The county council passed the code amendments requiring EV charging and bicycle parking in westside developments at its meeting Aug. 20.
Five percent of parking spaces in new multifamily or commercial developments must have class 2 or 3 electric vehicle chargers. An additional 5% must be wired for chargers but don’t need the chargers themselves installed.
Another 10% of parking must be “EV capable,” meaning a developer could potentially install wiring and chargers in the future.
Affordable housing developers can apply for an exemption if they demonstrate the requirements would make their project unfeasible.
“If you want affordable housing, you want to try to keep the cost of the housing down,” Council Vice Chair Canice Harte said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Aug. 21. “So as much as you may want them to have the ability to have electric car charging, if you force it on them … [it] could make something more expensive.”
New single-family homes must also be EV-capable.
New multifamily developments and businesses will also be required to install covered, or “long-term,” bicycle parking.
The new rules also create regulations for solar panels.
County staff say the code had previously been silent on solar, which meant it was technically prohibited. Now it's explicitly allowed.
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