Butte County, CA Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- yes, building permit
- Review process
- expedited, Gov. Code §65850.7
- HOA approval
- cannot be required
- CUP triggered only by
- documented adverse safety impact
- Inspections required
- one, if compliant
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 4131 (2017)
Summary
Butte County requires a building permit for every electric vehicle charging station, but Article VIII of Chapter 26 forces that permit through an expedited, streamlined review created under Ordinance No. 4131 to satisfy Government Code Section 65850.7. The Building Official cannot condition approval on sign-off from a homeowners' association, and can only demand a discretionary conditional use permit if there is documented, substantial evidence of a specific adverse safety impact.
A building permit is required to install an electric vehicle charging station. An application for a building permit to install an electric vehicle charging station shall be processed in accordance with Section 65850.7 of the Government Code. ... If the Building Official makes a finding, based on substantial evidence, that the electric vehicle charging station could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, the applicant shall be required to apply for a conditional use permit. The decision of the Building Official that the electric vehicle charging station could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety may be appealed to the Planning Commission.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
Sections 26-110 through 26-114 implement California's 2015 mandate, Assembly Bill 1236, requiring every county to streamline permitting for electric vehicle charging stations. 7. Section 26-113 directs the Building Official to publish a compliance checklist on the Department of Development Services website; an applicant who submits documentation satisfying that checklist gets an administratively approved permit, with only one inspection required for a compliant installation under Section 26-114. The applicant, not the county, remains responsible for separately clearing the installation with the local utility before energizing it.
The ordinance sharply limits the county's ability to slow a project down: Section 26-113(i) bars conditioning approval on approval from a common-interest-development association, and Section 26-113(j) allows the Building Official to require a conditional use permit only upon a finding, based on substantial evidence, of a "specific, adverse impact" on public health or safety, defined in Section 26-111(f) as a significant, quantifiable, and unavoidable impact tied to written, pre-existing safety standards. That finding can be appealed to the Planning Commission, and Section 26-113(k) bars the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors on appeal from denying the permit unless they make written findings that no feasible mitigation exists.
Violations & Fines
Installing a charging station without the required building permit under Section 26-112 exposes the installation to a stop-work order and re-permitting through the standard, non-expedited process. A permit denial based on an unsupported adverse-impact finding can be appealed to the Planning Commission under Section 26-113(j)-(k), and any conditions the county imposes must be the lowest-cost method that still mitigates the documented hazard.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast does Butte County have to process an EV charger permit?
Can my homeowners' association block my charging station permit?
What if the county says my charger installation is unsafe?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Butte County
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