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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2605-6420CITY OF PALO ALTO Climate Action and Sustainability Committee Friday, June 12, 2026   Agenda Item     2.Recommendation to Approve Design Guidelines for a Public Agency EV Charging Hub Grant Program. CEQA Status; Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, Projects Consistent with an Existing General or Comprehensive Plan do not Require Additional CEQA Review Late Packet Report Added, Staff Presentation Climate Action and Sustainability Committee Staff Report Report Type: ACTION ITEMS Lead Department: City Clerk Meeting Date: June 12, 2026 Report #:2605-6420 TITLE Recommendation to Approve Design Guidelines for a Public Agency EV Charging Hub Grant Program. CEQA Status: Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, Projects Consistent with an Existing General or Comprehensive Plan do not Require Additional CEQA Review This item will be a late packet publication released on 6/4/26. 1 0 0 0 6 Climate Action and Sustainability Committee Staff Report From: City Manager Report Type: ACTION ITEMS Lead Department: Public Works Meeting Date: June 12, 2026 Report #:2605-6370 TITLE Recommendation to Approve Design Guidelines for a Public Agency EV Charging Hub Grant Program; CEQA Status - Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, Projects Consistent with an Existing General or Comprehensive Plan do not Require Additional CEQA Review RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee (CASC) recommend that the City Council approve the proposed Program Guidelines to authorize a Public Agency Electric Vehicle Charging Hub Grant Program (Attachment A). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Transportation emission reductions is a primary goal for emissions reductions in the S/CAP Goals and Key Actions, with increased access to electric vehicle (EV) charging for multi-family residents being a key approach to achieving that goal. One strategy for enabling access is siting EV charging and mobility hubs in locations near multi-family buildings. Public agencies have parking facilities spread throughout residential areas and are high potential locations for such hubs. Staff is recommending a grant program to public agencies to use in conjunction with external grant funding or their own funding streams to encourage more EV charging on these sites. Staff is recommending adoption of a set of guidelines for the program that ensures sites are close to multi-family housing, particularly dedicated affordable housing, that ensures charging rates are at cost and that chargers are accessible overnight, and that provides some cost recovery to the City in exchange for the grant. The City has already identified various City, PAUSD, and other public agency sites with high potential for these charging hubs. If the CASC recommends approval, staff would seek City Council approval in August 2026 with the goal of making the program available on a short timeline compatible with timelines for a large MTC grant that could facilitate some of these public agency charging hubs. 1 0 0 0 6 BACKGROUND 1 that included a variety of strategies for facilitating access to charging, such as Strategy 2, Action 1, which addressed active facilitation of EV charging for multi-family complexes, and Strategy 3, Action 2 and Action 3, which talked about facilitating access to e-mobility hubs that included EV charging and other amenities and partnerships to add EV charging for overnight charging near multi-family residences. On March 2, 2026 the City Council adopted the 2026-2027 Sustainability and Climate Action (S/CAP) Work Plan2 that included work item CA4 (Launch Enhanced Multi-Family EV Charging Infrastructure Program) consisting of multiple components, including publicly accessible charging at neighborhood e-mobility hubs. This program would partially implement this work item. ANALYSIS 1 City Council, August 18, 2025, Agenda Item 6, Staff Report 2507-4943, Staff and the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee Recommendation to Accept the E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap, https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=83554&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 2 City Council, March 2, 2026, Agenda Item 9, Staff Report 2602-5985 (Attachment G), 2026-2027 Sustainability and Climate Action Work Plan, https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/2/sustainability/policies-and- plans/final-2026-2027-scap-work-plan.pdf 1 0 0 0 6 proposed City public agency EV charging hub grant program could provide local match funding that these agencies could use to deploy even more chargers. The same model could be used for additional grants pursued by the City and PAUSD or by other public agencies with suitable parking lots in Palo Alto. Focus the program on public agency sites near multi-family buildings State a preference for EV charging near dedicated affordable housing Ensure a distance of at least ¼ mile between public agency EV charging hubs, with the goal of minimizing walking distance for residents (ideally 1/8 of a mile) Ensure overnight charging is provided at cost and charging is accessible to the public at all times Provides for some cost recovery for the City in exchange for City grant assistance funding Allow and encourage City grant funding to be used to leverage other grant funding sources. FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT 1 0 0 0 6 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW ATTACHMENTS APPROVED BY: 1 1 6 4 3 Guidelines for Public Agency EV Charging Hub Grant Program These guidelines are meant to guide development of an electric vehicle (EV) charging program designed to expand community access to publicly-owned EV charging located near concentrations of multi-family buildings, with a focus on locations near dedicated affordable housing. Program goals and scope The program should: 1. Enable convenient, affordable, and accessible overnight EV charging for multi-family residents at publicly-owned locations 2. Enable public agencies to leverage additional grant funding to expand the number of chargers installed and number of sites with EV chargers. Program design The Public Agency EV Charging Hub Grant Program will prioritize available funding for sites that meet the following conditions: Charging hubs must be at locations owned by a public agency Charging hubs must be within ¼ mile of multi-family buildings, with a preference for dedicated affordable housing Must be accessible to the public for overnight charging Includes cost recovery for City grant funding contributions through charging an adder and/or by receiving the Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits for charging delivered through chargers funded by City grant. Cost recovery should be designed so as not to make charging rates unattractive Charging must be provided at cost, including the cost of electricity, operation, charger head replacement, and any additional City charges such as a cost recovery adder Must be at least ¼ mile away from other publicly owned EV charging hubs City funding may be used to leverage other grant funding to provide additional publicly accessible chargers at other locations, so long as the original locations approved for City grant funds are built. Agenda Item 2: Public Agency Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger Hub Program Climate Action & Sustainability Committee June 12, 2026 www.paloalto.gov 2 2Acting Now for A Resilient Future paloalto.gov/ClimateAction Overview •Mobility hubs are an efficient strategy to expand multi-family EV charging access •Public agency parking lots are ideal locations for pilots of the concept – PAUSD, City are likely participants, Staff would reach out to other agencies about interest •This grant program would likely facilitate 100+ chargers at 5-10 sites •The City grant program could be leveraged to obtain other grants •Guidelines require EV charging be open to the public, provide charging at cost overnight, and be within ¼ mile of multi-family buildings (preferably affordable) •Next steps if approval recommended: –City Council approval in early August –Program design in parallel with goal of launching soon after 3 3Acting Now for A Resilient Future paloalto.gov/ClimateAction Working Group Feedback •Emphasized the need to focus funding on public agency sites near multi-family – chargers in single-family areas will be underutilized •Emphasize overnight charging, and think carefully how to make sure that charging is done at cost •Provide good signage and outreach to make sure the community knows about the availability of the chargers •Discussed how this program fits into the broader goals for the multi-family sector 4 4Acting Now for A Resilient Future paloalto.gov/ClimateAction Staff Recommendation Staff recommends that the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee recommend that the City Council approve the proposed Design Guidelines for a Public Agency Electric Vehicle Charging Hub Grant Program Thank You!