Moab commissioners discuss EV readiness ordinance framing; staff to prioritize multifamily, phased standards and incentives

Moab City staff briefed the Planning Commission March 27 on framing an electric-vehicle (EV) readiness ordinance to support local greenhouse-gas reduction goals. Commissioners discussed a phased approach to readiness, incentives for developers and a focus on multifamily housing and retrofits.

Staff framed the policy goals by noting that transportation accounted for roughly 29% of the city’s greenhouse-gas inventory and that increased EV adoption could help reach the city’s emission-reduction targets. The presentation described three readiness tiers: "EV capable" (conduit installed for future charging), "EV ready" (electrical capacity provided but not necessarily an installed charger) and "EV installed" (active charging stations). Staff also cited studies showing a large portion of charging occurs at home and noted that about 58.5% of Moab housing is owner occupied, which could limit home charging access for renters.

Commissioners and staff examined the principal barriers: retrofit costs, electrical-service upgrades (service panels, transformers) and site-specific constraints. They discussed incentive options used elsewhere — permit expediting, parking requirement credits, monetary rebates, and right-of-way or private‑business charging partnerships that make private parking available to the public during off hours. The city’s building-official staff and utility staff flagged capacity and load-management issues as items to resolve, and staff recommended smart load-sharing software as one technical approach to avoid oversizing electrical service at the outset.

Several commissioners supported prioritizing multifamily residential projects for an initial ordinance because tenants and renters have less control over charging infrastructure. Staff noted a proposed threshold (used in staff analysis) that would require a modest share of EV-ready stalls for new multifamily and larger projects but that a 10% readiness requirement had been proposed to avoid imposing large upfront electrical upgrades on small projects. Commissioners favored incentive-focused measures for retrofits and cautioned against using major carrots (building-height or density exceptions) too freely because those are limited resources used to achieve other community goals such as affordable housing.

Staff said they would refine the draft ordinance language, examine multifamily thresholds and incentives and return with concrete recommendations. No formal action or vote was taken.