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Sedgwick County adopts electrical-code changes for EV charging banks and multifamily wiring
Summary
The Board approved an amendment to the Unified Building and Trade Code to require emergency disconnects for commercial electric-vehicle charging banks and to relax a longstanding multifamily wiring restriction, adopting the 2023 NEC local amendments with two local changes.
The Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 5 voted unanimously to adopt a proposed addition and a revision to local amendments of the county’s Unified Building and Trade Code (UBTC).
The changes add a requirement for emergency power-disconnects for commercial electric-vehicle (EV) charging banks and revise an existing amendment on wiring in multifamily buildings so residential units may follow baseline NEC guidance instead of an automatic commercial-wiring requirement above three stories.
Chris Labrum, who identified himself for the record as MABCD, told the commission the amendments implement a pending safety addition to the National Electrical Code (NEC, NFPA 70) that jurisdictions can incorporate early. "This would require that each bank, not individual chargers, has a power disconnect not closer than 20 feet to the bank of chargers, but not further than 100 feet away that would allow ... the power to be shut off in the event of an emergency," Labrum said. He said the change would apply only to new installations and not to existing banks currently in the jurisdiction.
Labrum also described the multifamily-wiring revision as undoing a roughly 30-year local amendment that automatically required commercial wiring above three stories. The board-approved change allows use of Romex (nonmetallic-sheathed cable) in residential units up to the high-rise threshold in the baseline NEC; commercial wiring remains required for buildings that meet the code’s high-rise definition. Labrum said the change aligns the county with current industry practice and supply availability while preserving safety controls in other parts of the code.
Chairman Ryan Beatty opened public comment but no speakers came forward. After discussion the commission moved, seconded and the clerk recorded five aye votes to adopt the amendment.
The code update was approved by roll call: Commissioners Bluebaugh, Wise, Howell, Meitzner and Chairman Beatty all voted aye. The county will publish the amended UBTC and notify permit applicants and electrical contractors of the change.
