St. Paul City Council approves policy to ensure new developments are EV-friendly

Morgan Reddekopp KSTP

St. Paul City Council on Wednesday voted to adopt a policy that will make sure that new developments in the city are ready for electric vehicles.

The ordinance requires new and expanded parking lots to provide the electrical conduit and panel space necessary for future installment of EV chargers. According to a news release from the city, this would guarantee more equitable access to EV charging for residents, regardless of their home type — 44% of the city’s housing units are multi-family and over 90% of units added in the next few decades will be multi-family as well. Currently, EV owners predominantly live in single-family homes.

“The majority of our future residents will continue to live in rental housing, yet without this policy, will face disparities in access to electric vehicle charging. If we want people to adapt cleaner modes of transportation, we need to build the infrastructure to support them in doing so,” Council President Mitra Jalali said in a statement. “This forward-thinking policy will help advance more sustainable development in the most cost-effective way.”

According to the city, EVs are projected to account for a majority of car and light truck sales in the country by 2030.

Additionally, the city says that retrofitting parking lots or ramps for EV charging can be two to 10 times more expensive than upfront installation.

For parking lots with over 15 spaces, at least 80% of spaces need to be EV charger-ready. In larger lots, 1 in 30 spaces must be EV charger-ready.