BILL NUMBER: SB 880 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE FEBRUARY 23, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JANUARY 30, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 23, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 18, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 7, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 21, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Butler)
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Sections 1353.9 and 1363.07 of the Civil Code,
relating to common interest developments, and declaring the urgency
thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 880, Corbett. Common interest developments: electric vehicle
charging stations.
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act defines and
regulates common interest developments, which include community
apartment projects, condominium projects, planned developments, and
stock cooperatives. Beginning January 1, 2012, any covenant,
restriction, or condition in a deed or other instrument affecting the
transfer or sale of an interest in a common interest development, or
any provision of the governing documents of a common interest
development, that prohibits or restricts the installation or use of
an electric vehicle charging station is void and unenforceable. On
and after January 1, 2012, if an electric vehicle charging station is
to be placed in a common area, the homeowner and common interest
development association shall be subject to certain requirements.
This bill would make those provisions applicable only to the
installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station in an
owner's designated parking space, as described. The bill would also
provide that any provision in those documents that is in conflict
with those requirements is void and unenforceable. The bill would
authorize the installation of a charging station for the exclusive
use of an owner in a common area that is not an exclusive use common
area only if installation in the owner's designated parking space is
impossible or unreasonably expensive. However, the bill would
authorize an association or owners to install a charging station in
the common area for the use of all members, and would require the
association to develop appropriate terms of use for the charging
station. The bill would authorize the board of directors of an
association to grant exclusive use of a portion of the common area
without the affirmative vote of the members of the association for
the purpose of installing and using an electric vehicle charging
station in an owner's garage or designated parking space, under
specified circumstances, such as when the installation or use of the
charging station requires reasonable access through the common area
for utility lines or meters.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1353.9 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
1353.9. (a) Any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in
any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument
affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a common interest
development, and any provision of a governing document, as defined in
subdivision (j) of Section 1351, that either effectively prohibits
or unreasonably restricts the installation or use of an electric
vehicle charging station in an owner's designated parking space,
including, but not limited to, a deeded parking space, a parking
space in an owner's exclusive use common area, or a parking space
that is specifically designated for use by a particular owner, or is
in conflict with the provisions of this section is void and
unenforceable.
(b) (1) This section does not apply to provisions that impose
reasonable restrictions on electric vehicle charging stations.
However, it is the policy of the state to promote, encourage, and
remove obstacles to the use of electric vehicle charging stations.
(2) For purposes of this section, "reasonable restrictions" are
restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of the
station or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified
performance.
(c) An electric vehicle charging station shall meet applicable
health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and
local authorities as well as all other applicable zoning, land use or
other ordinances, or land use permits.
(d) For purposes of this section, "electric vehicle charging
station" means a station that is designed in compliance with the
California Building Standards Code and delivers electricity from a
source outside an electric vehicle into one or more electric
vehicles. An electric vehicle charging station may include several
charge points simultaneously connecting several electric vehicles to
the station and any related equipment needed to facilitate charging
plug-in electric vehicles.
(e) If approval is required for the installation or use of an
electric vehicle charging station, the application for approval shall
be processed and approved by the association in the same manner as
an application for approval of an architectural modification to the
property, and shall not be willfully avoided or delayed. The approval
or denial of an application shall be in writing. If an application
is not denied in writing within 60 days from the date of receipt of
the application, the application shall be deemed approved, unless
that delay is the result of a reasonable request for additional
information.
(f) If the electric vehicle charging station is to be placed in a
common area or an exclusive use common area, as designated in the
common interest development's declaration, the following provisions
apply:
(1) The owner first shall obtain approval from the association to
install the electric vehicle charging station and the association
shall approve the installation if the owner agrees in writing to do
all of the following:
(A) Comply with the association's architectural standards for the
installation of the charging station.
(B) Engage a licensed contractor to install the charging station.
(C) Within 14 days of approval, provide a certificate of insurance
that names the association as an additional insured under the owner'
s insurance policy in the amount set forth in paragraph (3).
