On October 27, 2020, the Sustainability Committee passed a motion recommending the City Commission waive or reduce the permitting fees for a period of two years for the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to incentivize and facilitate emission-free driving in Miami Beach.

At the City Commission meeting on November 18, 2020, the Mayor and City Commission referred this discussion to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC). The item was sponsored by Commissioner Mark Samuelian and co-sponsored by Commissioners Michael Gongora and Micky Steinberg.

The availability of strategically placed charging stations throughout the City promotes the use of EV by making them convenient and readily available. Benefits to the City from increased EV use include improved air quality, quieter and more livable streets, and decreased dependency on fossil fuels. However, one of the inherent challenges for this technology to gain mainstream acceptance is analogous to the "chicken or the egg" conundrum. If EV charging stations are not readily available, the driving public is hesitant to invest in an EV due to "range anxiety" resulting in trips that are in close proximity to only known EV charging stations points. The expansion of EV charging stations is necessary in order to establish a network of stations that will allow this technology to flourish.

On January 13, 2016, the Mayor and City Commission approved the Electric Vehicle Parking Ordinance #2016-3988 to help expand the availability of EV parking. The Ordinance requires at least two percent of the required off-street parking spaces be designated for level 2 EV parking.

The city has agreements in place with Blink and Tesla to install EV charging stations in municipal garages and currently has 13 dual stations installed. In addition, the Convention Center has close to 30 charging stations.  

The Sustainability Committee is recommending the Mayor and City Commission waive or reduce the permitting fees for a period of two years for the installation of EV charging stations in Miami Beach. Currently, the Building and Planning Departments waive building and zoning permitting fees for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to incentive solar installation projects. The Building Department also provides a 5-day electronic permit review for solar PV projects as an incentive.

The Building, Planning, Fire, and Environment & Sustainability Departments evaluated the recommendations from the Sustainability Committee. Analyzing 2020 data, there were seven building permit applications related to the installation of EV charging stations. These applications resulted in $5,841.55 in permitting fees. Therefore, the overall fiscal impact is anticipated to be minimal and it is recommended that the Building Department provide a 5-day permit review turnaround time for EV parking and waive the permitting fees for Building, Planning and Fire Departments for two years. These conditions would only apply for EV stations on private property and would not include projects with exterior or underground transformers.

The following is presented to the members of the Land Use and Sustainability Committee for discussion and further direction. The Administration recommends the development of an ordinance to waive the permitting fees from the Building, Planning and Fire departments for EV charging stations projects on private property, with the exception of projects with exterior or underground transformers.