Bill Text: NJ S2421 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Concerns installation of electric vehicle charging stations in common interest communties.*
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)
Status: (Vetoed) 2020-01-21 - Pocket Veto - Bills not Acted on by Governor-end of Session [S2421 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S2421-Amended.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Requires community associations to allow installation of electric vehicle charging stations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on February 14, 2019, with amendments.
An Act requiring community associations to allow the installation of electric vehicle charging stations and supplementing P.L.1993, c.30 (C.45:22A-43 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. (1) An association formed for the management of common elements and facilities of a planned real estate development, regardless of whether organized pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1993, c.30 (C.45:22A-43), shall not adopt or enforce a restriction, covenant, bylaw, rule, regulation, master deed provision, or provision of a governing document prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station in a designated parking space.
(2) 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 planned real estate development, and any provision of a master deed, bylaw, or other governing document that either prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station in a designated parking space, or is in conflict with the provisions of this section, is void and unenforceable.
(3) Notwithstanding any provisions of an association's governing documents concerning the grant of exclusive or limited use of any portion of a common element to a unit owner, the executive board of an association may grant exclusive or limited use of any portion of a common element to a unit owner:
(a) to install and use an electric vehicle charging station in a unit owner's designated parking space that meets the requirements of this section, where the installation or use of the charging station requires reasonable access through, or across, the common elements for utility lines or meters; or
(b) to install and use an electric vehicle charging station through a license granted by an association pursuant to subsection e. of this section.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an association from imposing reasonable restrictions on electric vehicle charging stations.
b. 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.
c. If association 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.
d. If the electric vehicle charging station is to be placed in a common element, or a limited common element in which more than one but less than all unit owners may park, the following provisions shall apply:
(1) the unit owner shall first obtain approval from the association to install the electric vehicle charging station and the association shall approve the installation if the unit owner agrees in writing to:
(a) comply with the association's architectural standards for the installation of the electric vehicle charging station,
(b) engage a licensed contractor to install the electric vehicle charging station,
(c) within 14 days of approval, provide a certificate of insurance that names the association as an additional insured under the unit owner's insurance policy in the amount set forth in paragraph (4) of this subsection, and
(d) pay for the electricity usage associated with the electric vehicle charging station;
(2) unless any of the following responsibilities are waived, in whole or in part, under the bylaws of the association, the unit owner and each successive unit owner of the electric vehicle charging station shall be responsible for the cost of:
(a) any damage to the electric vehicle 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) any maintenance, repair, and replacement of the electric vehicle charging station until it has been removed and for the restoration of the common area after removal, and
(c) the electricity usage associated with the electric vehicle charging station;
(3) the unit owner and each successive unit owner of the electric vehicle charging station shall be responsible for disclosing to prospective buyers the existence of the unit owner's electric vehicle charging station and the related responsibilities of the unit owner under this subsection;
(4) the unit owner and each successive unit owner of the electric vehicle charging station shall, at all times, maintain a homeowner liability coverage policy in the amount of $1,000,000 and shall name the association as a named additional insured under the policy with a right to notice of cancellation; and
(5) the unit owner shall not be required to maintain a homeowner liability coverage policy for an existing National Electrical Manufacturers Association standard alternating current power plug.
e. Except as provided in subsection f. of this section, installation of an electric vehicle charging station for the exclusive use of a unit owner in a common element, that is not a limited common element, shall be authorized by an association only if installation in the unit owner's designated parking space is impossible or unreasonably expensive. In such cases, the association shall enter into a license agreement with the unit owner for the use of the space in a common element, and the unit owner shall comply with all of the requirements in subsection d. of this section.
f. An association may install an electric vehicle charging station in a common element 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.
g. An association may create a new parking space where one did not previously exist to facilitate the installation of an electric vehicle charging station.
h. An association that willfully violates this section shall be liable to the unit owner or other party seeking authorization to install or use an electric vehicle charging station for any actual damages, and shall pay a civil penalty to the unit owner or other party in an amount not to exceed $1,000.
i. In any action to enforce compliance with this section, a prevailing unit owner or other party seeking authorization to install or use an electric vehicle charging station shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees.
j. The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall enforce the provisions of this bill in accordance with the authority granted under section 18 of P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-38).
k. As used in this section:
"Designated parking space" means a parking space that is specifically designated for use by a particular unit owner, including, but not limited to, a garage, a deeded parking space, and a parking space in a limited common element that is restricted for use by one or more unit owners;
"Electric vehicle charging station" means a station that is designed in compliance with the State Uniform Construction Code, adopted pursuant to P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), 1[and which] that1 delivers electricity from a source outside an electric vehicle into one or more electric vehicles 1, and that is capable of providing, at a minimum, Level 2 charging1. 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; and
"Reasonable restriction" means a restriction that does not significantly increase the cost of an electric vehicle charging station or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified performance.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