(D) Pay for the electricity usage associated with the charging
station.
(2) The owner and each successive owner of the charging station
shall be responsible for all of the following:
(A) Costs for damage to the charging station, common area,
exclusive use common area, or separate interests resulting from the
installation, maintenance, repair, removal, or replacement of the
charging station.
(B) Costs for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the
charging station until it has been removed and for the restoration of
the common area after removal.
(C) The cost of electricity associated with the charging station.
(D) Disclosing to prospective buyers the existence of any charging
station of the owner and the related responsibilities of the owner
under this section.
(3) The owner and each successive owner of the charging station,
at all times, shall maintain a homeowner liability coverage policy in
the amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000), and shall name the
association as a named additional insured under the policy with a
right to notice of cancellation.
(4) A homeowner shall not be required to maintain a homeowner
liability coverage policy for an existing National Electrical
Manufacturers Association standard alternating current power plug.
(g) Except as provided in subdivision (h), installation of an
electric vehicle charging station for the exclusive use of an owner
in a common area, that is not an exclusive use common area, shall be
authorized by the association only if installation in the owner's
designated parking space is impossible or unreasonably expensive. In
such cases, the association shall enter into a license agreement with
the owner for the use of the space in a common area, and the owner
shall comply with all of the requirements in subdivision (f).
(h) The association or owners may install an electric vehicle
charging station in the common area for the use of all members of the
association and, in that case, the association shall develop
appropriate terms of use for the charging station.
(i) An association may create a new parking space where one did
not previously exist to facilitate the installation of an electric
vehicle charging station.
(j) An association that willfully violates this section shall be
liable to the applicant or other party for actual damages, and shall
pay a civil penalty to the applicant or other party in an amount not
to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(k) In any action to enforce compliance with this section, the
prevailing plaintiff shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees.
SEC. 2. Section 1363.07 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
1363.07. (a) After an association acquires fee title to, or any
easement right over, a common area, unless the association's
governing documents specify a different percentage, the affirmative
vote of members owning at least 67 percent of the separate interests
in the common interest development shall be required before the board
of directors may grant exclusive use of any portion of that common
area to any member, except for any of the following:
(1) A reconveyance of all or any portion of that common area to
the subdivider to enable the continuation of development that is in
substantial conformance with a detailed plan of phased development
submitted to the Real Estate Commissioner with the application for a
public report.
(2) Any grant of exclusive use that is in substantial conformance
with a detailed plan of phased development submitted to the Real
Estate Commissioner with the application for a public report or in
accordance with the governing documents approved by the Real Estate
Commissioner.
(3) Any grant of exclusive use that is for any of the following
reasons:
(A) To eliminate or correct engineering errors in documents
recorded with the county recorder or on file with a public agency or
utility company.
(B) To eliminate or correct encroachments due to errors in
construction of any improvements.
(C) To permit changes in the plan of development submitted to the
Real Estate Commissioner in circumstances where the changes are the
result of topography, obstruction, hardship, aesthetic
considerations, or environmental conditions.
(D) To fulfill the requirement of a public agency.
(E) To transfer the burden of management and maintenance of any
common area that is generally inaccessible and not of general use to
the membership at large of the association.
(F) Any grant in connection with an expressly zoned industrial or
commercial development, or any grant within a subdivision of the type
defined in Section 1373.
(G) (i) To install and use an electric vehicle charging station in
an owner's garage or a designated parking space that meets the
requirements of Section 1353.9, where the installation or use of the
charging station requires reasonable access through, or across, the
common area for utility lines or meters.
(ii) To install and use an electric vehicle charging station
through a license granted by an association under Section 1353.9.
(b) Any measure placed before the members requesting that the
board of directors grant exclusive use of any portion of the common
area shall specify whether the association will receive any monetary
consideration for the grant and whether the association or the
transferee will be responsible for providing any insurance coverage
for exclusive use of the common area.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to fully effectuate, in common interest developments, the
state's policy to promote, encourage, and remove obstacles to the
use of electric vehicle charging stations at the earliest possible
time, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.