Sacramento Report — “The Only Constant in Life is Change.” – Heraclitu

“The Only Constant in Life is Change.” – Heraclitus

By ron KingsTon

“Heraclitus, I believe, says that all things pass and nothing stays, and comparing existing things to the flow of a river, he says you could not step twice into the same river.” — Plato

Each legislative session, the California State Legislature seemingly comports with the philosophic ideology of change, which keeps constituents on their toes year after year; but the recent changes forcing property owners to forgo payment while simultaneously demanding they spend on renters continues to divide and isolate property owners from the 19 million Californians they house.

You need not be reminded of how the COVID-19 pandemic and the Governor’s ensuing eviction moratoria changed equal bargaining power between residential rental property owners and renters. However, it is imperative you be informed of the ensuing changes that may, in the long run, require residential rental property owners to supply something, e.g. electric vehicle charging stations, to their renters that many may not even use.

This Two-Part Series will be focusing on the Legislature’s efforts, costs, and the reality of “electrifying” California’s transportation system with a special focus on the impact and potential impact upon the multi-family housing industry.

It has long been declared that California’s greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions must be reduced to at least 40 percent below the statewide GHG emissions limit no later than December 31, 2030.

And it has long been known that transportation emissions are the largest source of GHG emissions in California. So, electrification of the transportation system is the State’s key strategy in reducing those emissions, and it’s set a target to provide 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations (“EV charging stations’) throughout the State, in just eight years!

Last year a bill was introduced to create building standards regarding the installation of EV charging stations for existing buildings. One of these standards will require the installation of EV charging stations with low power level 2 or higher in existing multi-family housing during specified retrofits, additions, and alterations to existing parking facilities for which a permit application is submitted.

The California Building Standards Commission, along with the Department of Housing and Community Development have been charged with the task of creating the standards, which are to commence with the, “next triennial edition of the California Building Standards Code.”

For reference, the last Triennial Edition was published on July 1, 2022, therefore, the “next triennial edition of the California Building Standards Code” will be published sometime around July 2025, and likely take effect January 1, 2026.

A bill that piggy backed off the installation requirement would have mandated one parking space per dwelling unit be equipped with an EV charging station in all existing multi-family housing. We successfully opposed the bill until the author agreed to an amendment that removed the retrofit requirement. It is noteworthy, however, that it can be argued that residential rental property owners should be preparing to fight similar to this years’ measure in the near future. Additionally, it would not be surprising if a bill was introduced to expound upon installation requirements for existing buildings not in need of a retrofit, addition, or alteration to existing parking facilities. In fact, it would be conceivable that the installation of EV charging stations will be defined as a required retrofit, and therefore, mandating an immediate installation.

While the notion of clean energy is appealing to many Californians; our State’s leaders, perhaps, are not considering the financial waste and time needed to realistically change Californians’ reliance on dirty energy to clean energy.

As a residential rental property owner, imagine being financially responsible for all costs associated with installing and maintaining EV charging stations for renters that do not use the equipment because they do not own or operate an electric vehicle.

Questions abound, including: What is the purpose of spending money on