Bill Text: CA AB1236 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Local ordinances: electric vehicle charging stations.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 598, Statutes of 2015. [AB1236 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1236-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1236 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 598
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 8, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 8, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 27, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 9, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Chiu and Low
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Linder)
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to add Section 65850.7 to the Government Code, relating to
local ordinances.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1236, 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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 65850.7 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
65850.7. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The implementation of consistent statewide standards to
achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of electric
vehicle charging stations is not a municipal affair, as that term is
used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but
is instead a matter of statewide concern.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies not
adopt ordinances that create unreasonable barriers to the
installation of electric vehicle charging stations and not
unreasonably restrict the ability of homeowners and agricultural and
business concerns to install electric vehicle charging stations.
(3) It is the policy of the state to promote and encourage the use
of electric vehicle charging stations and to limit obstacles to
their use.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies comply
not only with the language of this section, but also the legislative
intent to encourage the installation of electric vehicle charging
stations by removing obstacles to, and minimizing costs of,
permitting for charging stations so long as the action does not
supersede the building official's authority to identify and address
higher priority life-safety situations.
(b) A city, county, or city and county shall administratively
approve an application to install electric vehicle charging stations
through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary
permit. Review of the application to install an electric vehicle
charging station shall be limited to the building official's review
of whether it meets all health and safety requirements of local,
state, and federal law. The requirements of local law shall be
limited to those standards and regulations necessary to ensure that
the electric vehicle charging station will not have a specific,
adverse impact upon the public health or safety. However, if the
building official of the city, county, or city and county makes a
finding, based on substantial evidence, that the electric vehicle
charging station could have a specific, adverse impact upon the
public health or safety, the city, county, or city and county may
require the applicant to apply for a use permit.
(c) A city, county, or city and county may not deny an application
for a use permit to install an electric vehicle charging station
unless it makes 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 findings shall include the basis for the
rejection of potential feasible alternatives of preventing the
adverse impact.
(d) The decision of the building official pursuant to subdivisions
(b) and (c) may be appealed to the planning commission of the city,
county, or city and county.
(e) Any conditions imposed on an application to install an
electric vehicle charging station shall be designed to mitigate the
specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety at the
lowest cost possible.
(f) (1) An electric vehicle charging station shall meet applicable
health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and
local permitting authorities.
(2) An electric vehicle charging station shall meet all applicable
safety and performance standards established by the California
Electrical Code, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the National
Electrical Manufacturers Association, and accredited testing
laboratories such as Underwriters Laboratories and, where applicable,
rules of the Public Utilities Commission regarding safety and
reliability.
(g) (1) On or before September 30, 2016, every city, county, or
city and county with a population of 200,000 or more residents, and,
on or before September 30, 2017, every city, county, or city and
county with a population of less than 200,000 residents, shall, in
consultation with the local fire department or district and the
utility director, if the city, county, or city and county operates a
utility, adopt an ordinance, consistent with the goals and intent of
this section, that creates an expedited, streamlined permitting
process for electric vehicle charging stations. In developing an
expedited permitting process, the city, county, or city and county
shall adopt a checklist of all requirements with which electric
vehicle charging stations shall comply to be eligible for expedited
review. An application that satisfies the information requirements in
the checklist, as determined by the city, county, or city and
county, shall be deemed complete. Upon confirmation by the city,
county, or city and county of the application and supporting
documents being complete and meeting the requirements of the
checklist, and consistent with the ordinance, a city, county, or city
and county shall, consistent with subdivision (b), approve the
application and issue all required permits or authorizations.
However, the city, county, or city and county may establish a process
to prioritize competing applications for expedited permits. Upon
receipt of an incomplete application, a city, county, or city and
county shall issue a written correction notice detailing all
deficiencies in the application and any additional information
required to be eligible for expedited permit issuance. An application
submitted to a city, county, or city and county that owns and
operates an electric utility shall demonstrate compliance with the
utility's interconnection policies prior to approval.
(2) The checklist and required permitting documentation shall be
published on a publicly accessible Internet Web site, if the city,
county, or city and county has an Internet Web site, and the city,
county, or city and county shall allow for electronic submittal of a
permit application and associated documentation, and shall authorize
the electronic signature on all forms, applications, and other
documentation in lieu of a wet signature by an applicant. In
developing the ordinance, the city, county, or city and county may
refer to the recommendations contained in the most current version of
the "Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Permitting Checklist"
of the "Zero-Emission Vehicles in California: Community Readiness
Guidebook" published by the Office of Planning and Research. A city,
county, or city and county may adopt an ordinance that modifies the
checklists and standards found in the guidebook due to unique
climactic, geological, seismological, or topographical conditions. If
a city, county, or city and county determines that it is unable to
authorize the acceptance of an electronic signature on all forms,
applications, and other documents in lieu of a wet signature by an
applicant, the city, county, or city and county shall state, in the
ordinance required under this subdivision, the reasons for its
inability to accept electronic signatures and acceptance of an
electronic signature shall not be required.
(h) A city, county, or city and county shall not condition
approval for any electric vehicle charging station permit on the
approval of an electric vehicle charging station by an association,
as that term is defined in Section 4080 of the Civil Code.
(i) The following definitions shall apply to this section:
(1) "A feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the
specific, adverse impact" includes, but is not limited to, any
cost-effective method, condition, or mitigation imposed by a city,
county, or city and county on another similarly situated application
in a prior successful application for a permit.
(2) "Electronic submittal" means the utilization of one or more of
the following:
(A) Email.
(B) The Internet.
(C) Facsimile.
(3) "Electric vehicle charging station" or "charging station"
means any level of electric vehicle supply equipment station that is
designed and built in compliance with Article 625 of the California
Electrical Code, as it reads on the effective date of this section,
and delivers electricity from a source outside an electric vehicle
into a plug-in electric vehicle.
(4) "Specific, adverse impact" means a significant, quantifiable,
direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified, and
written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as
they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.
