Blaine, MN Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Under Blaine City Code Sec. 129-26, EV chargers are permitted in every zoning district when they are accessory to the primary use on site and intended solely to charge vehicles that would otherwise be there. If the charger's primary purpose becomes retail charging of vehicles that would not otherwise be on the property, the Community Development Department treats the use as a gasoline station for zoning purposes, meaning it is allowed only in districts that already permit gasoline stations, a real restriction for anyone hoping to run a public charging hub in a district zoned only for offices or residences.

Parking spaces equipped with chargers still count toward the minimum off-street parking required under Sec. 129-13(8), unless those spaces make up more than five percent of the total parking on the site, at which point the excess no longer counts toward the minimum. For single-family and multifamily homes, chargers must be for the private use of the property owner, resident, or their non-paying guests, not a commercial or shared-use installation. A home charger must sit in a garage, on the exterior wall of the home or garage, or on a freestanding pole with a footing next to a parking space, and it must still meet the principal building setback for single-family lots or the parking setback for multifamily properties, including apartment complexes.

Any charger mounted outside a garage must be rated for outdoor use. The section was added by Ordinance No. 25-2593 on December 15, 2025, and an editor's note in the code explains it was originally drafted as Sec. 129-24 but renumbered to 129-26 because that number was already taken.