[Support of Requirements for Installation of Electric Vehicle Chargers Ordinance File Number: 170202]
Resolution urging the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor to adopt File Number 170202, an Ordinance amending the Green Building Code to establish requirements for installation of electric vehicle charger infrastructure in new buildings or buildings undergoing major alterations (Electric Vehicle Readiness Ordinance).
WHEREAS, The City and County of San Francisco has a duty to protect the natural environment, the economy, and the health of its citizens; and,
WHEREAS, Pollutants from operation of internal combustion motor vehicles, such as particulates and nitrous oxides, contribute to respiratory distress, can trigger heart attacks, and increase the risk of lung cancer; and,
WHEREAS, The American Lung Association estimates that reduction in criteria air pollutant emissions due to adoption of electric vehicles can save Californians $13 billion in health care costs per year by 2030; and,
WHEREAS, As a coastal city located on the tip of a peninsula, San Francisco is vulnerable to sea level rise; and,
WHEREAS, Human activities releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are increasing worldwide average temperature, which contributes to melting of glaciers and thermal expansion of ocean water – resulting in rising sea levels; and,
WHEREAS, San Francisco is already experiencing the repercussions of rising sea levels that threaten the City’s shoreline and infrastructure, cause erosion, and impact infrastructure during extreme tides; and,
WHEREAS, increasing the adoption of electric vehicles will help San Francisco meet its goals under Ordinance No. 81-08, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide to 40% below 1990 levels by 2025, and 80% by 2050; and,
WHEREAS, Electric vehicles are fueled by electricity; and,
WHEREAS, Electric vehicle adoption depends upon convenient access to charging, and the ability to serve electric vehicles in existing buildings is commonly limited by the electrical system capacity of the building; and,
WHEREAS, The most cost-effective time to prepare building electrical infrastructure for electric vehicle charging is when electric service is installed or upgraded due to construction, because workers are already on-site, infrastructure for electric vehicle charging need only pay the marginal costs of increased utility service, permitting, construction project management, and financing, and marginal cost is much less than full cost; and,
WHEREAS, Half of the electric vehicles on the road in the US are in California; and,
WHEREAS, The San Francisco Bay Area is a global hub of plug-in electric vehicle adoption, with electric vehicles accounting for nearly 6% of new vehicle registrations in 2016; and,
WHEREAS, California requires that by 2025 a minimum of 22% of vehicles sold in California by each auto manufacturer must be Zero Emission Vehicles (“ZEVs”); and,
WHEREAS, California’s goal is to have 1.5 million ZEVs on the road by 2025, and sales of electric vehicles to date have exceeded projections; and,
WHEREAS, Battery electric vehicles are the most widely available category of ZEVs and account for the vast majority of sales of ZEVs; and,
WHEREAS, Adoption of clean transportation supports innovation in technologies such as charging management and battery storage, which provide new opportunities to build upon San Francisco’s strengths in supporting the clean energy economy; and,
WHEREAS, Electric vehicles support new possibilities for consuming clean electricity, and will provide new opportunities to balance loads on the electrical grid in order to accommodate increased supply of distributed renewable electricity resources; and,
WHEREAS, Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Supervisor Katy Tang introduced legislation that would amend the Green Building Code to establish requirements for installation of electric vehicle charger infrastructure in new buildings and buildings undergoing major alterations; now, therefore, be it,
RESOLVED, That the Commission on the Environment urges the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor to adopt File Number 170202, an ordinance to establish requirements for electric vehicle readiness in San Francisco; and, be it,
FUTHER RESOLVED, That the Commission on the Environment recognizes that the Electric Vehicle Readiness Ordinance will help the City and County of San Francisco meet its goal of 100% renewable energy use in San Francisco by the year 2030.
I hereby certify that this Resolution was adopted at the Commission on the Environment’s Meeting on March 28, 2017.
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Anthony Valdez, Commission Affairs Manager
Vote: 4-0 Approved
Ayes: Commissioners Bermejo, Hoyos, Stephenson and Wald
Noes: None
Absent: Commissioner Wan