Escondido, CA Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Section 33-1124 governs the permitting of every electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) or electric vehicle supply equipment station built to Article 625 of the California Electrical Code that delivers power from an outside source into a plug-in electric vehicle. Subsection (a)(1) allows an EVCS as of right within any legal single-family residential garage or carport and any multifamily parking space, so long as it is protected from vehicle damage and the weather, carries instructions and warning signage, is sited to discourage unauthorized public use, and does not encroach on required clear areas around driveways, parking spaces, garages or maneuvering areas.

Subsection (a)(2) permits a private, non-fee EVCS as an accessory use in any legal commercial, industrial or other non-residential parking space, subject to the same siting rules plus a size cap of four square feet and 10 feet in height for identification signage, and it may run on a timer limiting use to normal business hours. Subsection (a)(3) requires a minor use permit for any commercial, fee-based or public EVCS, and lets the director of community development reserve city-owned parking stalls exclusively for EVCS charging; only vehicles actively charging, as shown on the station's monitor display, may occupy those spaces.

Applications go to the Building Division by mail, in person or electronic submittal against the EVCS Permitting Checklist, and electronic signatures are accepted. Under subsection (c), the building official runs an administrative review to streamline approval when the application meets the checklist and poses no specific, adverse health or safety impact; incomplete applications get a written correction notice. A minor use permit is required only if the official finds, based on substantial evidence, a specific adverse public health or safety impact, and even then the zoning administrator may deny it only with written findings that no feasible mitigation exists, a decision that can be appealed to the planning commission.

The city council sets applicable permit fees under subsection (d). The section, adopted by Ordinance No. 2017-11 on August 16, 2017, does not cover utility-company approval to connect an EVCS to the electric grid, which the applicant must obtain separately.