Placentia, CA Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Chapter 20.60 of the Placentia Municipal Code exists, in the words of § 20.60.010, to comply with Government Code Section 65850.7 and to encourage electric vehicles through an expedited, streamlined permitting process while protecting public health and safety. A charging station is any level of electric vehicle supply equipment that delivers electricity from a source outside an electric vehicle into a plug-in electric vehicle (§ 20.60.020).

Under § 20.60.030, the building official adopts a checklist of every requirement a station must meet for expedited review. The checklist takes effect on approval by the director of development services, is published on the city's website, and binds every applicant. It can draw on the Governor's Office of Planning and Research "Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Permitting Checklist." Required items include equipment meeting the California Electrical Code and testing-laboratory standards, installation under Article 625, treatment of charging equipment as a continuous load in load calculations, and anchorage that meets the California Building or Residential Code. The building official cannot condition a permit on approval by a homeowners association.

Section 20.60.040 puts the verification burden on the applicant, who must confirm the station will not have a specific, adverse impact on public health and safety. A checklist-compliant application is deemed complete. An incomplete one gets a written correction notice listing every deficiency. Applications can be emailed, but they count as received only on the date the building official personally replies by email, and electronic signatures are accepted.

Appeals of the building official's determination go to the planning commission. Notice goes out at least 10 days before the hearing to owners within a 300 foot radius and is posted in at least three public places, and the commission's decision cannot be appealed to the city council. Section 20.60.050 lets the director of public works designate city-owned off-street spaces for charging and parking a connected vehicle.