IMHO you lose the confinement from the cross-ties if the 90-degree hook sides are not alternated.
If you can put your hands on "Reinforced Concrete Design of Tall Buildings" by Taranath there is a pretty good illustration of concrete confinement from ties in Chapter 2. He also says something...
Check if the controlling mode of failure is applicable to your case. If your anchor is deep enough to transfer the tension to some of the longitudinal bars maybe you can justify that your controlling mode of failure is not applicable. Ref: D5.2.9
Steellion is correct, the typical joint thickness for CW can handle 3/8" max. But the concern is differential deflection between stories and your post-composite deflection most-likely includes dead loads that will be close to evening out on every floor. So you are mainly concerned about LL...
