Miami-Dade Mandates Minimum Electric Vehicle Parking Requirements for New Construction | Practical Law

Miami-Dade Mandates Minimum Electric Vehicle Parking Requirements for New Construction | Practical Law

Miami-Dade County recently passed a zoning ordinance establishing minimum off-street parking requirements for electric vehicles. The ordinance applies to most new multifamily and commercial construction.

Miami-Dade Mandates Minimum Electric Vehicle Parking Requirements for New Construction

by Practical Law Real Estate
Published on 03 Jul 2019 • Florida, USA (National/Federal)
Miami-Dade County recently passed a zoning ordinance establishing minimum off-street parking requirements for electric vehicles. The ordinance applies to most new multifamily and commercial construction.
On March 5, 2019, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners adopted Ordinance 19-17 (Ordinance) to require that certain new real estate projects incorporate off-street parking requirements for electric vehicles. These project types include condominiums, apartment complexes, office buildings, and shopping centers.
The Ordinance, which applies in unincorporated areas of the county, requires developers to install wiring and other infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations at a minimum number of project parking spaces as part of the project design. Developers are not required to install the actual charging stations. The parking requirements are phased, with initial requirements now in effect and then increasing in 2022.

Background

Miami-Dade, Florida's most populous county, has developed priorities for mitigating the effects of climate change and setting environmental resilience goals that include partnering with the county's electricity provider to install electric vehicle charging stations at county facilities and reducing gasoline and diesel fuel consumption by county fleet vehicles.
Coral Gables and the City of Miami Beach, two of Miami-Dade's largest municipalities, already impose electric vehicle parking requirements on new construction (see Coral Gables ordinance and Miami Beach ordinance). However, the amount of electric vehicle parking required in the county Ordinance far exceeds the amount required under those municipal ordinances and represents the county's first step at the zoning code level to address:
  • The growing number of electric vehicles.
  • The infrastructure needed to support those vehicles.
In the preamble to the Ordinance, the county commission details many public policy reasons supporting the need in new construction to enable future electric charging stations as part of the parking requirements. In addition to reciting the benefits of electric vehicles on the environment, the reasons for proactive legislation include:
  • Present and future demand for electric and hybrid vehicles. According to the preamble, Florida ranks within the top five states for sales of these vehicles.
  • Commitments by major American automakers to dramatically increase electric vehicle production in the next five years.
  • A perceived barrier to greater dependency on electric vehicles is inadequate charging station capacity in local communities.
  • Installing electric charging connections in new construction is cheaper than retrofitting existing infrastructure to accommodate new demand.

Ordinance Definitions

The Ordinance defines:
  • Electric vehicle (EV) to include vehicles that are either:
    • fully electric; or
    • plug-in hybrids, which operate on both electricity and fuel.
  • Electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) as the battery fueling supply that recharges electrical vehicles and plug-in hybrids. EVSEs are generally rated in three different capacities:
    • Level 1, which operates on a standard outlet, using a slow speed 120-volt connection;
    • Level 2, which uses a 240-volt outlet, and is generally capable or recharging an EV battery within a period of hours; or
    • rapid charger, which is the most expensive type of EVSE.
  • EVSE Space as a parking space equipped with, at a minimum, a Level 2 EVSE.
  • EVSE-Ready Space as a parking space with full circuitry installed in accordance with the Florida Building Code and ready for an EVSE to be connected.

Ordinance Exemptions

The ordinance requires off-street parking spaces designed for charging EVs for all new uses other than:
  • A single-family home.
  • A duplex.
  • A townhouse.
  • Properties with a current certificate of use.
  • Occupancy for a church or religious use.
Project size may also exempt new construction from county requirements to provide electric vehicle infrastructure. Electric vehicle parking requirements do not apply if the project is required to have less than ten off-street parking spaces under other provisions of Miami-Dade's zoning code.

Required EVSE-Ready Spaces

The Ordinance does not require developers to install the charging equipment, only that the reserved spaces be equipment ready. Either an EVSE Space or EVSE-Ready Space will count toward the minimum parking requirements.
The minimum number of required off-street EVSE-Ready Spaces in a project required by code to provide 10 or more total off-street parking spaces is:
  • Before January 1, 2022: ten percent of the required parking spaces, with not less than one EVSE-Ready Space.
  • On or after January 1, 2022: 20 percent of the required parking spaces, with at least one EVSE-Ready Space.
For fractions in the percentage calculations, the number of required EVSE-Ready Spaces is rounded up. Even though the spaces dedicated to electric vehicles is counted toward total off-street parking requirements, the minimum number of physically disabled spaces required by the Florida Building Code may not be reduced.

Signage and Parking Penalties

The Ordinance also includes signage specifications for electric vehicle parking spaces and imposes penalties for misuse of designated spaces. Florida law already makes it unlawful as a noncriminal traffic offense to stop, stand, or park a vehicle that is not capable of using a charging station within any space specifically designated for charging an electric vehicle (§ 366.94(3), Fla. Stat.).

Practical Implications

The Ordinance represents a major step by a large Florida local government to use zoning controls to anticipate and plan for future transportation needs. Other communities nationwide (including Atlanta, GA, Palo Alto, CA, and Boulder, CO) have taken similar steps.
Developer opposition to the Ordinance was muted by ordinance provisions that:
  • Allow charging station operators to charge a fee for electric vehicle charging on private property.
  • Require an annual county evaluation and report on the evolving need and demand for electric vehicle spaces.
Developers may also earn points for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by providing the electric vehicle charging infrastructure. For more information on the levels and key areas of LEED certification, see Practice Note, Green Buildings: Laws and Practices: LEED Certification.
The county's ongoing review and evaluation of electric vehicle parking needs is especially critical because on July 1, 2019, Florida's new autonomous vehicle law (§ 627.749, Fla. Stat.) became effective. Florida joins only Texas and Michigan in authorizing the operation of fully autonomous vehicles statewide. This law paves the way in the future to be able in Florida to own, share, and hail driverless cars, which will all be electric or perhaps powered by some future technology independent of fossil fuels. Local governments increasingly will need to modify their zoning code parking requirements to adapt to changing transportation needs and uses.