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Planning Board agrees to post draft EV site‑plan regulations for public hearing after refining reporting and exhibit requirements
Summary
Staff and consultants presented draft site‑plan rules to implement the city’s recent EV zoning changes, proposing a low‑power Level 2, phased approach (initial 5% EVSE‑ready/outlet, EVSE‑ready/installed hierarchy), conduit planning for future charging, and annual reporting triggers; the board agreed by consensus to post the amendments for public hearing with clarifying edits to require annual reporting and an EV‑specific site plan exhibit.
Staff and consultants presented proposed site‑plan regulation amendments to implement recent zoning changes on electric vehicle (EV) charging. The draft emphasizes a low‑power Level 2 approach for multifamily housing and other uses, prioritizes low‑cost initial readiness and conduit planning for future expansion, and requires demonstration that developers considered incremental build‑out to match rising demand.
Key elements presented were: • Initial EVSE ready/outlet threshold: require a small share of on‑site spaces be EVSE ready or have a low‑power Level 2 outlet (staff used the example of 5% of required spaces or a minimum of two spaces for a 155‑unit project). • EVSE ready vs EVSE installed vs EVSE planned: a hierarchy distinguishing (a) installed chargers, (b) outlets/capacity ready to accept chargers, and (c) planned conduit and panel locations to allow future expansion without costly pavement excavation. • Triggered upgrades and reporting: the draft provides that when a high percentage (e.g., 80%) of EVSE‑ready spaces are in use, the owner must upgrade additional planned spaces; the board asked staff to change permissive language toward a requirement for annual reporting to help measure those triggers.
Members discussed enforceability and administrative burden. One board member proposed removing open‑ended developer‑defined triggers and instead relying on the draft ordinance’s 80% usage trigger; another argued for an annual reporting requirement so staff can assess compliance. The board also requested a standardized EV exhibit as part of site plan submissions so EV infrastructure details are not obscured by other electrical drawings.
The board reached consensus to post the edited site‑plan regulation language for public hearing with two primary edits: change reporting from "may" to "shall" (annual reporting to the planning department on EV usage and ready/installed counts) and require an EV‑specific exhibit in the submission checklist. Staff will prepare the public‑hearing version and a sample exhibit for the board.
