The Tacoma City Council approved new rules Tuesday requiring new commercial buildings in Tacoma to install electric vehicle charging stations in their parking lots.
Under the rules, between 1 percent and 3 percent of parking stalls in commercial building projects to include charging stations for electric vehicles.
The total number of required charging stations are capped at six for office buildings, eight for shopping centers and 12 for larger projects such as auditoriums or stadiums. The charging station requirements apply to future commercial projects, but not projects that are already built or already in development.
Tacoma’s planning commission had previously recommended the charging station requirements, but the council subsequently eliminated them from the city’s comprehensive plan update last month.
Councilman Marty Campbell introduced an amendment to restore the requirements as a last-minute addition to Tuesday’s meeting. The new rules governing electric vehicle charging stations go into effect Aug. 10.
