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A proposed Leon County ordinance would pave the way for more electric vehicle charging stations

Electric Vehicles Slow Charging
John Raoux/AP
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AP
FILE - This Thursday, April 1, 2021 file photo shows parking spots with charging stations for electric vehicles at a public park in Orlando, Fla. If the auto industry is to succeed in its bet that electric vehicles will soon dominate the roads, it will need to overcome a big reason why many people are still avoiding them: Fear of running out of juice between Point A and Point B. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Leon County Commissioners want to make it easier for residents to own and drive electric vehicles. The board is scheduled to consider a proposed “Electric Vehicle Ready” ordinance Tuesday evening.

The new rule would incentivize certain new developments to install the needed infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations. The change would apply to townhomes with at least three units, multi-family housing when the units will share a common parking area, and commercial developments. The number of spots will depend on the property size and classification.

Commissioner Rick Minor says he thinks that’s something officials could expand in the future.

“The thing that we can hope for is that in three to four years these thresholds might be too low, that we can come back and up these thresholds because the market of EVs is much greater than it is now," Minor says.

The ordinance change would not apply to single-family homes.

Officials say passing an electric vehicle ordinance could help the county pull down federal grant dollars.

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Regan McCarthy is the Assistant News Director for WFSU Public Media. Before coming to Tallahassee, Regan graduated with honors from Indiana University’s Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. She worked for several years for NPR member station WFIU in Bloomington, Ind., where she covered local and state government and produced feature and community stories.

Phone: (850) 645-6090 | rmccarthy@fsu.edu

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