Alsip trustees approve drafting amendment to keybox ordinance for commercial EV chargers

The Alsip Village Board voted June 15 to direct village staff to draft an amendment to chapter 9, article 2, section 9-34 of the village code to require a series-4500 (or current-model) shutdown/cutoff device for high-voltage commercial electric-vehicle charging stations.

Trustee Cahill introduced the proposal as a firefighter safety measure, describing the requirement as intended for commercial charging facilities. ‘‘This will be retroactive to current facilities where applicable’’ was in the original draft language, but trustees debated whether that phrasing was fair to existing businesses.

Trustee Dzel pressed the board on retroactivity, saying, "I don't like the idea of passing something that's retroactive and adding that cost to somebody who didn't see it coming." After discussion, trustees moved to strike the retroactive language and clarify the change would apply to commercial facilities; the motion to approve drafting the amended ordinance passed on a roll call vote.

Mayor Ryan and other trustees emphasized the safety rationale and said staff will circulate the precise ordinance language for review before a final vote. Trustee Cahill had estimated the cost of the cutoff box itself at about $1,200, and trustees noted labor and contractor variation would affect total installation cost.

Next steps: village attorneys will prepare the amended ordinance for future consideration; no final code change or enforcement timeline was adopted at this meeting.

Topics: public-safety code, electric-vehicle infrastructure, municipal ordinance drafting.