OCEAN CITY – Sorry for the pun, but electric vehicle owners should get a charge of an ordinance approved by Ocean City Council last week just after the resort announced it received a grant to install two EV charging stations at the Transportation Center on Ninth Street.
Council approved an ordinance Thursday evening based on state guidelines to promote and encourage the use of electric vehicles by requiring the permitted use of charging stations and make-ready parking spaces in all zones throughout the resort. After some questions by members of council, they voted 7-0 in favor of the ordinance on first reading.
Council took the action days after the city announced its grant application was approved to pay up to $150,000 for two DC fast chargers.
The grant was awarded as part of New Jersey’s EV Tourism Program which aims to expand access to electric vehicle (EV) charging at tourism destinations across the Garden State. The city said it already has the conduit for the stations installed at the Transportation Center. That was done during a recent repaving project.
The fast chargers can each charge two vehicles up to 80 percent in 30 to 45 minutes.
In the press release announcing the grant, Mayor Jay Gillian thanked Assemblyman Antwan McClellan for reaching out to the state Board of Public Utilities to help the city get the award. “It’s important to provide our residents and guests with access to the most up-to-date amenities, especially as electric vehicles become more common,” Gillian said.
The city noted the charging stations are right off the main entrance to Ocean City, a true tourism-destination community that swells from a year-round population of some 11,000 to well over a 150,000 during the summer tourism season.
Chief Financial Officer Frank Donato told council the city already has one EV station behind City Hall, but it is not a high-speed charger. He said the city outsources the billing for the service to the company ChargePoint. When people hook up their vehicles, they get charged by the company and the company sends the city a portion of the revenue. He said the city can adjust the rates for using the chargers.
After some questioning at the council meeting, city solicitor Dorothy McCrosson explained the resort is following state legislation and has to adopt an ordinance allowing charging stations. She also noted the ordinance is not related to the grant.
The ordinance, No. 22-05, supports the transition to electric vehicles to reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions and followed the law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in July requiring charging stations and designated spaces as a permitted use in all zoning districts.
The ordinance covers more than six pages of rules and regulations governing how many parking spaces will be designated for electric vehicles and the possible setting of fines for people who park gas-powered vehicles in those EV spaces.
Under “Purpose,” the goals of the ordinance are:
– To provide adequate and convenient EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply/Service Equipment) and Make-Ready parking spaces to serve the needs of the traveling public;
– Provide opportunities for residents to have safe and efficient personal EVSE located at or near their place of residence;
– Provide the opportunity for non-residential uses to supply EVSE to their customers and employees; and
– Create standard criteria to encourage and promoted safe, efficient, and cost-effective electric vehicle charging opportunities in all zones and setting for convenience of service to those that use electric vehicles.
Among the regulations that drew attention on council is the requirement during preliminary site plan approval that new developments with more than five units will be required to set aside 15 percent of off-street parking for EV spaces. The ordinance requires a third of that 15 percent to be done as soon as the building is ready, the next third within three years and the last third three years after that.
Although the percentage of electric vehicles is small now, McCrosson said the belief behind the ordinance is there will be an increase in EVs in the years to come.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff