Relating to: creating a multifamily housing innovation council and allowing a multifamily dwelling up to six stories to be served by a single stairway. (FE)

AB 784 creates a Multifamily Housing Innovation Council within the Department of Safety and Professional Services to develop safety guidelines for apartment buildings. The bill allows local governments to permit multifamily buildings up to six stories to use a single stairway for egress, provided they follow a safety guidebook developed by the council. The council must create this guidebook (ensuring compliance with National Fire Protection Association standards) and a model ordinance to help communities allow apartment construction on commercial-zoned land. This directly affects local governments, developers, and fire safety standards for new residential construction.