Fremont City Council Meeting: 02/06/24 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Community Development
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5073) DOC ID: 5073
Updated: 1/31/2024 8:58 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 1
ELECTRIC VEHICLE FAST CHARGING HUBS - Authorize the City Manager or their Designee to Execute a Master Site License Agreement with Ava Community Energy for Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Stations at Multiple Locations and Find that the Action is Exempt from CEQA Review
Contact Persons:
Name: Dan Schoenholz
Title: Community Development Director
Div/Dept: Community Development
Phone: 510-494-4438
E-Mail: [email protected]
Executive Summary: Ava Community Energy (Ava), is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) that has included the City of Fremont since the JPA’s formation in 2016. Ava (formerly known as East Bay Community Energy, or EBCE), serves as Fremont’s default local clean electricity provider. In support of transportation electrification, Ava seeks to develop, own, and operate a network of publicly available electric vehicle (EV) hubs consisting of direct current fast chargers (DCFCs) throughout its service territory. Ava’s standard design for an EV charging hub includes a minimum of ten dual port DCFCs at each project site. Ava is interested in locating multiple of these EV charging hubs in Fremont, whereby Ava would pay for the installation, operation, maintenance, and electricity costs associated with the charging hubs, and the City would allow Ava to operate the charging hubs on City property for a period of fifteen years. Staff seeks approval from Council to authorize the City to enter into an agreement with Ava that would allow Ava to pursue locating charging hubs at one or more City-owned locations from a list of twenty-two potential project sites.
BACKGROUND: The transportation sector is responsible for the majority of community- scale greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the City of Fremont. Transitioning from combustion vehicles that utilize fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel to zero emissions vehicles such as electric vehicles (EVs) is an important GHG reduction strategy identified within the recently adopted Climate Ready Fremont plan. In fact, installation of EV charging infrastructure (Measure IN-3 of Climate Ready Fremont) is the single greatest GHG reducing measure identified in the plan, with the ability to achieve twenty-eight percent of the potential GHG emission reductions projected by 2030. Partnering with Ava Community Energy (formerly known as East Bay Community Energy) to install fast charging mobility hubs on public-facing City owned property is identified as a priority implementation item in the Climate Ready Fremont “Game Plan,” with a goal of beginning installation in FY 2024/25.
Ava Community Energy is committed to supporting the implementation of Climate Ready Fremont by pursuing the installation of EV fast charging hubs on City properties. This effort aligns with Ava’s Local Development Business Plan, adopted in 2018, which identifies the development and implementation of electric vehicle infrastructure projects as a means of supporting transportation electrification within its service territory. EV infrastructure is also identified within the State of California’s transportation electrification targets, including:
Council Staff Report (ID # 5073) Meeting of February 6, 2024 Updated: 1/31/2024 8:58 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 2
• Achieving 1.5 million Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) on the road and 250,000 public and shared EV chargers in operation by 2025, and
• Achieving 7.5 million ZEVs on the road approximately and 1.2 million public and shared EV chargers by 2030.
In support of the above goals, on August 25, 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a rule requiring 100 percent of new car sales in California to be ZEVs by 2035. The rule also includes ZEV sales targets for 2026 (35 percent) and 2030 (68 percent).
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: Over the next several years, Ava aims to deploy forty to fifty fast charging hubs throughout its entire service area. Each hub is planned to have at least ten Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFCs). In order to accommodate van-accessible parking spaces as well as supporting electrical equipment, each hub may occupy twelve or more existing parking spaces.
Ava aims to locate DCFC hubs near multi-family properties. Because 47% of the population across Alameda County are renters, Ava is interested in providing publicly accessible charging facilities for renters who may not be able to install charging equipment at home.
Additionally, an analysis by Ava found that 90% of multi-family properties in Alameda County are 50 years old or older and that most lack the infrastructure needed to support EV charging. Multi-family residents could therefore be served by publicly accessible fast charging hubs if located in high-density areas.
In partnership with the City of Fremont, Ava plans to pursue at least one DCFC charging hub at a City property within a high-density area, and likely more depending on feasibility. There are a total of twenty-two potential locations that have been identified by Ava and staff for potential DCFC hubs in Fremont. These locations have been selected because they are under City ownership, are large enough to accommodate the parking spaces needed, and are within proximity of multi-family residents. The twenty-two potential locations identified include:
1. Centerville Community Park: 3375 Country Ln
2. Fremont Main Library: 2400 Stevenson Blvd
3. Bay Street Parking Lot: 4120 Bay St
4. Centerville Train Station: 37260 Fremont Blvd
5. Bill Ball Plaza: 37292 Fremont Blvd
6. Tri-City Volunteers: 37354 Joseph St
7. City Hall: 3300 Capitol Ave
8. Development Services Center: 39550 Liberty St
9. Fremont Central Park (Paseo Padre side): 39770-40600 Paseo Padre Pkwy
10. Fremont Central Park (Stevenson side): 1110-1150 Stevenson Blvd
11. Central Park Golf Center: 39751 Stevenson Pl
12. Animal Shelter: 1950 Stevenson Blvd
13. Fremont Police: 1990 Stevenson Blvd
14. Town Plaza Parking: 37482 Niles Blvd
15. Niles Town Plaza: 37592 Niles Blvd
16. Williams Historical Park: 39169 Fremont Blvd
17. Post St (between Thornton and Bonde): 37100 block of Post St
18. Capitol Ave (between Fremont and State): 3400-3500 block of Capitol Ave
19. Sundale Dr (west of Liberty): 3500 block of Sundale Dr Council Staff Report (ID # 5073) Meeting of February 6, 2024 Updated: 1/31/2024 8:58 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 3
20. Niles Boulevard: 37500-37700 block of Niles Blvd
21. City Government Building: 39701 Civic Center Dr
22. Brookvale Park: 3801 Nicolet Ave
Once a master site license agreement has been executed between Ava and the City, Ava would begin conducting engineering analysis and coordinate with PG&E to identify which location(s) might be most feasible in terms of electrical capacity and space for new transformers and related equipment. In collaboration with City staff, Ava would then scope one or more projects with the goal of deploying a minimum of ten dual-port 150 kilowatt (kW) DCFCs at each location. At least two, and possibly more, of the charging stalls would be designed as accessible to accommodate vehicles used by those with disabilities, in conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
FISCAL IMPACT: This project would result in no out-of-pocket cost to the City. In exchange for access to the property and parking spaces, Ava will install all necessary infrastructure and complete site improvements as necessary to enable the operation of each EV fast charging hub. The services provided by Ava would offer a net benefit to the community in terms of additional publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure to service areas where on-site installations at places of residence may prove to be infeasible due to cost, complexity of ownership structure, and/or insufficient electrical capacity.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The proposed agreement is statutorily exempt from environmental review pursuant California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15262 (Feasibility and Planning Studies). Charging hubs to be developed within existing parking areas at sites yet to be determined will likely be categorically exempt from environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, Class 1 (Minor Alteration of Existing Facilities), Section 15303 (New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures), Section 15304 (Minor Alterations to Land), and Section 15311 (Accessory Structures).
ATTACHMENTS: None.
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute a master site license agreement with Ava Community Energy for electric vehicle fast charging hubs and find that the action is exempt from CEQA review.