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 general plan for the physical development of the county or city and authorizes 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, 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 an application for 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 county with a population of 200,000 or more residents to adopt an ordinance, by September 30, 2016, that creates an expedited and streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations, as specified. 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. The bill would authorize the city, county, or city and county, in developing the ordinance, to refer to guidelines contained in a specified guidebook. The bill would also authorize the adoption of an ordinance that modifies the checklists and standards found in the guidebook due to unique conditions. 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:
Section 65850.7 is added to the Government
2Code, to read:
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
4following:
P3 1(1) The implementation of consistent statewide standards to
2achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of electric vehicle
3charging stations is not a municipal affair, as that term is used in
4Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is instead
5a matter of statewide concern.
6(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies not adopt
7ordinances that create unreasonable barriers to the installation of
8electric vehicle charging stations and not unreasonably restrict the
9ability of homeowners and agricultural and
business concerns to
10install electric vehicle charging stations.
11(3) It is the policy of the state to promote and encourage the use
12of electric vehicle charging stations and to limit obstacles to their
13use.
14(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies comply
15not only with the language of this section, but also the legislative
16intent to encourage the installation of electric vehicle charging
17stations by removing obstacles to, and minimizing costs of,
18permitting for chargingbegin delete stations.end deletebegin insert stations so long as the action does
19not supersede the building official’s authority to identify and
20address higher priority life-safety situations.end insert
21(b) A city, county, or city and county shall administratively
22approve an application to install electric vehicle charging stations
23through the issuance of a building permit or similar
24nondiscretionary permit. Review of the application to install an
25electric vehicle charging station shall be limited to the building
26official’s review of whether it meets all health and safety
27
requirements of local, state, and federal law. The requirements of
28local law shall be limited to those standards and regulations
29necessary to ensure that the electric vehicle charging station will
30not have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety.
31However, if the building official of the city, county, or city and
32county makes a finding, based on substantial evidence, that the
33electric vehicle charging station could have a specific, adverse
34impact upon the public health or safety, the city, county, or city
35and county may require the applicant to apply for a use permit.
36(c) A city, county, or city and county may not deny an
37application for a use permit to install an electric vehicle charging
38station unless it makes written findings based upon substantial
39evidence in the record that the proposed installation would
have
40a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and
P4 1there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the
2specific, adverse impact. The findings shall include the basis for
3the rejection of potential feasible alternatives of preventing the
4adverse impact.
5(d) The decision of the building official pursuant to subdivisions
6(b) and (c) may be appealed to the planning commission of the
7city, county, or city and county.
8(e) Any conditions imposed on an application to install an
9electric vehicle charging station shall be designed to mitigate the
10specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety at the
11lowest cost possible.
12(f) (1) An electric vehicle charging
station shall meet applicable
13health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and
14local permitting authorities.
15(2) An electric vehicle charging station shall meet all applicable
16safety and performance standards established by the California
17Electrical Code,begin delete the Institute of Electrical and Electronics begin insert the Society of Automotive Engineers, the National
18Engineers,end delete
19Electrical Manufacturers Association,end insert and accredited testing
20laboratories such as Underwriters Laboratories and, where
21applicable, rules of the Public Utilities Commission regarding
22safety and reliability.
23(g) (1) On or
before September 30, 2016, every city, county,
24or city and county with a population of 200,000 or more residents,
25and, on or before September 30, 2017, every city, county, or city
26and county with a population of less than 200,000 residents, shall,
27in consultation with the local fire department or district and the
28utility director, if the city, county, or city and county operates a
29utility, adopt an ordinance, consistent with the goals and intent of
30this section, that creates an expedited, streamlined permitting
31process for electric vehicle charging stations. In developing an
32expedited permitting process, the city, county, or city and county
33shall adopt a checklist of all requirements with which electric
34vehicle charging stations shall comply to be eligible for expedited
35review. An application that satisfies the information requirements
36in the checklist, as determined by the city, county, or city and
37county,
shall be deemed complete. Upon confirmation by the city,
38county, or city and county of the application and supporting
39documents being complete and meeting the requirements of the
40checklist, and consistent with the ordinance, a city, county, or city
P5 1and county shall, consistent with subdivision (b), approve the
2application and issue all required permits or authorizations.
3However, the city, county, or city and county may establish a
4process to prioritize competing applications for expedited permits.
5Upon receipt of an incomplete application, a city, county, or city
6and county shall issue a written correction notice detailing all
7deficiencies in the application and any additional information
8required to be eligible for expedited permit issuance. An application
9submitted to a city, county, or city and county that owns and
10operates an electric utility shall demonstrate compliance with the
11utility’s
interconnection policies prior to approval.
12(2) The checklist and required permitting documentation shall
13be published on a publicly accessible Internet Web site, if the city,
14county, or city and county has an Internet Web site, and the city,
15county, or city and county shall allow for electronic submittal of
16a permit application and associated documentation, and shall
17authorize the electronic signature on all forms, applications, and
18other documentation in lieu of a wet signature by an applicant. In
19developing the ordinance, the city, county, or city and county may
20refer to the recommendations contained in the most current version
21of the “Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Permitting
22Checklist” of the “Zero-Emission Vehicles in California:
23Community Readiness Guidebook” published by the Office of
24Planning and Research. A city,
county, or city and county may
25adopt an ordinance that modifies the checklists and standards found
26in the guidebook due to unique climactic, geological, seismological,
27or topographical conditions. If a city, county, or city and county
28determines that it is unable to authorize the acceptance of an
29electronic signature on all forms, applications, and other documents
30in lieu of a wet signature by an applicant, the city, county, or city
31and county shall state, in the ordinance required under this
32subdivision, the reasons for its inability to accept electronic
33signatures and acceptance of an electronic signature shall not be
34required.
35(h) A city, county, or city and county shall not condition
36approval for any electric vehicle charging station permit on the
37approval of an electric vehicle charging station by an association,
38as that term is defined
in Section 4080 of the Civil Code.
39(i) The following definitions shall apply to this section:
P6 1(1) “A feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the
2specific, adverse impact” includes, but is not limited to, any
3cost-effective method, condition, or mitigation imposed by a city,
4county, or city and county on another similarly situated application
5in a prior successful application for a permit.
6(2) “Electronic submittal” means the utilization of one or more
7of the following:
8(A) Email.
9(B) The Internet.
10(C) Facsimile.
11(3) “Electric vehicle charging station” or “charging station”
12means any level of electric vehicle supply equipment station that
13is designed and built in compliance with Article 625 of the
14California Electrical Code, as it reads on the effective date of this
15section, and delivers electricity from a source outside an electric
16vehicle into a plug-in electric vehicle.
17(4) “Specific, adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable,
18direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified, and
19written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions
20as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
22Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
23a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
24charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
25level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
2617556 of the Government Code.
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