Maple Ridge is going to sound out home builders and homeowners to see what they think about requiring electrical vehicle charging stations in new homes and condos.
The consultation, which includes the province, Metro Vancouver, the school district and neighbouring cities, was approved at council’s July 17 meeting.
“We’re behind on this,” said Coun. Bob Masse last week.
Currently, Maple Ridge has no requirement for builders to provide plugs or devices for battery-powered cars, although there are some new projects that will be including them.
A staff report says that many cities are now requiring that electrical charging systems be installed when a home is built, with the wiring and hardware included, with just the charging devices required to be installed later.
There are three types of charging stations for electrical vehicles: Level 1 uses a standard house plug and allows a vehicle to be re-charged overnight. Level 2 uses a heavier circuit such as one used for a clothes dryer. These are also found in public areas and can recharge a vehicle within a few hours and cost from between $2,500 and $15,000. A Level 3 charger, or fast charger, can get a battery up to 80 per cent power within half an hour, but costs $75,000.
Staff looked at 17 other cities and found that 11 of them required some kind of charging systems for both condos, detached homes or commercial developments.
Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond all require Level 2 EV charging for all residential units in condo or apartment buildings. Richmond and Burnaby have the same requirement for every parking spot for a single family home while Vancouver requires at least one space in a garage to have a Level 2 charger.
In Port Coquitlam, one parking space for every apartment or condo has to have a roughed-in system for a Level 2 charger, while Delta only requires that for 20 of units. Surrey is reviewing its requirements while Pitt Meadows isn’t mentioned in the survey.