Salem, OR Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger
- New buildings with 5+ dwelling units
- Required EV-capable share
- 40% of off-street parking spaces
- Electrical standard referenced
- ORS 455.417 service capacity
- Applies to mixed-use
- Yes, residential plus nonresidential buildings
- Max civil penalty
- $2,000 per day if violated post-approval
Summary
New Salem buildings with five or more dwelling units must wire at least 40 percent of their off-street parking spaces for electric vehicle charging. SRC 806.035(d) requires that share of spaces to include the electrical service capacity defined under Oregon's building code, ORS 455.417, whether the building is fully residential or mixes housing with commercial use.
(d)Required electric vehicle charging spaces. For any newly constructed building with five or more dwelling units on the same lot, including buildings with a mix of residential and nonresidential uses, a minimum of 40 percent of the off-street parking spaces provided on the site for the building shall be designated as spaces to serve electrical vehicle charging. In order to comply with this subsection, such spaces shall include provisions for electrical service capacity, as defined in ORS 455.417.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
035(d), part of Salem's off-street parking standards for uses other than single, two, three, or four family homes, requires newly constructed buildings with five or more dwelling units on the same lot to designate a minimum of 40 percent of the site's off-street parking spaces to serve electric vehicle charging. The requirement reaches mixed-use buildings too: a project combining housing with ground-floor retail or office space still counts its residential parking toward the 40 percent threshold as long as the building has five or more units.
417, the state building code provision that specifies the panel capacity and conduit needed to support a future or installed charger. 035 sets the parking framework this requirement sits inside: up to 75 percent of a site's spaces may be compact spaces, and larger developments with 60 or more spaces in the public services, industrial, or business and professional services categories must also set aside five percent of spaces for carpool and vanpool parking. Salem's UDC separately encourages retrofits by excluding standalone EV charger installations in existing, already-approved parking lots from the pedestrian circulation standards that otherwise apply to parking lot construction.
Violations & Fines
A newly constructed qualifying building that fails to designate the required 40 percent EV-capable parking share does not meet the approval criteria for site plan review under SRC chapter 220, so the missing infrastructure is typically caught and corrected before a certificate of occupancy issues. If EV charging capacity is removed or the parking is altered after approval without meeting SRC 806.035(d), it becomes an enforceable UDC violation carrying Salem's standard civil penalty of up to $2,000 per day under SRC chapter 20J.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Salem buildings must provide EV charging parking?
Does the EV parking requirement apply to a duplex or triplex?
What does 'electrical service capacity' mean for these EV spaces?
Can I add EV chargers to my existing Salem parking lot without a permit process?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salem
Compare Salem to another location·View the Oregon parking rules overview
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