Lakewood, CA Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

7(b)(1)-(3), a Lakewood application to install a charging station must be administratively approved through a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit, and the Building Division's review is limited to whether the installation meets health and safety requirements of local, state, and federal law. Only if the building official makes a written finding, based on substantial evidence, that the station could have a specific, adverse impact on public health or safety may the applicant be routed to a discretionary use permit instead, and subdivision (c) bars denying that use permit without written findings showing no feasible way to mitigate the impact.

Subdivision (d) lets an applicant appeal the building official's decision directly to the Planning Commission. Subdivision (h) bars the city from conditioning any charging-station permit on approval by a homeowners' association. The statute required every California city under 200,000 residents, which includes Lakewood at roughly 82,000, to adopt an expedited permitting ordinance and compliance checklist by September 30, 2017, and defines a covered charging station by reference to Article 625 of the California Electrical Code. This version sunsets and is replaced by a successor version on January 1, 2030.

5(J)(16)) require that the number and location of EV-capable and EV charging stations in mixed-use projects comply with the California Green Building Code, layering a design standard on top of the state's permitting mandate.