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Home My WebLink About08-14-23 - Special Study Session NotesSpecial Study Session – City Council CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO City Council Chambers 7500 W. 29th Avenue August 14, 2023 Upon adjournment of the Regular City Council Meeting, and after a short recess, the Mayor called this Special Study Session to order at 8:12 p.m. This meeting was conducted both as a virtual meeting and hybrid, where some members of the Council or City staff were physically present at the Municipal building, and some members of the public attended in person as well. After calling the meeting to order, presiding official Mayor Starker stated the rules and procedures necessitated by this meeting format. Mayor Starker welcomed the Council, other elected officials, staff and interested citizens. The Mayor also explained the virtual/hybrid meeting format, how citizens will have the opportunity to be heard, and the procedures and policies to be followed. Councilmembers present:   Judy Hutchinson, Scott Ohm, Amanda Weaver, Rachel Hultin, Janeece Hoppe, Korey Stites, Leah Dozeman, and Valerie Nosler Beck Also, present: City Manager Patrick Goff; City Attorney Gerald Dahl; City Clerk, Steve Kirkpatrick; Director of Community Development, Lauren Mikulak; other staff, guests and interested citizens.  Public Comment on Agenda Items – No one came forward to speak. Please, also see the minutes of tonight’s regular Council session. Note about Wheat Ridge Speaks: Citizens may visit the Wheat Ridge Speaks website and enter written comments of up to 1,000 words on any Council agenda item. The deadline for citizens to submit comments is 12:00 Noon Mountain Time on the day of a Council session so that Council members, other elected officials and City Staff have time to review the comments before the meeting on Monday evening. The City Clerk’s Office transcribes those Wheat Ridge Speaks comments into these minutes, placing each comment along with the record for that agenda item, including items that include a public hearing (verbatim, if the comments do not contain lascivious language or unlawful hate speech). There were no citizen comments entered into Wheat Ridge Speaks related to this session, but there were at this evening’s regular Council Meeting. Those comments appear in the minutes for tonight’s regularly scheduled City Council business meeting. 1. Parking and Charging for Electric Vehicles and Bicycles Issue The current zoning code has minimal requirements for bicycle parking and has no EV charging or parking requirements. Current requirements are discussed at the end of this section. Likewise, the City’s current adopted building codes and local amendments (2018 International Building Codes or IBC and 2020 National Electric Code or NEC) allow for EV charging, but current building codes do not mandate placement, design, or minimum quantities or percentages. Staff Report Mr. Goff introduced Ms. Mikulak, who asked Mr. Scott Cutler, Senior Planner, to give a detailed presentation and explanation of their goals. They spoke on topics that included: • Current EV Parking/Charging Requirements • Current Bicycle Parking Requirements • HB23-1233 (Statewide EV Charging and Parking Requirements) • Surrounding Communities EV Parking/Charging • Current and Future Market Among others, the team also listed their recommendations for • Parking spaces at new multi-unit apartments/condos. • Parking spaces new single-unit, duplex, and townhomes. • Allowing freestanding EV charging facilities in commercial, industrial, and mixed- use zone districts as a permitted primary and accessory use. Councilmember questions and comments: CM Hutchinson asked about the cost of this effort and who would pay for it? Will Foothills Regional Housing be subject to this ordinance? She opined that there needs to be an analysis of who will pay for the electric charging stations and who will pay for the electricity to charge vehicles. She also opined that people prefer the 30-minute quick charging stations to the 12-hour duration charging stations. Mr. Dahl offered his own EV charging experience, indicating that the cost of electricity is about 1/3 of the cost of gasoline to drive each mile. CM Hutchinson then asked how and who will pay for electricity that these charging stations will provide. Mr. Dahl gave a detailed answer. The Mayor asked about the cost of one charging station like the two available just outside City Hall. Staff could not recall the price of those stations but did report that the typical price tag is $8,000 to 9,000 in the current market. The Mayor asked if anyone can use those charging spaces. Mr. Goff explained how that process works for his EV as an example. CM Ohm asked about having chargers in parking spaces for the disabled. Mr. Cutler gave a detailed answer and said staff would refer to the state laws about that question. CM Hultin commented she supports the staff recommendations for the most part. She noted that the charging stations in Arvada are the most used stations in the state. She opined that having these charging stations will incent people to visit Wheat Ridge to shop and dine. We should use this opportunity to create charging infrastructure now and looking forward to the demand and availability 15 years out. We should use this opportunity to leverage these charging stations to enjoy other benefits. CM Dozeman opposes this whole effort because it will add significant costs to the developers that they will pass along to consumers. She understands the need to offer some charging stations, but she opined that the state requirements encroach on local control. It also undermines property owners’ rights. On the whole the legislation overreaches. We should do the bare minimum required by the state laws. The Mayor asked if there will be a city energy tax on the electricity transmitted at these charging stations. Staff agreed to investigate the matter in order to give Council a detailed answer. He then asked if there will be meters on the charging stations to track the cost and pricing of each user’s bill. CM Stites asked if a landlord could include the cost of EV charging for those who need and want it as part of the rent. Mr. Dahl answered in detail. He opined that we should stay with the minimum required by state law so that we do not see developers choosing other cities because of our cost. CM Ohm noted that newly constructed garages have these charging stations built in, and they are expensive. If we do not have EV charging in new housing then we will lose renters/residents/consumers. His experience is that these charging stations are in high demand. He asked if WR will be competitive with our neighboring cities if we do the bare minimum required by state law. EV charging should give us a competitive advantage. CM Weaver commented that we should definitely move ahead. She is also thinking of some other issues we need to discuss. For instance, Excel frequently shames her for her use of electricity without considering that she operates a farm. She also opined we need to discuss and consider the impact on sustainability of all of the electricity EV will use. If there is a “middleman,” between Excel and the consumer, what cost will that add? She opined she does not like being shamed for her electric consumption while others are advocating for EV charging stations. CM Hultin commented that the state is studying and re-considering the impact of EV charging. What we are really discussing here is making EV chargers available, not mandating charging stations. We are actually preparing for the coming wave of EV vehicles and demand for EV charging. The really costly measure would be retrofitting new development with EV charging stations. CM and Mayor Starker thanked the staff for all of their hard work in preparing for this update. CM Hultin proposed a consensus to direct staff to move forward with recommendations 1, 2, 3 (which meet the minimal state requirement and nothing more) and 5 as written; to revise recommendation 4 to significantly reduce the cost to consumers and developers by requiring that there are EV ready stations; ready for, but not including, the EV charging apparatus itself. Consensus achieved. Council then considered the staff recommendations with respect to E-bike charging. CM Hultin proposed a consensus to direct staff to move forward with their recommend- ation for E-bike charging, numbers 1, 2,and 3 as written. Consensus achieved. 2. Staff Report(s) Nothing more. 3. Elected Officials’ Report(s) Nothing more. ADJOURNMENT The Special Study Session adjourned at 9:47 pm. APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL ON August 28, 2023. _________________________________ Steve Kirkpatrick, City Clerk _________________________________ Korey Stites, Mayor Pro Tem