Either something the legislature came up with out of thin air, or maybe it was crafted with a slightly more logistical view. Can't say for sure, but it has been 3.5 years since this was enacted and MoCo has 80 buildings that are not compliant yet. However, not only do you have to think about the time it takes to retrofit but you also have to consider that all these sprinkler companies certified to work in Maryland are also tasked with new construction projects of all building types, not just high-rise residential.

Then include Baltimore and other cities that have these buildings that will have to meet the same guidelines, and add on additional time for permitting and processing paperwork. Once you factor all of that in, it's really not that difficult to see why the legislature put a deadline that was so far out. But they ran out of time before a major fire happened.

The National Fire Sprinklers Association had this article about retrofitting that talked about a project from nearly a decade ago in Philadelphia. While the residents of that property weren't inconvenienced much during the process, it still took nearly a year to complete. And that's just one building.

Retrofitting sprinklers is a HUGE job. They require a separate water supply from the rest of the building and if you don’t install them in the original construction it requires tearing out a shitload of drywall/walls/floors. 2033 is a more than reasonable timeline for all buildings.