SANTA MONICA—The Santa Monica City Council approved an Electric Vehicle Action Plan during its most recent council meeting on Tuesday, November 14. The plan will roughly triple the number of publicly available electric vehicle charging stations throughout Santa Monica over the course of the next 3 years.
The main impetus of the plan is to expand the availability of charging stations to residents who live in high-density, multi-unit residences and who often do not have easy access to a charging infrastructure. The city’s goal is to expand the current network of charging ports from 89 to over 300.
The long-term goal of the plan is to have 1,000 chargers installed in Santa Monica by 2025. These new ports will include curbside charging, streetlight charging, and fast charging stations. The adoption of this plan comes at a time where Santa Monica officials have identified vehicle transportation as being responsible for 64 percent of all citywide carbon emissions. By providing a wider availability of charging ports, the city council hopes to incentivize greater electric vehicle ownership throughout Santa Monica, potentially cutting total emissions by as much as half by 2025.
The plan will cost $2.4 million to implement and will provide for community engagement programs and mandates, such as one requiring new construction projects in Santa Monica to include parking designated specifically for electric vehicles. The city will offset the cost through grants from state agencies and Southern California Edison.
The full text of the plan can be found at: https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/OSE/Categories/Energy/EVAP_Final_Draft_WEB.pdf.
