Subject
title
Possible Adoption of a Resolution to Approve the Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan
end
Department
PW - Environmental Management
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Mayor and Council take the following actions:
1. Review the edits to the revised Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan to ensure the revised redline document (Attachment 1) reflects the direction of the Mayor and Council provided during the work session; and
2. Adopt the Resolution (Attachment 2) to approve the Electric Vehicle (EV) Readiness Plan.
Change in Law or Policy
If approved by the Mayor and Council, Rockville’s first Electric Vehicle (EV) Readiness plan will serve as a guiding document and plan of action to ensure that EV charging is available, accessible, equitable, affordable, safe and convenient for all who live in, work in, and visit the city and depend on vehicles for travel. The EV Readiness Plan includes four EV readiness goals and 26 actions to reduce barriers, expand charging access, and strategically support community EV readiness. Rockville’s Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan identifies ways the city can work with county, state, regional, and federal programs and private entities to facilitate the shift to electric vehicles (EV), meet the community’s growing demand for charging, and ultimately reduce tailpipe emissions and air pollution.
Discussion
Background
The Comprehensive Plan and the Climate Action Plan recommend developing Rockville’s first Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan to expand EV charging infrastructure equitably across the city. The plan also works in conjunction with Rockville’s Pedestrian Master Plan, Bikeway Master Plan and Vision Zero Plan to support a sustainable transportation network.
The Mayor and Council held a work session on February 24, 2025, where they received a presentation on the draft EV Readiness Plan and provided feedback on three policy questions. The three policy questions involve curbside residential charging, parking minimum flexibility, and charging rate guidance for potential future city-hosted and city-operated chargers. The Mayor and Council’s feedback on these policies were incorporated into the revised plan (Attachment 1, see redline changes). These policies, like many other actions in the plan, would require changes or additions to the City Code or standards, details or guidelines.
Mayor and Council Feedback and Plan Revisions
The Mayor and Council provided specific feedback on three questions at the request of staff. Their feedback is as follows:
1. Mayor and Council supported a blended strategy of cost models that recognize differences in charger type, location and use for city-owned and operated charging stations. For most public charging fees, especially in residential areas, there was support for recovering the costs associated with station operations, including actual electricity rates and the proportional costs associated with station management, operation, maintenance and replacement. For fast chargers or chargers in high-traffic areas, there was support for cost recovery and an additional revenue generating dwell time/idling fee that is applied after a grace period when charging is completed. This encourages users to vacate the station when charging is complete so that the station can serve more users. Offering free charging was not generally supported except in potentially rare cases in which drawing more visitors to a location or providing a special amenity would be appropriate. Ongoing monitoring of data related to station use, station costs, revenue, and community needs is also recommended as fees are routinely evaluated and refined. (See Action 1.1.4 on plan pages 86-87 of Attachment 1).
2. Mayor and Council supported the inclusion of flexibility in the Zoning Code parking space minimum counts for retrofits of existing parking lots to include electric charging and accessible aisles, when appropriate. The current effort to rewrite the Zoning Ordinance will consider appropriate options for flexibility in parking space minimums to more easily enable parking lot retrofits to incorporate accessible charging. (See Action 1.1.5 on plan pages 88-89 of Attachment 1).
3. Mayor and Council supported three of the four suggested models for allowing residents without garages and driveways to access charging. Curbside guidelines for cord-over-sidewalk with a cord protector mat (Model 4) was not supported due to potential mobility and safety concerns. Models 1 and 2, vendor and resident-installed pedestal curbside Level 2 charging was supported in appropriate areas with design and inspection standards for safety and neighborhood coordination. Model 3, resident installed covered charging duct-in-sidewalk was also supported with appropriate design and inspection standards for safety and neighborhood coordination. This model allows Level 2 charging with lower upfront installation cost (See Action 1.2.2 on plan pages 91-94 of Attachment 1).
Based on this feedback, the relevant action details were changed to reflect this guidance in the revised plan (Attachment 1) and other minor revisions were made for corrections or to modify timelines for faster implementation of priority items. Staff will develop policies and standards to ensure that these options are installed according to safety protocols and enforced.
Next Steps
The plan provides a recommended framework for expanding access to EVs and charging, including streamlining and aligning an EV charging policy and permitting framework and expanded public education and outreach. The plan identifies potential communities and neighborhoods that are candidates for EV charging expansion; however, given that each has unique site conditions and community needs, the plan does not include prescriptive plan for public charging infrastructure installations. The next steps are for interdepartmental coordination to streamline the EV charging plan and permitting framework and coordination with local jurisdictions, utility companies, and potential site owners and managers can discuss site recommendations, partnership opportunities, strive to address barriers, refine cost estimates for charging equipment and installation, and continue to seek funding and leverage partnerships. One item to note is that uncertainty with federal EV policies, tax credits and grants may impact plan implementation and projects. Staff will continue to monitor federal policies for potential local impacts.
Mayor and Council History
The Mayor and Council held a work session on the EV Readiness Plan on February 24, 2025, and provided comments and direction on three policy actions. The finalized plan incorporates the Mayor and Council feedback.
