HomeMy WebLinkAbout4131 1 Ordinance No. 4131
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AN ORDINANCE ADDING ARTICLE VIII, ENTITLED "ELECTRIC VEHICLE
3 CHARGING STATIONS, " TO CHAPTER 26, ENTITLED "BUILDINGS, " OF
THE BUTTE COUNTY CODE
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The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte ordains as
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follows :
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Section 1 . Article VIII of Chapter 26 of the Butte County
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Code is hereby added to read as follows :
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ARTICLE VIII ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS
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26-110 Findings .
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The following findings are hereby made:
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a . The State of California in 2015 adopted Assembly Bill
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1236, which requires local agencies to adopt an ordinance that
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creates an expedited and streamlined permitting process for
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electric vehicle charging systems; and
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b. Section 65850 . 7 of the California Government Code
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provides that it is the policy of the State to promote and
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encourage the installation and use of electric vehicle charging
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stations by limiting obstacles to their use and by not
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unreasonably restricting the ability of homeowners and
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agricultural and business concerns to install electric vehicle
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charging stations by minimizing the permitting costs of such
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systems; and
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C. Subdivision (g) (1) of Section 65850 . 7 of the California
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Government Code provides that, on or before September 30, 2017,
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every city, county, or city and county shall adopt an ordinance,
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consistent with the goals and intent of subdivision (a) of
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1 Section 65850. 7, that creates an expedited, streamlined
2 permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations .
3 26-111 Definitions.
4 The following words and phrases, whenever used in this
5 article, shall be construed as hereafter set out, unless it
6 shall be apparent from the context that they have a different
7 meaning:
8 a. "A feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid
9 the specific, adverse impact" includes, but is not limited to,
10 any cost-effective method, condition, or mitigation imposed by a
11 city, county, or city and county on another similarly situated
12 application in a prior successful application for a permit .
13 b. "Association" means a nonprofit corporation or
14 unincorporated association created for the purpose of managing a
15 common interest development .
16 C. "Building Official" means the County Building Division
17 Manager/Building Official or his or her designee .
18 d. "Electric vehicle charging station" means any level of
19 electric vehicle supply equipment station that is designed and
20 built in compliance with Article 625 of the California
21 Electrical Code, as it reads on the effective date of this
22 section, and delivers electricity from a source outside an
23 electric vehicle into a plug-in electric vehicle.
24 e. "Electronic submittal" means the utilization of one or
25 more of the following:
26 (A) Email .
27 (B) The Internet .
28 (C) Facsimile.
I f. "Specific, adverse impact" means a significant,
2 quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on
3 objective, identified, and written public health or safety
4 standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date
5 the application was deemed complete .
6 26-112 Building Permit Required.
7 A building permit is required to install an electric
8 vehicle charging station. An application for a building permit
9 to install an electric vehicle charging station shall be
10 processed in accordance with Section 65850 . 7 of the Government
11 Code.
12 26-113 Review of Applications .
13 a . Butte County is adopting this ordinance in order to
14 create an expedited, streamlined permitting process for electric
15 vehicle charging stations .
16 b. To facilitate an expedited permitting process, the
17 Building Official is hereby authorized and directed to develop
18 and adopt a checklist of all requirements with which electric
19 vehicle charging stations shall comply to be eligible for
20 expedited review.
21 C. The expedited, streamlined permitting process and
22 checklist may refer to the recommendations contained in the most
23 current version of the "Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
24 Permitting Checklist" of the "Zero--Emission Vehicles in
25 California: Community Readiness Guidebook" as published by the
26 Governor' s Office of Planning and Research. The checklist shall
27 be published on the Department of Development Services internet
28 website .
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1 d. Prior to submitting an application, the applicant shall
2 verify that the installation of an electric vehicle charging
3 station will not have a specific, adverse impact to public
4 health and safety and building occupants . Verification by the
5 applicant includes, but is not limited to: electrical system
6 capacity and loads; electrical system wiring, bonding and
7 overcurrent protection; building infrastructure affected by
8 electric vehicle charging station equipment and associated
9 conduits; and areas of electric vehicle charging station
10 equipment and vehicle parking.
11 e. An application under this section may be submitted
12 by personal, mailed, or electronic (including electronic
13 signatures on all forms, applications, and other documentation)
14 submittal together with any required permit processing and
15 inspection fees .
16 f. An application that satisfies the requirements in the
17 checklist, as determined by the Building Official, shall be
18 deemed complete . Upon receipt of an incomplete application, the
19 Building Official shall issue a written correction notice
20 detailing all deficiencies in the application and any additional
21 information required to be eligible for expedited permit
22 issuance.
