Electric vehicles aren’t just luxury vehicles anymore. In fact, they’re blowing up the market.

Overall vehicle sales were down last year across the United States, but EV sales exploded by 65% compared with sales in 2022, according to InsideEVs. And the city of Durango is taking note.

Worldwide, EV sales have surged over the last few years, growing from 6.5 million sales in 2021 to a projected 13.9 million sales by the end of 2023, says data from the International Energy Agency.

Sensing electric-powered motors revving in the distance, the city of Durango is making efforts to stay ahead of the market by redefining parking code standards for EVs, with changes coming possibly as soon as this fall.

Durango Community Development Director Scott Shine said the focus is largely on new developments and how many off-street parking spaces should be required to facilitate charging stations and EVs.

The city first integrated EV parking standards in 2021 and is looking to update and expand requirements for large developments to account for a rising demand for EVs.

City code currently requires newly constructed multiunit buildings to install a Level 2 charging station for every 15 required parking spaces, Shine said. A small development with fewer than 15 parking spaces isn’t required to have a single charging station.

Additionally, commercial spaces with a footprint over 15,000 square feet are required to make 10% of off-street parking EV-ready. In other words, they don’t need to host charging stations at this time, but they do need to have a conduit installed and ready for charging stations in the future. Hotels and motels have the same requirement.

The city is in the process of figuring out what EV charging station requirements should be for restaurants, apartments and other large developments going forward.

The question that remains is how many of any charging type should developments be required to have.

“That is literally the crux of what we’re investigating with the code updates,” he said.

Pool said the city is focusing on flexibility – recognizing how many Level 2 chargers a fast charger is equivalent to – and striking a balance between sufficient charging opportunities and the costs of installing them. Fast chargers cost more than Level 2 chargers, which are more expensive than basic wall outlets.

The city is also paying attention to where drivers are charging EVs and how they’re charging them.

Pool said trickle charging by using regular wall outlets is often overlooked when people discuss EVs. It’s hard to imagine driving home after a day of work and topping one’s gas tank off in the driveway instead of stopping at a gas station during the commute. But that’s essentially what is possible with EVs.

“That is literally what you can do with an electric vehicle. So you can go and use the fast charger like a gas station, but you can also top off your EV with electricity at your home,” he said. “And, you know, that is just a totally different way of thinking about ‘refueling’ our vehicles.”

He said the city is trying to understand the role that less expensive and lower-key infrastructure plays in the fast developing world of EVs.

Knowing that plays an important part in making access to EV charging stations equitable, he said.

“It is a myth that EVs are just fancy Teslas,” he said. “The Chevy Bolt has been an incredibly affordable vehicle that’s been on the market for years and years.”

He said EVs cheaper than Teslas are on the market today, and EVs are not just luxury cars. And with more people driving EVs, the city wants to save developers future costs by rewriting charging requirements before construction begins. It’s cheaper to install an electrical conduit now and later a charging station than to build a parking lot now, only to rip it up to install chargers later.

“EVs save hundreds of dollars on gas, they save hundreds and thousands of dollars on maintenance,” he said. “The point of the code is also to make sure that EV charging availability is equitable and, you know, is available in places so that everyone can take advantage of the transition and the cost savings associated with EVs.”

Code adjustments will make their way to the Planning Commission and then Durango City Council before taking effect. Pool said he’s looking forward to sharing the wide range of factors that go into electric vehicle charging infrastructure and determining the most cost effective way to implement infrastructure in the future.

cburney@durangoherald.com