Portland city officials have approved building codes that allow for the construction of single-staircase multifamily buildings up to four stories, but a requirement inserted at the insistence of fire authorities may make the code unworkable, according to interviews with multifamily experts.
Housing advocates have long championed the potential for single-staircase buildings to provide apartment and condo units in dense urban areas such as Portland.
“It lets you put multifamily buildings on smaller lots,” said Michael Andersen, director of cities and towns for the Sightline Institute, a Seattle-based nonprofit…