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Politics Jan 25, 2023
An EV charging station. | Photo by Rimidolove/Envato Elements
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The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to explore an ordinance defining electric vehicle charging in the city’s zoning code, given that it is currently undefined as a land use.
The council sought reports from the Department of City Planning on recommendations for an ordinance, along with best practices that would preserve planning and urban design. Last week, the council directed a draft ordinance on streamlining the permitting of EV charging infrastructure.
After cost of the vehicle, access to charging is the biggest barrier to EV adoption, according to a motion filed by Council President Paul Krekorian. The city’s EV master plan contains several incentives to owning an electric vehicle.
Krekorian’s motion states that the growing demand for charging requires sites to be primarily used for EV charging.
“Legacy infrastructure, utility business models and land use constraints” are all examples of 20th-century era paradigms that have restricted putting in place more charging stations, according to the motion.
One in five new vehicle purchases in California is an electric vehicle.
On Tuesday, the council considered a motion indicating that Los Angeles has been failing to make timely payments to vendors that provide city services.
The city contracts with vendors for a variety of services, including providing portable restrooms at events and maintaining the city’s email system. According to a motion by Councilman Bob Blumenfield, the city is taking “many months” to compensate vendors and “must improve the speed of processing and paying invoices.”
As a result, there are some companies that have refused to do business with the city, especially smaller companies that can’t afford to wait half a year for payment, according to the motion.
“The city owes it to constituents and the incredible businesses and nonprofits that are the backbone of L.A., to figure out how to pay its bills in a timely manner,” the motion reads.
The motion seeks a report in 90 days on ways to expedite the payment process and to ensure that invoices are paid within 30 to 90 days.
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