As of May 11, 2016, the Howard County, Maryland law that gives police the explicit authority to write tickets for ICEing on private property is in effect. The space at the charging station must be designated with a sign that conforms to applicable standards.
In March, the Howard County Council passed an amendment that added the following two sentences to the existing anti-ICEing law:
(1) THE POLICE DEPARTMENT MAY ENFORCE THIS SECTION ON PUBLIC PROPERTY OR PRIVATE PROPERTY.
(2) THE POLICE DEPARTMENT MAY IMPOUND A VEHICLE THAT IS PARKED IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION.
In order for the Howard County Police to enforce the law, the spot must have a sign that is at least 12 inches by 18 inches and meet applicable State or Federal standards for parking control signs, i.e. standards as defined in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
Very few charging stations in Howard County have these signs. The dark blue signs at Columbia Association parking lots have not conformed to the standards but they are working with Howard County on getting new signs that do. As of May 10, 2016, the new signs had not been installed but unofficial pavement markings at each of the charging spots have been applied and when combined with the official signs, is expected to help reduce the ICEing problem.
The next challenge is to convince private parking lot managers to post the regulatory signs that will allow the laws to be enforced. I’ve suggested that local non-profit EV organizations could use their status in the community and leverage their sizable memberships as well as their financial resources to educate property owners and supply signs that meet the standards required in Howard, Montgomery and Baltimore Counties. A coordinated effort to get official signs installed would be more productive than public “shaming” on social media and freelance spray painting like happened a few years ago. (see: Is Graffiti the Right Response to ICEing Problem?)
