Working group raises electric-vehicle charging and utility-code questions

Residents and planning staff discussed electric-vehicle (EV) charging and utility criteria March 31 as part of a broader land‑use update, with participants calling for clearer town code language and planning consideration of EV infrastructure.

Several residents asked whether the town requires conduit or charging outlets in new home construction; Malini Sims and Bayer Vela said Oro Valley does not currently require outlets in private garages and that the zoning code is largely silent on EV infrastructure. Sims noted the town is near a building‑code update cycle and that zoning clarity should be discussed as part of the plan update.

Participants suggested multiple approaches: incorporating EV outlet requirements in new residential construction, encouraging chargers at hotels and high‑density housing, and allowing private property owners to install chargers without town subsidies. Rosa urged requiring outlets at new homes, citing high retrofit costs for individual homeowners. Others noted federal funding opportunities to install public chargers.

Discussion also touched on common‑area installations in homeowner associations and the need to clarify maintenance responsibility. On utilities more broadly, staff presented existing criteria in the general plan and said most participants found the criteria acceptable but asked that impacts on nearby homes be considered during siting decisions.

Planners said more clarity in zoning and building codes and further review of how EV siting appears in the draft plan would follow in subsequent meetings. No policy or code changes were adopted at the March 31 meeting.