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Boulder County chooses to use existing code to comply with Colorado EV charging permit law
Summary
County staff recommended, and the board approved, adopting the state’s third compliance pathway that allows Boulder County to rely on its existing land-use code for EV charging permitting. Staff said the county's code already permits charging as accessory or principal uses and that adopting the full model code could add complexity.
Ethan Abner, a long-range planner with Boulder County Community Planning & Permitting, presented staff analysis recommending the county adopt Colorado's third EV compliance pathway — effectively leaving the county's existing code in place for EV charging permitting rather than adopting the state model code.
Abner said staff reviewed the model EV code after it was released and concluded that Boulder County's land-use code is permissive enough to allow EV charging as either an accessory or principal use in many contexts. "We think that adoption of the model code might result in more complex and complicated code than we think is necessary," Abner said. He added staff consulted with internal colleagues and found no strong opposition to the recommendation.
Commissioners asked if any EV stakeholders raised concerns and how the county's climate-goals work with the decision. Abner said staff had conversations about other policy tools that could support EV charging in the future but found the county's code already aligns with many of the model-code standards. The board moved to adopt the draft resolution as posted and assigned the clerk to apply a resolution number after approval.
The approval is intended to put Boulder County into compliance with the state law on or before the Dec. 31, 2025 deadline and does not yet represent a broader policy change on EV infrastructure funding or battery-recycling policy.
