New Jersey’s Model Statewide Municipal EV Ordinance

In September 2021, New Jersey promulgated a statewide municipal ordinance streamlining the local approval process for installing charging infrastructure. The model ordinance, which provides minimum requirements and consistent guidance for electrification, is responsive to S.3223, and is effective immediately for all New Jersey municipalities, though several sections of the ordinance allow for local modifications where appropriate.

New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) developed the statewide municipal ordinance to ensure that Electric Vehicle Supply/Service Equipment (EVSE) and Make-Ready parking spaces would be permitted uses in all areas of the state in order to enable EV adoption among residents who can’t charge at home and to alleviate “range anxiety” by increasing the proximity of charging infrastructure and giving residents the confidence to drive electric.

Several sections of the model ordinance, including requirements for municipal approvals and permits, EV-ready development, and minimum parking requirements, are directives from S.3223 and cannot be altered. Other sections, specifically those related to health and safety factors (lighting and signage, for example), provide minimum guidance for consistency, but allow for municipal modifications as needed. The statewide municipal ordinance will supersede requirements in communities with existing EV charging ordinances.