by Garth Meyer
In a matter of “ordinance housekeeping” as described by Redondo Beach City Manager Mike Witzansky, the city council Tuesday voted 5-0 to move forward to establish a faster permit process to install electric vehicle charging stations.
The action is the latest step for a 2015 state law that requires local jurisdictions to create streamlined processes to put in the stations, public or private.
The Redondo Beach city attorney’s office drafted an ordinance modeled on one given by the state, and the city’s community development department has worked with a third-party consultant to refine its procedures to meet the law.
Marc Wiener, community development director, noted Tuesday night that applying for an E.V. charger is usually a “by right” approval – an applicant just files for a building permit.
As stated in the draft ordinance, the application is decided by the Redondo Beach chief building official, Lorena Soules. In some cases, though, if public safety and/or health hazards may be in play for an E.V. charger project, Soules may require a conditional use permit.
This decision may be appealed to the planning commission.
City Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr., asked how many recent permit applications the city has received for charging stations.
Soules did not have a specific number then, but said that the applications received are mostly for residential – home chargers in a garage.
Redondo Beach has recently applied for more grants to add more public E.V. charging stations, but has not been successful of late.
“We continue to try to add that infrastructure to the city,” said Witzansky.
Wiener noted that the local E.V. charger permit process mirrors that of solar panel requirements.
Councilman Nils Nehrenheim praised a checklist made by Wiener’s staff, included in the draft ordinance, which lays out installation standards for E.V. chargers, and what is needed for a faster permit review.
“It’s the no. 1 question I get,” Nehrenheim said, regarding all types of (building) projects in the city.
The checklist calls for the applicant to, among other things, submit their location’s existing electrical service features such as system voltage and the ampere and circuit rating of the vehicle’s supply equipment.
On Feb. 4, community development staff will present to the council its organizational assessment/plans to reduce permit times.
In recent years, the state has also passed legislation to streamline permitting for other energy projects.
The 2015 bill on E.V. chargers applies to cities with a population under 200,000. ER
