The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission recommended the new rules at its first meeting in December.
If approved, electric vehicle chargers would be required in most new construction in areas like Kimball Junction and the surrounding neighborhoods.
That doesn’t just mean parking lots. Summit County Sustainability Director Emily Quinton said it includes homes, condos and apartments.
“To date, about 80% of charging happens at home,” she said at the Dec. 10 planning commission meeting. “Charging overnight when electricity is often more readily available on the grid, where utility pricing structures reflect time of use, it's often cheaper. That's kind of like a future that folks want to continue to see.”
According to the county’s principal planner, Ray Milliner, Summit County has seen 300% growth in new EV registration in the past five years. Last quarter, 11% of all registered vehicles in the county were electric.
The planning commission also recommended rules about bicycle parking and solar panels to the Summit County Council.
Businesses, apartments and condos would be required to offer a certain number of bike stalls including long-term parking sheltered from snow and rain.
Finally, the new rules explicitly designate solar panels as “allowed uses.” That way, Milliner said, residents know the county wants to promote renewable energy.
“We don't want to have it like where somebody puts some solar panels on their roof, and the neighbor doesn't like it. They come in and they say, ‘It's not listed in the code, so they can't have it.’ And then we're like, ‘Well, I guess technically, they're right.’” he said. “Then all of a sudden we’re in some kind of a kerfuffle.”
The county council will determine whether the new rules become law. It may vote on the changes in January, but no date has been set.
The rules would not necessarily apply to builds governed by so-called development agreements. Those documents, worked out between a developer and the county, become the law of the land they apply to.
The proposed Dakota Pacific Real Estate development in Kimball Junction is one such example of a development agreement.
