Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ev Infrastructure Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee asks planning department to draft EV‑charging ordinance and clarifies sign rules for charging stations
Summary
The committee asked city planning staff to prepare an ordinance to define EV charging as a recognized municipal use and to clarify how off‑site and digital signage rules apply to EV stations.
The Planning Committee directed city planning staff to draft an ordinance that would define EV charging as a primary municipal use and lay out how digital and off‑site signage associated with charging stations would be regulated.
Department staff presented a report summarizing a June 2024 directive and noted conflicts between existing sign regulations and emerging digital signage associated with EV infrastructure. Staff said current city rules generally prohibit off‑site signage except in limited districts and that canopy‑mounted signs for traditional service stations are treated differently because they are within an existing structure. The report recommended instructing Planning to prepare ordinance language and work with Building and Safety, the City Attorney and other departments to address implementation details and permits.
Committee members pressed staff on how sign size and placement would be regulated for different sign typologies (wall signs, monument signs, canopy‑mounted signs and digital displays). Staff responded that the ordinance would not automatically allow new off‑site billboards for chargers and that, in many cases, chargers located under a canopy would follow similar rules to service stations. The committee also directed staff to include maintenance and operational requirements so that advertising displays not be left in place when charging operations are not maintained.
The committee adopted staff recommendations as modified and added direction that the Los Angeles Police Department and Department of Water and Power be consulted on operational and equity priorities; members also requested a fiscal impact analysis for environmental review costs (staff cited an estimate up to $250,000 for a CEQA analysis in some scenarios).
Quotes from the hearing included technical clarifications from Planning staff: “The canopy plays an important role in what is considered on‑site versus off‑site signage,” and a committee member noting the goal to support EV deployment while protecting public realm standards.
The committee’s action instructs Planning to return with a draft ordinance and supporting analyses that clarify whether digital displays associated with EV charging are allowable and under what conditions.
