Tuscaloosa, AL Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Table V-5 lists "Electric vehicle charging station" as a "P" (permitted by right) accessory use across every residential, institutional, business, industrial and planned-development column, so no special exception or conditional use approval is needed to add one. Sec. 25-107(k) then supplies the operating standards. Parking spaces served by a charging station must be reserved exclusively for charging electric vehicles, and the reserved spaces must be posted with signage that identifies them as EV-only, states the amperage and voltage levels available, discloses any enforceable time limit or tow-away provision, and gives contact information for reporting equipment that is not working.

The station and its associated equipment, such as cabinets, receptacles or charging stands, must be sited so they do not interfere with vehicle, bicycle or pedestrian access and circulation, and none of that equipment may be placed inside a required parking lot perimeter landscaping area under Sec. 25-132(c) or inside a buffer required under Sec. 25-133. Any sign identifying the charging station is capped at four square feet, smaller than the three-square-foot cap allowed for an unrelated home occupation sign, underscoring that this is a narrow accessory-use standard rather than a general commercial sign allowance.

These standards were codified with the 2024 Unified Development Ordinance (Ord. No. 9572, Sec. 2, effective 12-17-24) and have not been separately amended since in the accessory-use table.