Calvert County Charging Station Incentive Proposed

Joint Public Hearing with Planning Commission and County Commissioners
October 21, 2014 at 7:00 PM
Calvert Pines Senior Center

Currently there is only one electric vehicle charging station in all of Calvert County, Maryland. It is located at the Walgreens in Lusby. The county planning commission that is drafting proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance Parking Regulations had proposed a requirement to provide at least one EV charging station for parking lots that have more than 25 spaces. That didn’t go over so well with the Board of Commissioners in their comments about the draft. The commissioners wanted the requirement taken out.

Some of the commissioners don’t think EVs are practical for their rural county. one said, “The whole idea of incorporating electric charging, electric vehicles into the mainstream, is really not there yet.”

The planning commission tasked with recommending the amendments refused to give up on the charging station amendment and have now changed the proposal to an incentive instead of a requirement. Roxanne Riddle Cumberland, a member of the planning commission said, “It’s a huge mistake not to consider that [electric charging stations]” and other members of the planning commission agreed.

The proposed incentive they chose is in the form of an overall reduction in the number of required parking spaces if the owner installs charging for at least two cars in any lot requiring 50 or more spaces. If I understand this correctly, this is a perfect recipe for ICEing. Take away two parking spots to reserve for EV charging and you are allowed to remove two more. Where are people going to park in this smaller lot? Probably in the EV charging spaces. There is currently no law prohibiting ICEing a charging station in Calvert County.

Here is the current text of the proposed amendment dealing with charging stations.

I. Any electric vehicle charging station parking space that meets the standards of the ordinance for a parking space will count as a parking space in all respects. Electric vehicle charging devices may be located adjacent to designated parking spaces in a parking lot as long as the devices do not encroach into the required dimensions of the parking space (length/width/height). Devices must be mounted on the wall or on a structure at the end of the space at least 4.5 feet above the parking surface of the space. No charging devices may be placed within the dimensions of a space on the sides or entrance to a space.

A Joint Public Hearing with Planning Commission and County Commissioners will be held on October 21, 2014 at 7:00 PM at the Calvert Pines Senior Center.

Questions and comments can be directed to Mary Beth Cook, Community Planning and Building, 410-535-2348

@Lanny