Bloomington, MN Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Section 21.302.14 was adopted by Ord. 2019-47, passed 12-2-2019, to accommodate and promote electric vehicle charging while preventing adverse impacts from installation and use. The dividing line is who the charger serves. A charger accessory to the primary use and intended solely to charge vehicles that would otherwise be on site is permitted in every zoning district. If the primary use is retail charging of vehicles that would not otherwise be on site, the use is a convenience facility with fuel sales for zoning purposes and is allowed only in districts that permit that use.

That classification carries real site standards under § 21.302.15, which applies to properties with fuel dispensing equipment, expressly including electric vehicle chargers. Pump islands and alternative fuel dispensing stations need setbacks of no less than 35 feet from any property line, buildings need a front setback of 40 feet or the district's requirement if greater, canopies over pump islands need at least 20 feet from a street-abutting property line, and the minimum lot width is 120 feet.

Parking spaces with chargers count toward the minimum off-street parking requirement in § 21.301.06(d). Where charger spaces exceed five percent of the spaces on site, those spaces must be open to non-electric vehicles and the chargers must be non-proprietary.

Single-family and two-family homes get their own three standards. The charger must be solely for private use of the owner, resident or non-paying guests. It must sit in a garage, on the exterior wall of the home or garage, or on a freestanding pole with footing, adjacent to a parking space and subject to principal building setbacks. Outside a garage it must be rated for outdoor use.

In parking lots, § 21.301.06(c)(4) requires chargers to be located in a parking island, mounted to an adjacent structure, or protected by bollards, structures or curb, and they must not encroach on the minimum walkable sidewalk width in § 21.301.04(d). The parking table also requires that 1 space per 50 units in multiple-family developments be equipped with a Charging Level 2 charger or higher, defined as 240v.