Planning and Zoning for Electric Vehicle Charger Deployment

On August 31, 2023, SEAC, together with RMI and Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), published a guidance document to support local code officials with planning and zoning for electric vehicle (EV) charger deployment.

The document addresses the need for millions of EV chargers in the years ahead. To facilitate the safe and equitable deployment of EV chargers, municipalities will also need transparent and predictable requirements for charger installation and straightforward approval processes.

To create the document, principal authors Rob Graff, senior technical advisor at RMI, and Ed Gilliland, senior director at IREC, worked with SEAC’s EV Charging Working Group to source contributions from leading experts in the field. Contributors include authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), EV charging infrastructure companies and installers, planning consultants and researchers, and project advisors and experts. A full list of contributors appears in an appendix to the document.

When you download the report, you will learn about the need for guidance on EV charger deployment, key characteristics of EVs and EV chargers, local approval processes, and more.

Notably, you will get:

• Discussion and recommendations on common planning and zoning challenges including permitted accessory use, parking, accessible use, design and aesthetics, and the approval process
• References to comprehensive planning documents approved in recent years from municipalities including Boston, Chicago, and Phoenix
• Sample code text on zoning, permitted accessory use, parking count, parking mandates, accessibility, and EV charger readiness
• Recommendations on providing equitable access to on-street public charging for households without access to off-street parking
• Definitions of key terms, including EV-Capable, EV-Ready, and EVSE Installed
• Discussion of California’s CALGreen EV charging requirements, the International Energy Conservation Code, and other regulatory benchmarks
• A non-technical sampling of EV charger basics including charger types, driving distance per kilowatt-hour, streetlight networks, inductive charging, and more

SEAC makes this information publicly accessible to anyone who fills in the download form on this page. Your privacy is important to us. We do not sell or share your personal data.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Solar Energy and Technologies Office Award Number DE-EE0009001.0000. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government.

The following Guidance has been developed with philanthropic support from GM’s Climate Fund.