Public Notification and Engagement
Extensive public outreach efforts have been underway for the plan since July of 2022. The project’s initial outreach and engagement phase took place between December of 2022 through February 2023. During this period, staff estimates that approximately 432 individuals provided feedback of some kind.
A full summary of engagement activities and feedback received can be found in Section 1.5 Community Engagement (page 24) and Appendix B (page 120) in Attachment 2. Meetings were added to the City calendar, publicized using the city’s typical communication avenues, and open to the public. Key outreach activities include:
• Launched the Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan development process with a virtual public joint meeting of the Environment Commission and the Transportation and Mobility Commission on July 27, 2022 for initial input for plan scope and public engagement.
• Hosted a virtual open house on December 8, 2022, to present initial findings from the technical consultant, ICF International, on EV existing conditions and needs assessment for public feedback.
• The City launched a community engagement webpage, at <http://www.engagerockville.com/evplan>.
• Three surveys were conducted to obtain input from different audiences: 1) Residents and Visitors; 2) City of Rockville Employees, and 3) Organizations and Larger Property Owners. The surveys were available from December 2022 through February 2023. The surveys and webpage included a map for the public to indicate locations where chargers should be added to the network to inform the charger needs assessment. The surveys received a total of 244 responses.
• In person tabling at the Twinbrook Community and Recreation Center (12/30/2023) and Lincoln Park Community Center (1/4/2023).
• Coordination with regional EV planning efforts led by Maryland, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and Montgomery County between 2022 through 2024.
A second phase of public engagement occurred once analysis and actions for the Draft Plan were prepared, with about 49 total touchpoints and 15 sets of written comments (excluding the Environment Commission) as of February 3:
• Staff presented the draft plan analysis and action recommendations and received feedback at a listening session on October 10, 2024.
• The draft plan was released on January 17, 2025, for public comments and the City continues to collect feedback through the project page at <https://engagerockville.com/evplan>. Staff utilized Rockville Reports, City social media channels, email blasts, and newsletters to inform the community about the opportunity to review and provide comments on the draft Plan.
• A briefing was provided for the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board on Thursday, January 23.
• The Environment Commission discussed the plan on Thursday, February 6.
Staff has incorporated the edits to address public comments in the revised plan. Highlights of public comments include:
• Many positive reviews of the plan overall.
• Several commenters stated that station outages are a continual source of difficulty and frustration for EV drivers in Rockville and elsewhere. Some commenters referred to Tesla as one model of a reliable charging experience.
• Some commented that the City should not offer charging for free with taxpayer dollars; others argued that rates for public charging are too high and variable.
• One commenter emphasized the need to integrate and prioritize ADA accessibility of EV chargers throughout the plan and in implementation.
• There were comments about incorporating more EV/ solar opportunities to aim to meet electric vehicle electricity usage with renewable energy.
• Several comments provided helpful edits to clarify meaning and elaborate on some concepts.
Boards and Commissions Review
Several boards and commissions have participated in plan development and review; including but not limited, to the Environment Commission, Transportation & Mobility Commission, Human Rights Commission, Human Services Advisory Committee, Recreation and Parks Advisory Board, and Planning Commission.
The Environment Commission and Transportation and Mobility Commission were invited to the joint EV Plan launch event on July 27, 2022. Many Boards and Commissions were invited to the EV Plan Open House on December 8, 2022, and notified of the survey, which several completed. The Boards and Commissions listed above were also notified in early 2025 when the Draft EV Readiness Plan was published and invited to comment. The Recreation and Parks Advisory Board received a briefing on January 23 and provided feedback. The Environment Commission was briefed and provided guidance throughout the plan development process and endorsed the draft plan at their February 6 meeting.
Impact Statements
Equity: The EV Readiness Plan integrates equity throughout the plan, including the focus on equity in Guiding Principle #3 in Section 1.2, an Equity Considerations analysis in Chapter 4, and the inclusion of an equity consideration within each of the 26 actions described in Chapter 7. Recognizing the disparities in wealth due to historic racism, staff are pursuing actions to engage and support low-income communities through grants and partnerships to assist them in accessing electric vehicle charging and other actions to support the expansion of EVs in lower income communities especially due to their health benefits and lower life cycle costs as vehicle costs become affordable. The city’s hosted public chargers specifically support those without garages or designated parking.
Environment: The EV Readiness Plan has a positive impact on the environment by accelerating actions to support the conversion of internal combustion engine vehicles to electric for city fleet and throughout the community, which reduces air pollution and the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
Economic: The EV Readiness Plan recognizes that substantial investment in charging infrastructure is needed to support EV adoption and seeks to leverage public and private partnerships, grants, and other financial incentives to help individuals, businesses, and communities access both EVs and charging infrastructure. Other benefits include lower costs from health care due to air pollution and emergency room visits, lower maintenance and fuel costs, and lower costs from climate change impacts provide positive impacts to the economy.
Next Steps
If approved by the Mayor and Council, staff will publish and implement the plan, identify alternative funding sources, conduct outreach and engagement, and work with interdepartmental teams to update codes and develop standards and procedures to implement practices consistent with the plan actions. Staff will incorporate EV Readiness Plan action updates and data into the Climate Action Plan annual report.