000 square feet with a maximum of four units per floor, while taller buildings face more restrictive requirements.
Council Member Ellis Raskin supported the measures despite sharing a personal story of surviving a fire in a single-stair building in San Francisco. "I'm going to be supporting the staff recommendations because it has been vetted by safety professionals, and it's gone through rigorous due diligence and vetting through our team here," he said.
Public comment revealed sharp divisions over the proposals. Bradley Ewing, co-chair of Santa Monica Forward, strongly supported the changes, citing research showing single-stair buildings offer "6-13% lower construction costs" and "more efficient floor plans, better light and ventilation."
However, resident E. Lopez vehemently opposed both measures, arguing the city lacks adequate firefighting resources. "The Council's first responsibility is public safety," she said. "The 55-foot threshold exists for good reason, reflecting Santa Monica's geography and current firefighting capacity."
Mayor Negrete expressed skepticism about whether the changes would produce truly affordable housing. "High rise construction is the most expensive type of housing to build, and what we usually see from it is luxury market rate units, not deeply affordable homes," she said.
The high-rise definition change eliminates additional fire protection requirements for buildings between 55 and 75 feet. These requirements include pressurized stairways, fire water storage tanks, and separate fire pumps that can add significant costs to construction.
Council Member Caroline Torosis asked how the changes would benefit affordable housing projects by reducing construction costs, noting the city's 15% inclusionary housing ordinance would create affordable units alongside market-rate development.
The changes take effect with the city's next building code update, anticipated for late September or early October 2025. Staff will release an information bulletin to the development community outlining the new AMMR process requirements.
The decision reflects broader statewide efforts to address housing shortages through building code reforms, with Los Angeles and other California cities considering similar single-stair provisions. Cavin noted he serves on a state task force studying single-stair buildings, with a report due to the legislature by January 2026.