CAI-NJ June 2019 (w)

MANAGEMENT TRENDS

Electric Cars — A Charging Topic for Community Associations By Jeff Cirkus, PCAM, Vice President, Associa-Community Management Corp., AAMC

A s electric vehicles grow in popularity, the auto- mobile industry has taken notice with every major automaker introducing or planning to intro- duce new plug-in electric models in the coming years. Accordingly charging stations for these electric vehicles are popping up in municipal parking lots, shopping centers and gas stations. Multi-family apartment owners, and of course the community association industry have taken notice as well. Single family and townhome own- ers that have their own garages can easily add charging stations within those garages and have no effect on the community they live in. For condominium associations with common area parking, the ability to have charging stations isn’t so simple. The need to be able to reason- ably accommodate the demand to charge electric vehi- cles however is growing. A recent AAA survey found that 20% of people plan to choose an electric vehicle as their next purchase. Additionally, 59% of respondents to a recent AMLI survey stated that they would pay more to live in a “green or sustainable community.” Developers of new construction multi-family dwellings have taken notice and are installing charging stations in common area garages as a value-add amenity during initial construction. Existing condominium associations looking to follow suit are faced with the unique logistical challenges of determin- ing where to install these charging stations and how to pass along costs to the specific residents using them. One solu- tion is shared community charging stations like those offered by ChargePoint. ChargePoint provides metered charging stations which track usage and charge back to the spe- cific user’s account at association set rates. According to Darryll Harrison, Jr., Senior Director for ChargePoint, “Most properties charge between $0.15 and $0.25 per kilowatt

© iStockphoto.com

“A recent AAA survey found that 20% of people plan to choose an electric vehicle as their next purchase.”

hour (kWh), which helps recover electricity and operational costs, while maintaining an attractive less than $2/gallon equivalent for EV-driving residents.” These stations have many convenient features including an app that allows res- idents to view charging status as well as an online waitlist. Some residents would prefer their own charging station and don’t mind paying for the installation so they don’t need to worry about a charging availability when needed most. While there have been reports of residents trying to get away with running an extension cord from a nearby outlet to their parking space, it goes without saying that is not safe or fair to other owners paying for that electrical usage. Individual residents requesting their own charging stations within an assigned parking space will need to follow the modification request protocol of their association and seek approval from the association’s board. In turn, in order to facilitate such requests associations ought to CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 44

42

J U N E , 2 0 1 9