Charlotte, NC Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

3 of the Unified Development Ordinance, effective June 1, 2023, sets mandatory electric vehicle charging requirements tied to a project's off-street parking count under Table 19-2. Developments with 0 to 9 provided parking spaces owe no EV charging stations. From 10 to 25 spaces, 20% of spaces (rounded up) must be EV-Capable, with no EVSE-Installed stations required. From 26 to 50 spaces, the 20% EV-Capable share still applies plus at least one EVSE-Installed space. Above 50 spaces, developers must provide 20% EV-Capable spaces plus 2% EVSE-Installed spaces (rounded up).

The ordinance defines the two required station types, EV-Capable and EVSE-Installed, in Article 2, and each EVSE-Installed space may be counted as four EV-Capable spaces toward the percentage requirement. Section C directs that any fractional result from the percentage math rounds up to a full space rather than down. The rule covers four use categories specifically: multi-family stacked dwellings; the residential component of mixed-use developments (using either the required parking count or, where no minimum applies, the number of residential units as the calculation base); hotels; and parking lots or parking structures operated as a principal use.

Sections D through F address how EV spaces interact with parking maximums and minimums: EV-Capable spaces count toward a development's parking maximum, but EVSE-Installed spaces do not; where a minimum parking count applies, each EVSE-Installed station counts as two spaces toward that minimum; and any extra EVSE-Installed stations beyond what is required can be credited as four EV-Capable stations. This structure was carried into the UDO amended March 23, 2026, and administered by the City of Charlotte's Planning, Design, and Development Department alongside the rest of the off-street parking article.