Centennial council directs staff to seek resolution keeping local EV charging rules amid new state law

Centennial staff recommended the city use a resolution to comply with a new Colorado law while keeping its locally adopted electric vehicle (EV) charging standards, and the City Council gave staff direction to prepare that resolution.

Brad McKennis, a city planner, told the council the city adopted EV charging standards in July 2023 and has since issued “hundreds of permits.” He summarized House Bill 24-1173 — enacted in the 2024 legislative session — which requires covered municipalities to select one of three compliance options and report that choice to the Colorado Energy Office by March 1, 2026. He recommended “City Council pursue compliance option number 3 in the House Bill through resolution,” which would let Centennial keep its existing standards while meeting the state reporting requirement.

Why this matters: the state’s model code treats some EV charging facilities as a primary use that can trigger additional procedural steps, including required public hearings or virtual community meetings when sites are within 200 feet of residential property. McKennis said Centennial’s local land development code is tailored to the city and that automatically adopting the state model could eliminate the city’s current public-notice and review options for some projects.

Council members pressed staff on details. One council member asked whether opting to keep local standards would carry any penalty; McKennis said “that is correct” — opting for the resolution approach would not impose a penalty. Another asked which body would hear a primary-use project after public comment; McKennis said such projects would go to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a public hearing and the usual development-order review, with additional virtual community meeting requirements if the site is within 200 feet of residential zones.

Outcome and next steps: Council signaled support for staff’s recommendation by a thumbs-up direction on the discussion item. McKennis said staff will prepare a staff report and a draft resolution for the council’s packet and place the resolution on a future consent agenda for formal adoption.

Officials and sources: Brad McKennis, planner, presented the background, the staff recommendation and the compliance timeline. The discussion cited House Bill 24-1173 and the Colorado Energy Office as the state authorities defining compliance and reporting.

The council’s direction does not itself change code; formal adoption would require placement of the resolution on a future agenda and any required vote.