Upcoming EV Parking Space Deadlines

As an update to our previous blog post (linked here) the Chicago City Council has passed O2023-0002910, which implements the state requirements for electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) in residential buildings, with alternate deadlines.

If a building permit is submitted after November 1, 2023, it must now comply with the following sections of the revised ordinance:

17-10-1000 Parking Area Designation

2. Where the first building permit application for the project is submitted on or after November 1, 2023, new construction of a residential building intended for household living with accessory parking provided shall include equipment so that 100 percent of the accessory parking spaces serving dwelling units, 20 percent of the accessory parking spaces serving other than dwelling units, and 20 percent of the non-accessory parking spaces are either EVSE-ready spaces or EVSE-installed spaces.

3. Where the first building permit application for the project is submitted on or after November 1. 2023, new construction of a residential building intended for group living or lodging with accessory parking provided shall include equipment so that 20 percent of parking spaces are either EVSE-ready spaces or EVSE-Installed spaces.

This requirement means that based on the above ratios (100% of the accessory residential spaces, 20% of the accessory parking serving non-residential, and 20% of the non-accessory parking), parking spaces in new construction will need to be EVSE ready, which means that the space will have “electric vehicle supply infrastructure installed so as to provide conduit and wiring for a 40-ampere, 208- or 240-volt dedicated branch circuit terminating at a receptacle, junction box, or electric vehicle supply equipment adjacent to the parking space.” Note that the charger itself is not required to be installed, only that the conduit, wiring, and capacity in the panel must be provided at the time of construction.

A permit is ‘submitted’ when the permit application is created under the correct address and the permit deposit fee is paid.

Note that if the project is Affordable Housing, an administrative adjustment can be requested to reduce the total amount of spaces based on the submission date as follows:

7-13-1003-LL Reduction of EVSE Requirements for Affordable Housing.

The Zoning Administrator is authorized to approve an administrative adjustment to reduce the percentage of EVSE-ready spaces or EVSE-installed spaces required by Section 17-10-1011- A(2) to the applicable value specified below for "affordable housing" as defined in the Illinois Electric Vehicle Charging Act.

Chicago also added a new option to determine how to size the required capacity for the EVSE-Ready spaces through the use of an EVSE Energy Management System.

17-10-1011-D. Use of EVSE Energy Management System.

The required electrical capacity to serve either EVSE-ready spaces or EVSE-installed spaces may be determined based on the use of an EVSE energy management system designed by an Illinois-licensed professional engineer. An EVSE energy management system must be capable of providing at least 12 kWh to each parking space over an 8-hour overnight period when all parking spaces are occupied by charging electric vehicles.

This allows for an engineer to determine the the actual required size of the electrical panel for a building based on an EVSE management system, rather than what the required load is based on the definition of what is required, allowing for a smaller panel that is sized specifically for the use/function, rather than what is prescriptively described.

Please let us know if you have any questions about how Chicago is implementing the State requirements for EVSE spaces or if you have other questions regarding Chicago requirements.