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AN ACT
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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To amend the Construction Codes Approval and Amendments Act of 1986 to direct the
Department of Buildings to promulgate rules to allow for residential buildings of a
certain height to be served by a single entrance or egress under certain conditions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the “One Front Door Amendment Act of 2026”.
Sec. 2. The Construction Codes Approval and Amendments Act of 1986, effective March
21, 1987 (D.C. Law 6-216; D.C. Official Code § 6-1401 et seq.), is amended as follows:
(a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1401) is amended by adding a new paragraph (10A)
to read as follows:
“(10A) “Multifamily residential building” means a building containing more than
2 dwelling units where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature.”.
(b) A new section 10f is added to read as follows:
“Sec. 10f. Single staircase multifamily residential buildings.
“(a)(1) No later than July 1, 2027, the Department of Buildings shall promulgate rules
amending the Construction Codes to allow for a single entrance and egress stairway to serve
multifamily residential buildings up to 6 stories above grade plane or high-rise buildings.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the term “high-rise building”
means a building with an occupied floor located more than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire-
department vehicle access.
“(b) In drafting rules required pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section, the
Department shall consider:
“(1) Requirements that prevent the spread of fires and smoke in such multifamily
residential buildings, including requiring the use of fire-resistive construction, and requiring the
provision of adequate automatic fire sprinklers throughout a building;
“(2) Requirements that enable occupants to safely and quickly exit such a
multifamily residential building in emergency situations, including establishing a maximum
travel distance from the exit or entry door of any dwelling unit to the exit stairway and
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prohibiting dwelling unit doors from opening in the direction of an interior exit stairway;
“(3) Requirements limiting such multifamily residential buildings to either no
more than 4 units per floor or a commensurate limitation on square footage per floor; and
“(4) Any best practices in state, local, and international laws and codes that allow
for the construction of multifamily residential buildings with a single entrance and egress
stairway.
“(c) The considerations set forth in subsection (b) of this section shall not be construed to
limit the Department’s authority to promulgate or amend rules regarding multifamily residential
buildings after satisfying the requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this section.”.
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
Sec. 4. Effective date.
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review
as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)).
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Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
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Mayor
District of Columbia