Glad to see SF doing this but as always with building code changes, the devil is going to be in the details. Case in point, already it seems clear that it will not be allowed as of right as the Building/Fire Depts will have some discretion as to whether to permit any given single-stair project.

dereksagehorn.bsky.social@dereksagehorn.bsky.social · 5d ago

San Francisco announces change to allow 4-6 stories single stair with secondary exterior egress requirements. [gift link to Chron] www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

“They also want to establish a fast-track suspension calendar, not unlike the House, that would allow the Senate to more quickly take up bills at a supermajority requirement of two-thirds of the Senate.” Mind-boggling this isn’t already allowed, so just 1 senator can stall an uncontroversial bill

Exclusive: Senate rules would change under sweeping bipartisan proposal

Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., want to make it easier for the body to pass popular bills.

semafor.com

TIL the concrete industry is doing so poorly compared to wood in the US that in 2018, Congress created a checkoff program (modeled off of US milk’s similar program) to promote the use of concrete/masonry.

This housing feasibility study is basically a highlights reel of why zoning reform is necessary, but not sufficient, to get urban infill housing built. Zoning can't change: * high construction costs * condo financing challenges * historic preservation approvals engageoakpark.com/30486/widget...

Federal appellate court in DC just released its opinion in this lawsuit from Alstom, siding with FRA, Siemens, and Brightline West, saying Alstom’s claim is without merit. media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/doc...

Sandy Johnston@sandypsj.bsky.social · 2y ago

Really and truly massively chutzpahdik of Alstom to leverage Buy America to sue over Brightline West not using the Acela II trainsets they're massively late on delivering to Amtrak! The regulatory state needs to figure out how not to let itself be used this way. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

ASME A17.1 strikes again. (this standard is also a big reason why our elevators are so expensive)

Joe Cohen@cohenhouse.bsky.social · 3w ago

Another dumb American code requirement! basin.la/articles/nin...

this person evidently missed the message that you’re not supposed to say the quiet part out loud when asked by a reporter why you don’t want upzoning www.oakpark.com/2026/09/22/z...

pretty grim that not even a fundamental overhaul of IL transit governance can’t force effective CTA board leadership Only hope is that the state senate exercises their new power to reject Barclay’s appointment

Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · 3w ago

As expected, Lester Barclay has been reappointed as chair of the CTA board.

TIL For 25 yrs, HUD used urban renewal grant funding to effectively force 4k+ localities to adopt model building codes and drop expensive local req'ts in the process. It ended in 1974 after Congress revoked HUD's authority b/c Chicago refused to comply. babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=ui...

Many are saying it’s time for Chicago to do the same

Let’s fix the plumbing code

Lead and oakum joints belong in museums

citythatworks.substack.com

Stephen Jacob Smith@stephenjacobsmith.com · 3w ago

Momentum is building for Mamdani to reform NYC’s plumbing code and allow plastics in piping www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/n...

In California, you can cross the street between Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, and be subject to wildly different building code rules as long as the city justifies them with “necessary local conditions.” Who decides those conditions? The city, with almost exclusive discretion.

Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈@maxdubler.com · 4w ago

There should not be 88 different cities in Los Angeles county. Abolish Beverly Hills.

“[B]arriers are particularly acute in the homebuilding industry, as many products, from windows to sinks to furnaces, that are certified and tested to EU standards cannot simply be used in Canada. Those products must be retested and recertified against Canada’s CSA standards, adding cost and delay.”

Canada wants more trade with Europe. Start with housing

A well-crafted deal with the EU could also lower the cost of building a home in Canada, while opening new markets for suppliers and manufacturers of construction materials.

ipolitics.ca

For those you not familiar with my hometown Oak Park, we have quite the sordid history in housing and zoning. In the late 1940s, the village tried to ban ALL multi-family housing construction until the IL Supreme Court put a kibosh on it. www.oakpark.com/2026/04/28/p...

Abundant Housing Illinois@abundanthousingil.bsky.social · 4w ago

We are here at a packed house in Oak Park for the first information session over Shape Oak Park, a “strategic update of the zoning code to create more opportunities for Missing Middle Housing”.

Per a recent FTA audit report, CTA has hired a consulting firm to do a feasibility study of a “dedicated CTA police force”. Also, they are updating their fare evasion calcs to include data from automated passenger counts from buses. www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.do...

And the lack of state capacity in building codes is not a new problem. Some manifestation of this issue has bubbled up every 20 yrs or so. From 2005: (www.huduser.gov/periodicals/...)

Stephen Jacob Smith@stephenjacobsmith.com · last mo.

