Amended in Senate July 9, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1236


Introduced by Assembly Members Chiu and Low

February 27, 2015


An act to add Section 65850.7 to the Government Code, relating to local ordinances.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1236, as amended, Chiu. Local ordinances: electric vehicle charging stations.

The Planning and Zoning Law, among other things, requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city and of any land outside its boundaries that relates to its planning, and provides for the adoption and administration of zoning laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations by counties and cities. Existing law, the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access Act, prohibits the charging of a subscription fee on persons desiring to use an electric vehicle charging station, as defined, that requires payment of a fee and prohibits a requirement for persons to obtain membership in any club, association, or organization as a condition of using the station, except as specified.

The bill would require a city, county, or city and county to approve the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, as defined, through the issuance of specified permits unless the city or county makes specified written findings based upon substantial evidence in the record that the proposed installation would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. The bill would provide for appeal of that decision to the planning commission, as specified. The bill would provide that the implementation of consistent statewide standards to achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of electric vehicle charging stations is a matter of statewide concern. The bill would require electric vehicle charging stations to meet specified standards. The bill would require a city, county, or city and countybegin insert with a population of 200,000 or more residentsend insert to adopt an ordinance, by September 30, 2016, that creates an expedited and streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations, as specified.begin insert The bill would require a city, county, or city and county with a population of less than 200,000 residents to adopt this ordinance by September 30, 2017.end insert By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 65850.7 is added to the Government
2Code
, to read:

3

65850.7.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
4following:

5(1) The implementation of consistent statewide standards to
6achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of electric vehicle
7charging stations is not a municipal affair, as that term is used in
8Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is instead
9a matter of statewide concern.

10(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies not adopt
11ordinances that create unreasonable barriers to the installation of
12electric vehicle chargingbegin delete stations, including, but not limited to,
13design review for aesthetic purposes,end delete
begin insert stationsend insert and not unreasonably
P3    1restrict the ability of homeowners and agricultural and business
2concerns to install electric vehicle charging stations.

3(3) It is the policy of the state to promote and encourage the use
4of electric vehicle charging stations and to limit obstacles to their
5use.

6(4)  It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies comply
7not only with the language of this section, but also the legislative
8intent to encourage the installation of electric vehicle charging
9stations by removing obstacles to, and minimizing costs of,
10permitting for such charging stations.

11(b) A city, county, or city and county shall administratively
12approve an application to install electric vehicle charging stations
13through the issuance of a building permit or similar
14nondiscretionary permit. Review of the application to install an
15electric vehicle charging station shall be limited to the building
16official’s review of whether it meets all health and safety
17requirements of local, state, and federal law. The requirements of
18local law shall be limited to those standards and regulations
19necessary to ensure that the electric vehicle charging station will
20not have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety.
21However, if the building official of the city, county, or city and
22county makes a finding, based on substantial evidence, that the
23 electric vehicle charging station could have a specific, adverse
24impact upon the public health or safety, the city, county, or city
25and county may require the applicant to apply for a use permit.

26(c) A city, county, or city and county may not deny an
27application for a use permit to install an electric vehicle charging
28station unless it makes written findings based upon substantial
29evidence in the record that the proposed installation would have
30a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and
31there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the
32specific, adverse impact. The findings shall include the basis for
33the rejection of potential feasible alternatives of preventing the
34adverse impact.

35(d) The decision of the building official pursuant to subdivisions
36(b) and (c) may be appealed to the planning commission of the
37city, county, or city and county.

38(e) Any conditions imposed on an application to install an
39electric vehicle charging station shall be designed to mitigate the
P4    1specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety at the
2lowest cost possible.

3(f) (1) An electric vehicle charging station shall meet applicable
4health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and
5local permitting authorities.

6(2) An electric vehicle charging station shall meet all applicable
7safety and performance standards established by the California
8Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
9Engineers, and accredited testing laboratories such as Underwriters
10Laboratories and, where applicable, rules of the Public Utilities
11Commission regarding safety and reliability.

12(g) (1) On or before September 30, 2016, every city, county,
13or city andbegin delete county,end deletebegin insert county with a population of 200,000 or more
14residents, and, on or before September 30, 2017, every city, county,
15or city and county with a population of less than 200,000 residents,
16shall,end insert
in consultation with the local fire department or district and
17the utility director, if the city, county, or city and county operates
18a utility,begin delete shallend delete adopt an ordinance, consistent with the goals and
19intent of this section, that creates an expedited, streamlined
20permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations. In
21developing an expedited permitting process, the city, county, or
22city and county shall adopt a checklist of all requirements with
23which electric vehicle charging station shall comply to be eligible
24for expedited review. An application that satisfies the information
25requirements in the checklist, as determined by the city, county,
26or city and county, shall be deemed complete. Upon confirmation
27by the city, county, or city and county of the application and
28supporting documents being complete and meeting the
29requirements of the checklist, and consistent with the ordinance,
30a city, county, or city and county shall, consistent with subdivision
31(b), approve the application and issue all required permits or
32authorizations.begin insert However, the city, county, or city and county may
33establish a process to prioritize competing applications for
34expedited permits.end insert
Upon receipt of an incomplete application, a
35city, county, or city and county shall issue a written correction
36notice detailing all deficiencies in the application and any
37additional information required to be eligible for expedited permit
38issuance.

39(2) The checklist and required permitting documentation shall
40be published on a publically accessible Internet Web site, if the
P5    1city, county, or city and county has an Internet Web site, and the
2city, county, or city and county shall allow for electronic submittal
3of a permit application and associated documentation, and shall
4authorize the electronic signature on all forms, applications, and
5other documentation in lieu of a wet signature by an applicant. In
6developing the ordinance, the city, county, or city and county shall
7begin delete substantiallyend deletebegin insert reasonablyend insert conform its expedited, streamlined
8permitting process with the recommendations for expedited
9permitting, including the checklists and standard plans contained
10in the most current version of the “Plug-In Electric Vehicle
11Infrastructure Permitting Checklist” of the “Zero-Emission
12Vehicles in California: Community Readiness Guidebook”
13published by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. A
14city, county, or city and county may adopt an ordinance that
15modifies the checklists and standards found in the guidebook due
16to unique climactic, geological, seismological, or topographical
17conditions. If a city, county, or city and county determines that it
18is unable to authorize the acceptance of an electronic signature on
19all forms, applications, and other documents in lieu of a wet
20signature by an applicant, the city, county, or city and county shall
21state, in the ordinance required under this subdivision, the reasons
22for its inability to accept electronic signatures and acceptance of
23an electronic signature shall not be required.

24(h) A city, county, or city and county shall not condition
25approval for any electric vehicle charging station permit on the
26approval of an electric vehicle charging station by an association,
27as that term is defined in Section 4080 of the Civil Code.

28(i) The following definitions shall apply to this section:

29(1) “A feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the
30specific, adverse impact” includes, but is not limited to, any
31cost-effective method, condition, or mitigation imposed by a city,
32county, or city and county on another similarly situated application
33in a prior successful application for a permit.

34(2) “Electronic submittal” means the utilization of one or more
35of the following:

36(A) Email.

37(B) The Internet.

38(C) Facsimile.

39(3) “Electric vehicle charging station” or “charging station”
40means any level of electric vehicle supply equipment station that
P6    1is designed and built in compliance with Article 625 of the
2California Electrical Code, as it reads on the effective date of this
3section, and delivers electricity from a source outside an electric
4vehicle into a plug-in electric vehicle.

5(4) “Specific, adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable,
6direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified, and
7written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions
8as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.

9

SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
10Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
11a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
12charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
13level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
1417556 of the Government Code.



O

    97