La Plata County, CO Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Section 70-18.IX of the La Plata County Land Use Code is the EV charging rule for off-street parking in unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado. Subsection A sets a ceiling, not a floor. Within development that includes multi-family dwellings and nonresidential uses that are not an EV charging facility, the parking spaces served by EV charging stations can account for no more than ten (10) percent of the minimum parking spaces required by the section, unless signage at the charging stations clearly indicates that the spaces can also be used by non-EV vehicles. The cap keeps a developer from meeting the minimum parking count with spaces only charging vehicles can use.

Subsection B adds a plan requirement. When one or more EV charging stations is provided, the stations and the EV charging equipment shall be identified on the site plan or plat. Section 70-18.IX does not print a required number of charging spaces, so a developer decides how many to offer within the ten percent cap or under the signage exception.

Section 70-18 as a whole applies to the development of new buildings and uses, with exceptions for agricultural uses not requiring a land use permit and the construction of a single-family residence, so a home charger sits outside it. The code also lists EV charging equipment, EV charging facility and EV charging station as defined terms in its definitions chapter, and the difference matters because the cap language excludes uses that are themselves an EV charging facility.

Existing lots have an easier path. Section 66-3 lists, among developments not requiring a land use permit, the installation, operation and maintenance of electrical infrastructure intended to convert one or more legally existing parking spaces into EV charging stations, provided the installation does not result in the creation of an EV charging facility and is conducted consistent with the applicable standards in section 70-18. Building permits can still be required.