EV Charging Stations and Community Associations


Les Weinberg, MBA, RS and Scott Clements, RS, PRA, CMI


The popularity of electric vehicles (EV) as a mode of transportation continues to accelerate. Accordingly, the demand for electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) has and will continue to increase. However, implementation of EVCS in common interest developments can be a complicated and contentious process.


WHAT WE KNOW NOW:


California Civil Code § 4745 essentially states that any provision which either unreasonably prohibits or restricts the installation of an EVCS within an owner’s unit / parking space, conflicts with this section and may be unenforceable.


Health and Safety Code § 18941.11 requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to research and develop, and may propose for adoption by the commission, building standards for the installation of EVCS in existing multifamily dwellings, hotels, motels, and nonresidential developments during retrofits, additions, and alterations to existing parking facilities.


Although there are no current requirements regarding EVCS in existing buildings, the Building Standards Code is anticipated to address adding parking facilities or adding/altering an electrical system. New requirements will mandate 10% of the altered spaces to be “EV Capable” (power, no plugs or charger).


Current new construction requirements state that 10% of spaces must be EV Capable for multi-family developments and hotels, motels with less than 20 units, and 25% of the spaces must be “EV Ready” (power & EV plug, not a charger), although no more than one receptacle per dwelling unit is required. In the case of more than 20 units, 5% of spaces must be “EV Installed” (power, EV plug, and charger).


WHERE IT’S HEADED:


Electrical power requirements per the 1950s building standards addressed basic needs: essentially lighting and receptacles. By the 1970s changes were implemented due to larger demand for appliances requiring greater amounts of electricity, including electric ovens, air conditioners, and clothes dryers. However, even systems designed after 2000 did not account for the increased demand due to high-powered computer systems (there is a reason cryptocurrency mining is done in remote locations with few regulations!), millions of gamers using PlayStation 5s and giant monitors continuously, EV, e-bikes, air-fryers, and 90” televisions. And, add the recent changes to California law prohibiting the sale of gas-powered landscape


12 September | October 2023


equipment after January 2024…which all leads us to our current circumstances.


WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREPARE GOING FORWARD?


Electrical Engineer Evaluation: Identify current capacity and potential future demand needs, and what system modifications may be necessary. Add direct current charging stations or Level 2 EV stations? How many stations? How far away is the utility power source? Will new service connections be necessary, or interior wiring upgrades? New meter bays? Transformers?


Add A New Reserve Study Component: Electrical Infrastructure. The Civil Code requires major components with a remaining useful life of less than 30 years to be included in a reserve study. Adding “electrical infrastructure” without a cost estimate serves as a notification that an evaluation is in process and that funding will ultimately be assigned.


Discuss With Owners: Be transparent regarding future needs, timing, and options under consideration. Provide information on recent laws and trends as well as anticipated electrical consumption.


Provide Detailed Cost Estimates: With ever-growing budgets due to minimum wage increases, exceptional current inflation rates, property insurance hikes due to wildfires, and inspections mandated by “The Balcony Bill,” it is critical to itemize the potential new costs – both immediate as well as future.


The addition of EVCS will obviously necessitate current as well as future additional expenditures. However, included in the estimates presented to the owners there should also be mention of the anticipated benefits, like cost savings from the elimination of gasoline as well as Federal, State, and local rebates from the acquisition of EV’s. Perhaps introduce the concept of a partial solar panel system to reduce electricity costs. Then there are the health benefits due to the elimination of internal combustion, the convenience of no more stops to get gas, and the prospects of bluer skies – a brighter future overall!


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