Dear *{{First Name}}*,
We’re thrilled to share the latest good news from this week’s San José City Council meeting.
The Council voted unanimously on January 30 to adopt a strong EV charging reach code for new multi-family housing. Every residential parking space will be equipped with a Low-Power Level 2 (208/240 V, 20 A) receptacle! In addition, each residential unit with assigned parking will have their receptacle directly wired to their panel or meter, so they can access regulated rates for charging (on par with single-family residents). The changes to San Jose’s code will result in lower costs for building developers relative to the prior code while expanding EV charging access from 30% of residential parking spaces to 100%.
Our work is not done! The Council disregarded our advice and approved an exemption from the direct-wiring requirement for “unbundled” parking (i.e., parking that is paid for on a separate lease). As a result, we expect that many if not all residents of new multi-family homes in San José will NOT have access to regulated and discounted rates for charging—nor the resiliency benefits of bidirectional charging.
It’s thanks to you — including the 18 organizations who sent a joint letter (led by Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley), the 150 signers of our petition, and dozens who made public comments (in person at City Hall and via Zoom) — that we were able to demonstrate a groundswell of support for affordable EV charging access for multi-family residents. Council did listen to us and removed an exemption for parking lifts, and staff have been instructed to explore more options (including direct wiring) to help residents with unbundled parking secure affordable charging.
We’re proud that San José is now leading the way with one of the strongest EV charging building codes in the nation — and more progress still to come.
