The concept of building small apartment buildings with a single staircase is being met with renewed debate, this time in Burnaby. Earlier this year, the province announced building code changes that removed the requirement to have two stairwells in multi-unit buildings of up to six storeys. The province argues that allowing single stairwells will allow for more units in buildings and that modern safety regulations have eliminated the need for two stairwells. But designer and housing advocate Bryn Davidson says he’s been told a municipal planner in Burnaby that the city won’t accept single-stairwell designs, due to safety concerns from the local fire department… groups say the B.C. government made its changes outside of Canada’s national code development process, while the International Codes Council rejected a similar proposed change in May.