EV charging stations mandatory in new builds

It seems that when it comes to electric cars, Vancouverites are embracing zero-emission vehicles more than in any other province in the country.

“Per capita, B.C. has the highest number of electric cars than anywhere else in the country,” says Ian Neville, climate policy analyst with the city of Vancouver’s Sustainability Group. “Vancouverites are really ahead of the curve.”

They aren’t the only ones. Since the province first introduced mandatory requirements in 2009, stating that developers of new builds equip at least 20 per cent of its parking stalls with electric vehicle (EV) charging capability, developers have been on board in a big way.

“We ran a study between 2014 and 2016, and it shows that a significant number of developers were well over our compliance, to the tune of 50 per cent more EV than required,” says Neville, adding that by 2050, the city’s goal is that all vehicles in Vancouver will have to be zero emissions. “Builders are seeing a real value-added benefit for prospective buyers.”

In January 2019, the province implemented even more stringent new rules, calling for every parking stall to be equipped with EV infrastructure.

“All parking stalls for residents at new condo developments in Vancouver, which have been approved since January, will have to have the capability to charge electric vehicles,” adds Neville.

According to Manuela Mirecki, senior vice-president of marketing at Ledingham McAllister Properties Ltd., the real estate developer has been increasing its number of EV charging stations in each of its new builds “as the consumer adoption of electric cars increases.”

“Our newest condominium project, Escala, has more stalls with EV plugs available than any other of our builds,” says Mirecki. “We’ve been planning for EV stalls for all projects prior to the mandate, going back as far as projects that were developed six to seven years ago. It’s a natural progression that LedMac happily supports.”

Although Anne McMullin, president and CEO of the Urban Development Institute (UDI), supports the mandate set out by the city of Vancouver that all new buildings mount EV stalls, she does have concerns regarding the cost impact to some residents living in older buildings.

“While UDI has generally been supportive of making new buildings more energy efficient to meet climate change goals and the national net-zero standard by 2032, such as the provision of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, in some cases, retrofitting older, low-rise public or private apartment buildings and single-family homes that are past their useful life or have seismic challenges, may not be the most cost-effective improvements, even with some partial rebates,” McMullin explains. “The prohibitive cost may also unduly impact homeowners who are already struggling with high mortgages.”

UDI has had ongoing discussions with the city of Vancouver since the new electric vehicle charging requirements in multi-family buildings – geared to be more sustainable and to reduce car emissions – went into effect.

“While the technology is still emerging, we do expect the initial estimated implementation costs of $300 per stall could come down,” McMullin adds.

“Effectively, the increase in EV requirements is going from the existing 20 per cent up to 100 per cent of the stalls because of energy sharing. Four cars can now plug into a single circuit for more efficient energy sharing. This keeps infrastructure costs down.”