Appeal 35085

Table 1006.3.4(2) Stories with one exit or access to one exit

First story above or below grade plane with an R1 occupancy with a maximum occupancy load of 10 per story with a maximum exit access travel distance of 75 feet is allowed. A Second story above grade plane with an R1 occupancy is not allowed. And to be clear per our plans examiner John Cooley, the first story above grade plane is the second story and the second story above grade plane is the 3rd story

A first and second story above grade plane with an R1 occupancy with a maximum occupancy load of 10 per story with a maximum exit access travel distance of 75 feet to be allowed.

An existing 3-story building converting R2 occupancies on the 2nd and 3rd story to R1. There will be a maximum of 10 occupants per floor exiting to a singular exterior exit stairway. The building is equipped with a NFPA13 fire sprinkler system and the construction type is 5B.

Original text:
This existing building currently contains R-2 occupancies on portions of the second floor and the entirety of the third floor—both allowed under the current code. We believe that R-1 occupancies present the same, or lower, hazard risk
as R-2 occupancies.
Per Table 1006.3.4(1), R-2 occupancies up to three stories in height, fully equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, and with a maximum of four dwelling units per story, may have a single exit. Table 1006.3.4(2) applies
broadly to all R-1 occupancies, including large hotels with hundreds of units, and does not distinguish smaller, low-load buildings like ours. The design and scale of this building are more comparable to a typical apartment building than to a large hotel.
Supporting this position, a FEMA/USFA study comparing fire risk shows R-1 occupancies averaging 0.7 deaths per 1,000 fires, compared to 2.0 deaths per 1,000 fires for R-2 occupancies—indicating that R-1 occupancies have fewer fire-related fatalities than R-2. In our experience working on more than 20 post- fire buildings, fatalities were generally linked to occupant possessions and behaviors (e.g., re-entering to retrieve pets or belongings, fires from
unattended cigarettes, blocked heaters, or uncleared ovens). R-1 occupants are transient, units are cleaned between guests, and possessions are minimal —reducing fuel load and obstructions compared to R-2.
Additional code provisions also imply equivalent hazard levels:
• Table 504.3 allows any sprinklered R occupancy to be up to 60 feet in height.
• Table 504.4 allows both sprinklered R-1 and R-2 occupancies to be up to three stories.
Finally, per IEBC § 701.2, alterations—including changes in occupancy or egress—must not render a building less safe than its existing condition. Comparable fully sprinklered R-3 buildings—also transient in nature and with a
similar occupant load of only two dwelling units served by each exit—operate with a single exit from the third floor without compromising life safety. Our proposed configuration maintains equal or greater safety compared to existing
conditions.
Supporting Research — Single-Stair Safety Evidence
• A recent analysis by Pew and the Center for Building in North America found that modern four- to-six-story residential buildings with only one stairway are “at least as safe as other types of housing.”
• International comparisons, including research in the Netherlands, similarly indicate that single-stairway buildings of comparable size maintain safety levels on par with dual-stairway configurations.
• As summarized concisely: “In both Seattle and New York City, no fire deaths were associated with having only one stairway.”
Conclusion:
Given the building’s sprinkler protection, limited occupant load, reduced fuel load, and code provisions demonstrating equivalency between R-1 and R-2, the change from R-2 to R-1 in this building does not increase hazard risk. This conclusion is further supported by national research and by State of Oregon and City of Portland code amendments that permit even larger single-stair R-2 buildings under similar or less restrictive conditions. Approval to apply the same single-exit provision allowed for R-2 occupancies is therefore warranted.

Reconsideration Text:
This building meets or exceeds all applicable building code requirements for an R-1 occupancy, with the sole exception addressed by this appeal: the allowance of a single means of egress serving the second and third stories.

The building is fully protected by an NFPA 13 automatic fire sprinkler system. A third story is permitted for R-1 occupancies with the sprinkler height increase, which this building qualifies for. Egress is provided via an exterior exit stairway separated from the dwelling units by 2-hour fire-resistance-rated construction, with 90-minute fire-rated exit access doors serving each unit.

The maximum exit access travel distance is 46 feet on the second floor and 67 feet on the third floor, both of which are well below the 75-foot maximum permitted for R-1 occupancies per Table 1006.2.1.

Fire-resistance ratings within the building significantly exceed minimum code requirements. Existing separations between dwelling units include 1-hour fire-resistance-rated walls and 1-hour floor/ceiling assemblies. Under Section 708.3, Exception 2, dwelling unit separations in Type V-B construction that is fully sprinklered are permitted to be not less than ½ hour - a standard exceeded here by a factor of two. Likewise, Section 711.2.4.3 allows ½-hour horizontal assemblies in sprinklered Type V-B construction; this building again exceeds that requirement with 1-hour assemblies.

These enhanced fire-resistance features provide occupants with substantially increased time to safely egress in the event of a fire, resulting in a level of life safety that exceeds prescriptive code minimums.

In addition, the City of Portland already permits short-term rental use within multi-dwelling buildings, including apartments and condominiums, through the Type A Short-Term Rental permit process. Type A permits allow dwelling units to be rented on a short-term basis on the second and third floors of existing buildings. Importantly, the Type A regulations do not impose requirements related to building egress configuration, fire-resistance ratings, or sprinkler protection, and they do not prohibit such use in buildings with a single exit or without fire sprinklers.

As a result, under current City policy, short-term rentals may legally operate on the second and third floors of existing, one-exit, non-sprinklered apartment buildings. If the City has determined that such conditions are acceptable for transient occupancy under the Type A permit framework, it follows that the same use should also be acceptable when reviewed through the building permit process - particularly in a building that is fully sprinklered, has limited occupant loads, and exceeds fire-resistance requirements.

The City cannot reasonably allow short-term rental use in second- and third-story units through a Type A permit while simultaneously denying a change of occupancy for the same use under a building permit, especially where the proposed configuration provides equal or greater life safety than those already permitted conditions.