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Chelsea to hold public hearing on 16 on‑street EV charging spaces after vendor presentation
Summary
Commonwealth Electrical and city staff presented a state grant-funded plan for 16 on‑street EV charging spaces across four locations in Chelsea; commissioners moved the current 4-site/16-space plan to a public hearing in January amid concerns about outreach and loss of on‑street parking.
Steve Conte, a project manager with Commonwealth Electrical, told the Chelsea Traffic and Parking Commission that the city has been awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to install on‑street electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
"This program ... essentially is free electric vehicle charging infrastructure for on street parking," Conte said, describing a plan that would place two dual‑port pedestals (four charging ports) at each of four locations, for 16 on‑street spaces in total. He said the grant covers planning, construction and five years of software subscription and warranty support.
Commissioners pressed Conte on community outreach and parking impacts. Conte said the city received 30 survey responses during earlier outreach and that vendors can add idling fees and time limits in station software to discourage long‑term parking. Commissioners noted 30 responses is a small sample for a city of Chelsea's size and expressed unease about removing 16 on‑street parking spaces in a densely parked municipality.
Staff and commissioners discussed alternatives — for example, eight locations with two spaces each — and whether the commission could vote on a modified plan. Staff said the commission could partially approve or modify proposals after a public hearing and that additional sites could be added later if the city installed infrastructure to support them.
Given the grant timeline (installation and operation required in 2026), the commission voted to move the submitted four‑site/16‑space plan to a public hearing in January so residents can comment. The commission also directed staff to request an amended plan quickly if the vendor can present alternate site and port mixes sooner.
Next steps: the plan will be noticed for a public hearing; after the hearing the commission may modify or partially approve the project before it proceeds to City Council for final authorization.
