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Alexandria council approves curbside EV charging pilot and new EV-only parking rule

Alexandria City Council · February 10, 2026

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Summary

Council approved a pilot allowing vendors to install publicly accessible curbside EV chargers at no cost to the city, with limits on initial deployment (up to 60 ports citywide, 4–20 per vendor) and a new ordinance reserving EV-only parking where a charging cable must be plugged in to avoid a $25 fine.

Council approved a curbside electric-vehicle charging pilot and a related ordinance to reserve EV charging-only parking spaces in the public right-of-way.

Amy Posner, the city’s electric vehicle planner, described the two linked actions: (1) add EV chargers as allowed encroachments and issue five-year licenses to vendors who will finance, install and operate curbside chargers at no cost to the city; and (2) adopt a parking ordinance that allows an EV-charging-only parking designation adjacent to the chargers. Posner said the early iteration will permit a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 60 charging ports across the city and cap vendor deployments at 20 ports each. The program includes siting restrictions, a quarterly data-reporting requirement by vendors on utilization and a pause after two years to evaluate use and implementation.

Under the new parking ordinance, an EV occupying an EV-only space must have a charging cable plugged in; enforcement is modeled on existing special-space signage and the maximum fine is $25 under Virginia Code. Councilmember O'Newby moved the encroachment ordinance and Councilman Chapman seconded; the council approved both items by roll-call vote.

Councilmembers asked about vendor performance standards and maintenance obligations; staff said license agreements include response-time and maintenance clauses and allow remedies for default, including termination. Staff also said the design will aim to minimize streetscape impact in historic districts and include restrictions so chargers do not cluster in a single area.