A bill in the State Assembly proposing allow renting tenants install electric vehicle charging stations in a leased parking space at their own expense has earned the unanimous support of the Santa Monica City Council on May 13.
Council member Kevin McKeown requested his colleagues to support Assembly Bill 2565 (AB 2565), which was introduced by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi.
“In our city of about 70 percent renters, it’s going to be very hard for us to achieve our sustainability goals, particularly with respect to electric vehicles, if renters cannot reliably know they can go home and plug in a plug-in vehicle,” McKeown said. “I’d be ready for a plug-in Prius if I had a plug. But I’m a renter, so I don’t.”
If ultimately approved, AB 2565 would allow a renter to purchase, install, and operate an electric vehicle charging station in a parking space he or she leases as part of the residence.
AB 2565 came on to the Assembly floor in light of Gov. Jerry Brown’s goal of having 1.5 million zero emission vehicles (ZEV) on the road by 2025.
“Property owners may refuse to allow the installation of a charging station even if the tenant is willing to pay for the installation and operation of the station,” literature attached to AB 2565 stated. “The fact that 41 percent of California residents live in multi-family housing and do not have access to parking spaces for [electric vehicle] charging will remain a challenge. AB 2565 would remove this impediment by stating that a property owner cannot unreasonably deny a tenant the ability to install a charging station if the tenant is willing to pay for all expenses related to the installation and operation of the station.”
Muratsuchi’s bill proposes to shore up infrastructure to support the growing market of electric vehicles in light of Brown’s policy directions on the issue.
Even more, Muratsuchi’s bill states its existence is also practical. In 2012, for example, AB 2565 states there were 29,640 electric vehicles registered in California but only 4,348 public charging ports – a ratio of about seven vehicles per public charging port.
That ratio actually increased in 2013, according to AB 2565, when there were reportedly about eight vehicles per public charging port (60,181 electric vehicles with 7,542 public charging ports).
“The current ratio in California is not uniform statewide. While some parts of the State have seen a reasonable investment in [electric vehicle] infrastructure, other parts of the state have little or no public charging stations,” literature attached to AB 2565 stated.
AB 2565 pointed out there are a total of zero public charging ports for electric vehicles in the entire city of Fresno, which reportedly has a population of more than 500,000 people.
According to AB 2565, an ideal statewide ratio would be three electric vehicles per public charging ports.
Groups on the record as supporting AB 2565 include CalSTART, California Energy Storage Alliance, ChargePoint, Inc., National Electric Manufacturers Assoc., and Powertree Services, Inc.
The California Business Property Owners Assoc. issued a “letter of concern” in response to the proposed bill.
Muratsuchi’s 66th Assembly District primarily covers the South Bay region.
