County amends building code to require emergency EV‑charging disconnects and ease multifamily wiring rules

The Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners voted to adopt two amendments to the Unified Building and Trades Code affecting electrical installations. Chris Labrum, a county UBTC official, told commissioners the first change would add a requirement for a bank‑level emergency power disconnect for commercial electric‑vehicle charging installations (one disconnect per bank, placed between 20 and 100 feet from the bank) to improve first‑responder safety; the second change relaxes a multi‑decade rule requiring full commercial wiring in multifamily buildings above three stories to allow baseline NEC guidance (non‑metallic sheath/Romex) in dwelling units below the county’s high‑rise threshold.

"This would require that each bank... has a power disconnect not closer than 20 feet to the bank of chargers, but not further than 100 feet away," Chris Labrum said, describing the safety rationale. Labrum said the EV‑disconnect requirement applies to new installations, not existing banks, and that the multifamily change aligns local code with recent NEC guidance and current industry practice while retaining commercial wiring requirements where the high‑rise definition applies.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about retroactivity and fire department notification; Labrum replied there would be no retroactive requirement for existing chargers and that staff would coordinate implementation with fire officials. The board approved the amendment on a unanimous roll call.

Implementation steps: staff will publish the local amendment language, notify permitting and fire‑safety partners, and apply the new rules to future permitting and inspections.