After @pipedreaming.bsky.social got done with his presentation on single-stair venting a few days ago, one of the committee members said, exasperatedly, “I didn’t realize I was signing up for this” – as in, he didn’t realize he’d be volunteering his time to review such a big proposal. I worry…

“Among the jurisdictions analyzed by CBNA, only New York City has consistently stricter limits on the use of plastic piping for residential buildings than Chicago. Notably, the statewide plumbing code for Illinois is much more lenient than Chicago’s. “

In case you questioned John’s commitment to plumbing reform, this is his local time right now, before he’s even started his presentation:

John Lansing@pipedreaming.bsky.social · last mo.

Going live shortly. 📡 📺 We me luck!

It’s been fun seeing this chart I made take a life of its own. This was originally just a tracker spreadsheet I made after @stephenjacobsmith.com and @pipedreaming.bsky.social asked me to look into the various US plumbing codes and what piping/tubing they permitted.

Michael McLean@michaelmclean.me · last mo.

Everywhere you look around Chicago government, you find so much crazy shit like this that immiserates the population

My next article in the @acitythatworks.bsky.social building code series is up, doing a deep dive on the plumbing code. Come to learn about the one weird trick the city could use to shave 5% off construction costs, stay to learn about the 19th century joint coupling method the city still mandates!

Let’s fix the plumbing code

Lead and oakum joints belong in museums

citythatworks.substack.com

Overheard in the men’s bathroom during a particularly dull stretch of ICC committee meetings: “Isn’t the code process riveting?”

The agenda for NITA's first meeting for this Thurday is already up. First orders of business: choosing a board chair AND an interim executive director. nita.illinois.gov/uploads/file...

baby’s first ICC hearing! in the O’Hare Hilton of all places

Mo Zhu@moinmybackyard.bsky.social · last mo.

Wed Sept 8 - 11, the ICC's Code Action Committees are meeting in person in Chicago for all day conferences. The agendas for the 3 committees are: Building - 2023701800.sharepoint.com/sites/ICC-CS... Fire - 2023701800.sharepoint.com/sites/ICC-CS... PMG - 2023701800.sharepoint.com/sites/ICC-CS...

“'Nearly all residential fire deaths occur in the dwelling units where the fire starts, not in adjacent dwelling units, not corridors and not stairways,' [Mark Chubb] said. 'A choice of two exits will not reduce or eliminate these fire deaths.'”

Allowing single-stair complexes could create needed housing, but safety concerns loom in debate over ordinance

A group of advocates wants to pass an ordinance allowing developers to construct a single staircase for residential buildings of up to five stories, instead of the required two staircases.

chicagotribune.com

As part of research into the elevator market, I am doing an elevator census! Next time you are in an elevator (any time, any place), could you take a photo of the nameplate (brand and capacity in lbs/kgs) and the buttons (to get number of floors), and then later, enter it here? bit.ly/elevatorcensus

Elevator Census

This form is to submit information on elevators people encounter to help with the Center for Building in North America's research work. Note: You can submit for elevators in any country, not just Nort...

bit.ly

If you live outside of the US and Canada and would like to help me with an elevator census I'm doing, please DM me – I want to send you something! Would just involve noting a few items about elevators you encounter in the wild.

as an update, the FRA went ahead with their proposed rule changes despite some opposition from labor

Enhancing Railroad Discretion in Sounding Locomotive Horns at Passenger Stations

This final rule amends safety standards related to the use of the locomotive horn to clarify that no Federal regulation requires a railroad to sound a locomotive horn because of the presence of a pass...

federalregister.gov

William Skudlarek@willskud.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Last fall the FRA proposed removing 1) the requirement to sound a horn near passenger stations and 2) the minimum sound level if they do sound it at a station. The only comment in opposition? Submitted by a rail union. downloads.regulations.gov/FRA-2025-012...

“...the [NITA] board first will select one of its members to be chair...That leaves as the apparent front-runner Tom Kotarac, a current RTA board member who is the transit guru at the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. He already chairs the NITA transition committee."

Streetsblog Chicago@chi.streetsblog.org · 2mo ago

This deep dive into the impending NITA launch by Greg Hinz in @crainschicago.bsky.social is worth a read. He says the new governance model has a lot of potential, but there's also a danger of it being TAINted. Please click the link, and consider subscribing. www.chicagobusiness.com/politics-pol...

proprietary file formats are a parasite on society and should be illegal…the whole point of PDF files is that you can basically use anything to open them!!

lol of course they didn’t find any increases, they only looked at the residential code (SFH building code), which is the only model code that gives the homebuilder industry a 1/3 voting block papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

M. Nolan Gray 🥑@mnolangray.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A study funded by the proprietary building code industry finds that building codes are just fine and there's nothing to see here, please move along! www.housingwire.com/articles/bui...

Wood www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

Mold Is Driving America’s Homeowners Crazy—and They Want Builders to Pay

Homeowner lawsuits against home builders allege mold-related illnesses, while builders say the allegations are off the mark and costing them millions.

wsj.com