Electric Car Plan Charges Forward

In response to an expected increase in the number of electric vehicle owners in Palo Alto, the City Council unanimously agreed Monday night to move forward on a recommendation from the Policy and Services Committee to adopt an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Policy. The policy will advance Palo Alto as a leader in supporting electric vehicle infrastructure.

Palo Alto leaders see electric vehicles as an important part of the solution for reducing 2020 greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent below the 2005 baseline.

Working with both public and private partners, the city hopes to develop new guidelines to accomodate the possible , according to the California Energy Commission.

"Having a City policy to encourage EVs and to facilitate the building of a robust public charging infrastructure in Palo Alto and in the region is critical for the success of EVs in Palo Alto and the reduction of transportation-related GHG
emissions," according to the policy statement.

The policy includes directives to streamline the permitting process for EV charging stations, work with organizations and individuals to build open-access EV infrastructure, charge a user fee for those services, among other goals.

Palo Alto residents have easy access to two of the world’s premier electric car dealerships, Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive. Fisker .

And earlier this year, Simon Property Group, which runs Stanford Shopping Center, became .

“,” said Palo Alto Mayor Sid Espinosa at the time. “In two years, you’re going to see electric vehicles everywhere you go in this town, and they’re going to need to plug in.”

That view fits snugly into the findings of a sweeping industry report released earlier this month, which found California's EV market to be booming.

“The overall growth rate in California’s EV market today is a clear indicator for strong future growth," said Tracey Grose, Vice President of Collaborative Economics, following the release of .

While most electric vehicle charging does occur at homes or businesses, there has been demand for public charging stations.

The only concern voiced regarding the policy related to the design and aesthetics of the charging stations. City Council Member Karen Holman had concerns that the new stations could be “inconsistent and incompatible with [their] surroundings.”

“I don’t know how many people have seen [an electric vehicle charging station],” Holman said. “I think we [should] set a standard for size, location, perhaps color.”

Council Member Gail A. Price responded that she was confident that the staff responsible for design would ensure it was up to par with Palo Alto’s standards.

“I would trust the staff to come up with [a plan] that would really honor the issues around design,” Price said.

With an addition to the policy to make sure that “the design of EV installations will be of a quality that is consistent with Palo Alto standards,” the policy passed unanimously 7-0, with Council Members Larry Klein and Patrick Burt absent.

Other directives from the policy adopted tonight include:

• Encourage EV owners to inform the City of their ownership or local use of
  electric vehicles will better enable the City to appropriately plan for the EV infrastructure needs of the City and the region.
• Provide incentives for customers to charge EVs off-peak will reduce the adverse impact on the electrical grid and is more beneficial to the environment.
• Encourage local developers to meet or exceed voluntary CalGreen standards for EV charging station infrastructure will help expand the EV charging network within the City.
• Provide public education and outreach about EVs to encourage widespread EV adoption.