Santa Clara County, CA Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Santa Clara County adopted a 'reach code' (building-code amendment) for new construction in the unincorporated county that requires all-electric heating and appliances plus electric-vehicle charging readiness, administered through the Department of Planning and Development's all-electric reach codes. Under the ordinance, new single-family homes and townhomes must include a minimum of two EV outlets. Larger non-residential and multifamily projects must provide EV-capable or EV-ready parking spaces and, for some projects, higher-capacity charging infrastructure, layered on top of statewide CALGreen requirements. The requirements scale with the size and type of building. These provisions are building-code obligations for new and substantially renovated construction rather than on-street parking rules - they do not, by themselves, reserve public curb space for EV charging. On public roads, EV-charging or time-limited curb space would be designated through standard curb-color and signage rules (for example, a green curb signifies time-limited parking under California Vehicle Code Section 21458). The County's Facilities and Fleet Department also publishes locations and fees for County-operated EV charging stations. Property owners planning EV charger installation in the unincorporated county should confirm electrical-permit requirements with the Department of Planning and Development before installing residential or commercial chargers.