Laguna Beach and Fountain Valley not complying with electric vehicle law, O.C. grand jury report says

“Electric Vehicles Are Here — Is Orange County All Charged Up?”

That’s the title of an Orange County grand jury report released Thursday that found eight area cities, including Laguna Beach and Fountain Valley, not in compliance with a state law requiring cities and counties to streamline the permitting process for high-speed electric vehicle charging stations.

The other cities cited in the report are Garden Grove, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Placentia, Seal Beach and Yorba Linda.

The grand jury evaluated how all 34 O.C. cities and the county — for unincorporated areas — are implementing the requirements of Assembly Bill 1236, which was signed into law in October 2015 with the aim of facilitating development of high-speed charging stations as part of the state’s effort to encourage the use of zero-emissions vehicles and establish a charging infrastructure throughout the state.

The law required that by the end of September 2017, every city “adopt an ordinance consistent with the goals and intent of this section and create an expedited, streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations.”

Part of that was streamlining the installation permitting process for high-speed Level 2 residential chargers.

Original Level 1, 120-volt units recharge a vehicle battery at a rate of about four miles of driving range per hour of recharge, the report said. Level 2, 240-volt residential chargers are nearly six times faster, the report said.

The higher-grade chargers require certified, professional electricians for installation, according to the report.

The report called for the eight cities to respond with written comments in Superior Court within 90 days and recommended that each city complete three requirements by May 1:

• Update the municipal code to include an ordinance streamlining the EVCS permitting process
• Create a streamlined permit process for private residences and businesses
• Dedicate a portion of the city website to describe the permit application process and provide checklists and forms

Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig said Thursday that the city “plans to comply with all of the recommendations and has already scheduled the first reading of an updated ordinance for the City Council’s consideration on March 17.”

Fountain Valley officials did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Fountain Valley’s website features a page dedicated to electric vehicle charging, including a map of public charging locations and the cost of charging.

Laguna Beach’s website has information on where to find two public charging stations.

The county’s 26 other cities “have complied with at least the basics,” the grand jury report said. Irvine received a special mention for being the only area city having fully complied with the state mandate.

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