Redondo Beach council advances ordinance to speed electric vehicle charging permits

The Redondo Beach City Council on Tuesday introduced by title an ordinance to amend the Redondo Beach Municipal Code to create an expedited, streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as required by state law.

City staff said the ordinance implements Assembly Bill 1236 and formalizes existing local procedures by adding a new chapter (Chapter 28) to Title 9 of the municipal code. The measure requires the city to accept electronic submittals, publish a public-facing checklist for applicants and meet state timing requirements for permit intake and review. Staff told the council that most single-site EV installations—particularly residential chargers—will remain a straight building-permit process without planning review, while larger installations with potential health, safety or traffic impacts could be referred to a conditional use permit that would be appealable to the planning commission.

Mark Minor, director of community development, said the ordinance was modeled on a state example and tailored for Redondo Beach, and Lorena Soles, the city’s building official, joined Minor to answer technical questions. Minor noted the city launched an e-permitting system last summer and is upgrading to a more advanced platform so applicants can continue electronic submissions. Soles emphasized that, for most residential work, permits can be issued quickly “right over the counter” when electricians provide required load calculations.

Council members pressed staff on how the ordinance would work in practice. Council member Abbaji asked about recent commercial applications and timelines; staff said intake acceptance is intended to meet the state’s statutory deadlines (the state guidance contemplates short intake windows for these permits) and gave Northrop Grumman as a recent example of a commercial application that entered the city’s intake process. Council member Lowenstein and others asked about electrical infrastructure constraints and whether Southern California Edison (SCE) capacity could limit future commercial charging. Minor said the city will follow up with SCE and that capacity varies by site, noting some regional limitations exist when utilities must provide new transformers or upgrades.

Minor also said staff has pursued state and federal grant opportunities to fund charging infrastructure and will continue those efforts. He told the council that forthcoming statewide code changes will require additional work by local governments and that staff expects to begin work on related code adoption in spring; he noted a separate code package will take effect January 1, 2026, and staff intends to present research and recommendations starting in April.

Councilmembers characterized the ordinance as largely housekeeping to bring the municipal code into compliance with state law. The council voted to introduce Ordinance No. 32686-25 by title only for first reading; the introduction passed on a unanimous vote.

Less-critical details and next steps: staff will return in subsequent meetings with the ordinance’s formal adoption (second reading), follow up with SCE about site-specific capacity issues raised by council members, and continue grant-seeking for publicly accessible charging stations.