23 g. Upon confirmation by the Building Official of the
24 application and supporting documentation being complete, meeting
25 the requirements of the checklist, and being consistent with all
26 applicable laws and health and safety standards, the Building
27 Official shall administratively approve the application and
28 issue all required permits or authorizations . Such approval does
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1 not authorize an applicant to energize or utilize the electric
2 vehicle charging station until all required inspections have been
3 finaled by the County. Such approval also does not authorize an
4 applicant to connect the electric vehicle charging station to
5 the local utility provider' s electricity grid. The applicant is
6 responsible for obtaining such approval or permission from the
7 local utility provider.
8 h. An electric vehicle charging station shall meet all
9 applicable health and safety standards and requirements imposed
10 by State and County permitting authorities and shall meet all
11 applicable safety and performance standards established by the
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California Electrical Code, the Society of Automotive Engineers,
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the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, and
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accredited testing laboratories such as Underwriters
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Laboratories and, where applicable, the rules of the Public
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17 Utilities Commission regarding safety and reliability.
18 i . Any conditions imposed on an application to install an
19 electric vehicle charging station shall be designed to mitigate
20 the specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety at
21 the lowest cost possible. The Building Official shall not
22 condition the approval of any electric vehicle charging station
23 permit on the approval of such a system by an Association, as
24 that term is defined by Civil Code Section 4080 .
25 j . If the Building Official makes a finding, based on
26 substantial evidence that the electric vehicle charging station
27 could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or
28 safety, the applicant shall be required to apply for a
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1 conditional use permit . The decision of the Building Official
2 that the electric vehicle charging station could have a
3 specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety may be
4 appealed to the Planning Commission.
5 k. When making a decision on a conditional use permit for
6 an electric vehicle charging station, the Planning Commission,
7 as well as the Board of Supervisors on appeal, may not deny the
8 conditional use permit to install an electric vehicle charging
9 station unless it makes written findings based upon substantial
10 evidence in the record that the proposed installation would have
11 a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and
12 there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid
13 the specific, adverse impact. The findings shall include the
14 basis for the rejection of potential feasible alternatives of
15 preventing the adverse impact.
16 26-114 Inspections .
17 a . Inspections shall be required and performed by the
18 Building Division for electric vehicle charging stations .
19 b. The inspections shall be done in an efficient
20 inspection process, in a timely manner, and should include
21 consolidated inspections when applicable; inspection measures
22 taken should be consistent with safety requirements that ensure
23 that the electric vehicle charging stations are properly
24 installed.
25 C. If electric vehicle charging stations fail
26 inspections, a subsequent inspection is authorized but need not
27 conform with the requirements of this chapter.
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I Section 2 . Severability.
2 If any provision or clause of this article or the
3 application thereof to any person or circumstances is held to be
4 unconstitutional or to otherwise be invalid by any court of
5 competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect other
6 provisions or clauses or applications thereof which can be
7 implemented without the invalid provision or clause, or
8 application, and to this end the provisions and clauses of this
9 article are declared to be severable .
10 Section 3 . CEQA.
11 The Board of Supervisors finds that this Ordinance is
12 exempt from environmental review pursuant to Sections 15301,
13 15303, and 15304 of the California Environmental Quality Act
14 (CEQA) , found in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations,
15 as suggested in the "Zero-Emission Vehicles in California:
16 Community Readiness Guidebook" adopted by the Governor' s Office
17 of Planning and Research. An expedited permitting process for
18 electric vehicle charging stations will : consistent with Section
19 15301, result in minor alterations to existing facilities
20 involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that which is
21 presently existing; and consistent with Sections 15303 and 15304,
22 result in a limited number of new, small structures, and consist
23 of minor public or private alterations in the condition of land.
24 Section 4 . Effective Date and Publication.
25 This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after the
26 date of its passage. The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors is
27 authorized and directed to publish this ordinance before the
28 expiration of fifteen (15) days after its passage . This
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1 Ordinance shall be published once, with the names of the members
2 of the Board of Supervisors voting for and against it, in the
3 Chico Enterprise-Record, a newspaper of general circulation
4 published in the County of Butte, State of California .
5 PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of
6 Butte, State of California, on the 12th day of September, 2017,
7 by the following vote :
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9 AYES: Supervisors Wahl, Kirk, Lambert, Teeter, and Chair Connelly
10 NOES: None
11 ABSENT: None
12 NOT VOTING: None
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BILL CONNE
14 Butte County Board of Supervisors
is
ATTEST:
16 PAUL HAHN, Chief Administrative Officer
and Clerk of the Board
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18 BY:
19 Depudy
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