CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Adopt the resolution supporting State of Illinois House Bill 3125 requiring newly built or extensively renovated residential buildings make all parking spaces electric vehicle capable
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Bill Novack, TED Director and Ben Mjolsness, Sustainability Coordinator
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In August 2021, the Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force (NEST) released its “Sustainable Naperville 2036” report. Subsequently, City staff and members of NEST collaborated on a presentation in a joint Sustainability Workshop on August 31, 2021.
In preparation for the Sustainability Workshop, City staff convened department directors and subject matter experts for a series of meetings to discuss the feasibility and prioritization of each strategy recommended in the 2036 report. Strategies were ranked and organized in the following categories:
• Currently Underway or Completed
• Immediate Plan (current - December 2022)
• Five-Year Plan (2023 - 2028)
• Outreach and Engagement (2022 - 2023)
Council approved the recommendations as presented.
One of NEST’s recommendations from the 2036 report was to “Add addendum to Naperville Code to require new development [be] EV-ready.” Staff concurred the recommendation should appear in the Sustainability Workplan and placed it in the Five-Year Plan (2023 - 2028) category as Transportation and Mobility - Objective 17.
The concept of the recommendation is to require that a certain percentage of multi-family residential, commercial, and office developments parking spots be made electric vehicle (EV)-ready. This consists of including the electrical capacity and pre-wiring to ensure properties have the capacity for EV charging stations when the tenants/property developers are ready for installation.
Being EV-ready helps ensure new developments incorporate current and future demand for EV charging infrastructure when planning the development project. Building this EV-readiness into the development plans may help significantly reduce the cost of retrofitting a property to incorporate EV charging infrastructure.
In order to ensure the City considered potential stakeholders, staff from the T.E.D., DPU-E, and Community Services Department convened a group of developers to discuss their approach to EV charging infrastructure. The consensus was that developers recognize the rising demand for EV charging stations, many are already building EV charging stations into their development plans, and the developers we talked with support an EV-ready requirement if it is reasonable and creates a level playing field for all developers operating in the region.
DISCUSSION:
Rep. Robyn Gabel advanced House Bill 3125 (HB 3125) through the House Energy and Environment Committee on January 12, 2022. The Bill passed committee on a partisan roll call, and the Bill sponsor will continue to work on it before bringing it for a full House vote.
Under HB 3125, newly built or extensively renovated residential buildings would have to make all spaces “electric vehicle (EV)-capable,” meaning they meet certain wiring requirements. Depending on the size of the parking lot, a certain number of spaces would have to be EV-ready, meaning they contain receptacles with the necessary voltage to install an EV charging station. Also, residential buildings would be required to have at least six parking spaces ready for installation of charging stations. If there are one to six parking spaces, all spaces would be required to be EV-ready. Buildings with 24 parking spaces or more would be required to have at least one fully-equipped EV charging station and commercial buildings would need to set aside 20 percent of parking for EV-ready spaces.
These requirements are in line with NEST recommendations, and most importantly, they also support the Sustainability Workplan that Council approved in 2021; specifically, Objective 17 noted above.
Staff believes that since the State of Illinois is considering charging requirements, there are significant benefits to waiting until the Bill is voted on. For example, there would be increased consistency as all parties would be operating from a single set of standards. This would result in less confusion and better compliance. And, lastly, staff would not need to continually update the Code to stay current with rapidly changing technology.
Prior to a full House vote, staff recommends adopting the resolution showing support for the Bill as indicated above.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A