Sustainability commission recommends sending EV-ready wiring memo to council

The Webster Groves Sustainability Commission voted to recommend that city staff pursue an "EV-ready" requirement for new single-family construction, asking staff to forward a draft memo to city council.

Commissioners approved a motion to accept the memo as written and to have staff bring the recommendation to council. The memo—described in the meeting as written by John Hickey and routed to John Wagner for staff consideration—would require builders to run wiring and provide breaker capacity during construction so a future charger can be installed without tearing out walls.

The discussion focused on practical details rather than mandating an installed charger. "You gotta put the wires in so that if somebody wants to then add a charger, they can roll it out there," a commission member said during the discussion, summarizing the practical objective of the proposal. Staff clarified that the requirement would not force homeowners to buy chargers at the time of construction but would require the electrical infrastructure to be sized and located to accommodate one.

The motion to accept the memo passed by voice vote; the commission asked staff to follow normal council referral procedures. City staff will prepare the formal language and take the commission's recommendation to council for consideration.

Commissioners and staff said the requirement is intended to reduce future retrofit costs and encourage EV adoption by lowering the barrier to installing home chargers in the future. The commission did not set an implementation date; any change would follow the city's standard ordinance and code-change process.