When designing new projects with parking onsite, confusion may arise when trying to determine what qualifies for CALGreen’s designated parking and EV capable space requirements, as well as the difference between the two. Designated parking spaces are meant for clean air vehicles, which are low-emitting, fuel efficient, and carpool friendly. These vehicles fall under the Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal program, which allows eligible single-occupant vehicles into the carpool lane as long as they have either a red, green or white decal sticker.
For nonresidential occupancies, code requires that projects with 10 or more parking spaces provide designated spaces labeled as “CLEAN AIR/VANPOOL/EV” and are based on the following table:
However, whoever is allowed to park in these spaces is not enforceable by civil law. This is actually self-enforced by drivers and building owners.
For EV capable (EV Ready) stalls, the CALGreen code requires that spaces in both residential and non-residential areas are equipped with an electrical raceway, wiring, and electrical circuit for future installation of EV charging stations.
Residential spaces require 3% of total parking to be EV capable, while non-residential spaces are based on the following:
The right column indicates “number of required EV charging spaces”, but this is misleading: providing an electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) at the time of raceway installation is not required by state law. However, some jurisdictions may require it as an adopted mandatory measure, so it’s important to know the intent here.
The main difference between designated parking and EV capable parking is that the former is only applicable to non-residential spaces and does not require an electrical raceway to be installed while the latter applies to both residential and non-residential projects and does require installation of a raceway. However, projects can meet both CALGreen requirements for Designated Parking and EV Ready Parking by installing an electrical raceway for future EV charging stations and marking the space as “CLEAN AIR/VANPOOL/EV CAPABLE.” Combining clean air vehicle and EV capable stalls eases the stress in creating compliant parking plan sets and provides clarity for city plan checkers that will be able to check off two requirements in one.
If you need assistance with CALGreen compliance or other Sustainability services, please contact us for more information.
Moe Fakih, Principal
714-363-4700
mfakih@vca-green.com
Contributing Writer: Alina Bonto