The City of Wilmington develops an infrastructure plan for residential electric vehicle charging stations.
Signed into law last June, Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 187 requires that municipalities with a population of 30,000 or more develop a procedure for residents to install and use charging stations on residential streets.
For residents without a private driveway or parking spot, charging electric vehicles can be difficult when living on a public city street.
City Council Member Chris Johnson, who is sponsoring the ordinance to permit electric vehicle charging stations in residential rights-of-way, says the City had already been looking to adopt a procedure as part of their sustainability effort.
“That’s essentially put us on a really tight timeline to not only engage with our consultants, but to work with Public Works and Licensing and Development to figure out a framework. So here we are. It’s not perfect, but it at least gives us a start.”
Wilmington’s framework currently has two options for EV charging:
Running a charging cord from a home to the vehicle with the vehicle parked directly in front of the home, and the cord covered to prevent sidewalk tripping.
- Installing a charging station, with city approval, in the public right-of-way directly in front of property where the electric vehicle owner resides.
Both options require a permit from the City.
There is no fee associated with the first option. The second option, however, requires a $100 application fee, and requires the EV owner to notify neighbors on their block that they have applied to install a charging station in the public right-of-way.
Johnson says there are still a lot of details to flesh out.
“You know one thing is, right now under the current ordinance, once you do an installation, you still do not have the right to a guaranteed spot. So meaning if you do install it, a neighbor could park there and then you couldn't charge overnight.”
Under the current framework, blocking or marking a space for the purpose of charging would result in a fine.
Johnson says they are working to take into account all factors that may affect residents, both EV owners and non-EV owners, and will be working to develop a more detailed procedure this summer.
“I’ve told the community, and community members, that this is a work in progress. So, as we work through the manual, and we hold a few working groups, we’ll make sure that if your type of plug is not on there, or if a new type of technology comes out, we’ll be able to address that in future changes,” he stressed.
The ordinance is set to go into effect on January 1, 2024.
Complete details can be found here.
