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Madera council introduces ordinance to speed permits for electric‑vehicle charging stations
Summary
To comply with state law, the council waived full reading and introduced an ordinance to create an expedited, objective permitting checklist and online application process for residential and commercial EV charging stations; the change will limit discretionary review except where a substantial adverse public‑safety finding is made by the building official.
The City Council on March 18 moved to adopt a new local ordinance to implement California’s streamlined permitting requirements for electric‑vehicle charging stations.
The city’s chief building official explained that state law requires local jurisdictions to adopt an expedited permitting process and an objective checklist for EV charging station installations so projects that meet health and safety standards can be approved quickly. The proposed ordinance would allow online submittals, set clear timelines for completeness review and final action, and narrow discretionary review to cases where the building official makes a specific, evidence‑based finding of an adverse impact on public health or safety.
Council members clarified that the ordinance covers both residential and commercial installations and that, while most applicants currently comply with the standard permitting process, the streamlined ordinance will reduce the chance that a permit could be deemed approved by operation of law because the city missed statutory timelines.
Council unanimously voted to waive full reading and introduce the ordinance by title. Staff said the ordinance includes a checklist of objective requirements and will protect residents’ ability to permit chargers without undue delay while preserving authority to require a use permit in narrowly defined circumstances.
Why it matters The ordinance aims to remove unnecessary time barriers for home and business owners who want to install EV chargers while preserving the building official’s authority to require additional review in specific safety cases. Under the state code, failure to act within the prescribed time frames can result in the permit being deemed approved by operation of law.
Next steps Staff will return with the final ordinance adoption on a future agenda after required noticing and any additional revisions.
