DATE: December 17, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT
Title
Electrification Reach Code: Adopt a Resolution Finding and Determining the Need for Adoption of Modifications to the 2022 California Building Standards Code; Introduce a Revised Electrification Reach Code Ordinance with Amendments Related to EV Charging; and Finding that the Action is Exempt from CEQA
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) and introduces the revised Electrification Reach Code ordinance (Attachment III) to modify the California Green Building Standards Code. The ordinance includes amendments to the Off-Street Parking Regulations to modify the existing electric vehicle charging requirements.
End
SUMMARY
Hayward’s current Reach Code took effect on January 1, 2023. The Reach Code ordinance modifies and goes beyond the State building code to require:
• All new non-residential buildings that include natural gas infrastructure, must be “electric ready”, meaning they have the wiring, electrical capacity and space needed to be converted to an all-electric building in the future.
• All new buildings, and modifications to existing buildings resulting in new parking spaces, must have electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure above and beyond that required by the California Green Building Standards Code.
There are updated requirements in the California Green Building Standards Code (CalGreen) that took effect on July 1, 2024, including several related to EV charging infrastructure. This new CalGreen code, even with the updates, still requires less charging infrastructure than Hayward’s current Reach Code.
In addition to incorporating the 2024 CalGreen amendments, staff recommends also incorporating the minor changes to EV charging requirements in the recently adopted 2025 CALGreen standards that will take effect on January 1, 2026. Including these standards in the updated Reach Code would eliminate the need to update Hayward’s EV charging requirements again in 2025.
Council Sustainability Committee
This item was presented to the Council Sustainability Committee (CSC) on November 18, 2024, and was unanimously recommended to be presented to Council for adoption.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report
Attachment II Resolution - Modifications to California Building Standards Code
Attachment III Ordinance Amending Reach Codes for Off-Street Parking Regulations
Attachment IV Table - Charging Requirements