Schenectady, NY Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

City Code Section 264-29B(14) simply adds 'electric vehicle charging stations' to the list of accessory uses and structures permitted in every zoning district under Section 264-29A, alongside private garages, home gardening and swimming pools. The definitions section, Section 264-2, describes an electric vehicle charging station as 'a system for the charging of an electric vehicle,' typically a charging kiosk paired with a transformer, and both entries were added by the same 2015 ordinance, No. 2015-20. Because the City chose not to write a dedicated setback, height or screening standard for charging equipment, a station is governed by the general bulk rules in Section 264-29D that apply to detached accessory structures as a class: if the station sits 10 feet or more from the principal building, it must keep a 60-foot front yard and a three-foot side or rear yard, and in a residential district it cannot exceed 12 feet in height.

A unit built onto or within 10 feet of the principal structure is instead treated as part of that structure and simply follows the applicable district's front, side and rear yard requirements. No special use permit, site plan review or Planning Commission approval attaches specifically to charging equipment: it is a by-right accessory use like a garage or a patio, subject only to the ordinary building and electrical permit process the Building Inspector applies to any new accessory structure or equipment installation.