EV car show set for Sept. 27; planning director drafting EV-charging ordinance for council review

Commission members confirmed the EV car show will be held Sept. 27 with the reserved lot open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the event scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon. A commission member said John had agreed to contact local EV owners and dealerships to invite participants and asked other members to help with setup and teardown. Police will open access to restrooms and help block the lot to reserve EV spaces, staff said. A commission member described the event’s goal: “we can show people how they work and and just kind of remove some of that, the learning curve and maybe the anxiety that comes with just not having familiarity.” Members discussed local charging locations, citing public chargers at Llewellyn’s, Webster University parking and the Brentwood Community Center. One member said they use ChargePoint and that local chargers are appearing but are not yet ubiquitous. On broader policy, a staff member said, “our planning department has been working on an EV charging presentation for council, and they're working on a draft ordinance, to present.” Commissioners said the draft ordinance would likely cover permitting, fees and standards for residential and public chargers; staff said the planning director will circulate the draft to the commission for comment before it goes to council. Decisions and directions: the lot reservation for Sept. 27 is confirmed and staff will coordinate logistics with police and volunteers. The planning director will circulate the draft EV-charging ordinance to commissioners for review ahead of council consideration. No ordinance was adopted at this meeting. Ending: organizers asked commissioners to contact John if they can bring EVs or help on Sept. 27; staff will share the planning director’s ordinance draft when it is available.