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Council discusses whether to require EV chargers for new multifamily and commercial projects
Summary
At the work session staff and council members discussed EV charger levels, local code gaps and options to require or incentivize chargers for multifamily and commercial development; no code change was adopted at the session.
Council members discussed how the city should approach electric-vehicle charging in new residential and commercial construction.
Speaker 1 introduced the item and Speaker 5, reporting from a clean-energy roadshow, summarized national charger counts and levels and noted Snellville currently has no code requirement for multifamily or commercial projects to provide charging infrastructure. "We don't have any requirements in our code, currently for multifamily or commercial projects to have any electrical chargers at all," Speaker 5 said.
Speaker 5 explained charger types to the council: Level 2 (slower, similar to common household electric loads and often 8–12 hours to charge) and Level 3 fast chargers (which can take a vehicle from roughly 20% to 80% in about 20 minutes). Council members discussed whether to set a minimum standard for multifamily projects where shared chargers could otherwise lead to long dwell times or extension‑cord use.
Members also raised practical concerns: installing Level 3 chargers may require heavier electrical infrastructure and coordination with the local utility; Speaker 5 said staff would need to work with the utility on any higher-capacity installations. The council asked staff to research options, costs and possible incentive programs and return with recommendations.
