Plugging into the needs of Boca drivers
City proposes rules requiring electric-car chargers
Drivers of electric cars may soon have an easier time finding a place to charge up in Boca Raton.
Under a proposal, the city’s new apartments, condominiums and storefronts would be required to have chargers in their parking lots.
Boca would be one of at least six South Florida cities to create a law aimed at boosting access to the technology as the charging stations proliferate.
“I just think it’s important thatwe start laying the foundations for people who are looking to use electric vehicles,” said council member Robert Weinroth, who introduced the idea.
Researchers say that aside fromthe high cost of electric cars, the lack of charging stations is one of the main deterrents for drivers. Drivers can also get “range anxiety,” when they feel their drives are limited by where they can recharge.
The new rule would apply to multifamily and commercial properties, meaning that all new apartments, condominiums and commercial properties would have to put in stations.
Two percent of required off-street parking in new developments would have to be set aside for the charging stations.
Existing developments get a pass, but if property owners want to expand, they could be required to add charging spaces depending on the size of the addition.
Miami Beach passed the same ordinance in 2015; Surfside and Pinecrest require charging stations at apartments and condos.
Jupiter requires gas stations to have chargers, and Lauderhill requires all new single-family homes to have chargers in their garages.
“Ifwe can get a little bit ahead of the curve, it would make us a more desirable place to live,” said Lauderhill Mayor Richard Kaplan.
The city doesn’t track howmany homes with outlets it currently has, but Kaplan said there is a need to get buildings in the region to support electric vehicles.
Jorge Garcia, co-owner of the Boca-based architecture firm GS4 Studios, said he has come across more clients who ask for charging stations to be included. The firm designed several major projects in Boca, including Mizner 200, an upcoming 384-unit apartment complex, and the 70 Intracoastal condos of Ocean Palm.
“It’s getting to be very commonplace,” Garcia said.“We’re wiring them in instead of doing them as an afterthought.”
The proposal in Boca will get its first city board hearing Thursday, just weeks after officials added three charging stations to a public library and City Hall.
Boca council member Andrea O’Rourke said she has been on boardwith the city’s push so far, but in a region already strapped for parking, she is cautious about putting in charging stations in busier areas.
“I think itwould have to depend on each project,” O’Rourke said. “We just have to make surewe aren’t taking away from general parking.”
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