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New Tempe law lets property owners limit electric vehicle charging times

An electric car charges at the Electrify America charging station at Arizona Mills mall in Tempe in 2004.
Tim Agne
/
KJZZ
An electric car charges at the Electrify America charging station at Arizona Mills mall in Tempe in 2004.

Owners of electric vehicles are in for some changes when it comes to how long they can sit at a charging station in Tempe. The city recently amended its own ordinance to increase accessibility to chargers.

The Downtown Tempe Authority was behind the request for a code revision related to the length time an EV can park at a charging station. The new code now allows property owners to set limits on how much time one can use a charging station. Before this latest update, an EV charge could not exceed six hours. The updated ordinance also increases the fines for violations.

Joantha Guthrie is the city’s energy program administrator.

“So some property owners may put signs up that say you have three hours to be in the parking spot and charge. It just depends on the needs of the particular property,” she said.

She says these new guidelines will give more EV owners the chance to charge their vehicles

“There's been such an increase in EV adoption, electric vehicle adoption, and the demand for EV charging spaces has increased dramatically,” she said.

The ordinance goes into effect in December.

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Ignacio Ventura is a reporter for KJZZ. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in news media and society.