Council hears concerns about proposed EV charging ordinance: four‑hour limit, idle fees and garage vs. curb distinctions

Councilors and public commenters raised technical concerns about a proposed amendment to the city’s parking and electric‑vehicle charging regulations that would impose a four‑hour charging limit and create fines for overstay. Speakers noted ChargePoint and other vendors support idle‑time fees (a grace period followed by per‑hour idle fees) and said on‑street curb chargers have different user patterns than garage chargers. A frequent commenter urged the council to either remove the four‑hour cap for garage charging or to add an overnight exception; he noted that many plug‑in vehicles require more than four hours to charge and that current vendor platforms support automatic idle fees once charging completes. Councilors suggested adjustments such as longer limits for overnight garage users, a short grace period and vendor‑managed idle fees rather than enforcement by parking officers. The manager said staff would bring the parking ordinance back for broader revision and could revisit charger fee structure and graceful idling options with ChargePoint and stakeholders. The council referred the proposed ordinance to the public hearing process with the direction that staff consider separate treatments for curbside and garage charging, a grace period to avoid immediate fines, and vendor‑managed idle fees where technically feasible. No final fee schedule was enacted at the meeting; the council will consider revised language at a subsequent hearing.