City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: Ken Zuidervaart, Planning Director
Date: 12/09/2025
Subject: Development Code Text Amendment TAZ 25-126
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This ordinance establishes expedited, streamlined, and ministerial permitting processes for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations within the City of Ripon to comply with California Government Code Sections 65850.7 and 65850.71.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
The proposed creation of Chapter 16.218 “Electric Vehicle Charging Stations” establishes expedited, streamlined, and ministerial permitting processes for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations within the City of Ripon to comply with California Government Code Sections 65850.7 and 65850.71. There are no changes from first reading to second reading. Following is the proposed Ordinance recommended for second reading and adoption ORDINANCE NO. 932
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RIPON ESTABLISHING CHAPTER 16.218 OF THE RIPON
MUNICIPAL CODE TO BE COMPLIANT WITH STATE LAW
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF CODE
Chapter 16.218 (Electric Vehicle Charging Stations) is hereby adopted to read as follows:
Chapter 16.218
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Sections:
16.218.010 Purpose
16.218.020 Definitions
16.218.030 Electric Vehicle Charging Station Requirements
16.218.040 Expedited Permitting Process
16.218.050 Permit Review Requirements
16.218.060 Fees
16.218.070 Approvals for Undeveloped Sites
16.281.080 Appeals
16.218.010 Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to comply with California Government Code Sections 65850.7 and 65850.71 by establishing an expedited, streamlined, and ministerial permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations in compliance with State law. This chapter applies to the permitting of all electric vehicle charging stations within the City.
16.218.020 Definitions
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply to the following terms:
A. “Electric vehicle charging station,” or “charging station” shall mean: Any level of electric vehicle supply equipment station that is designed and built in compliance with Article 625 of the California Electrical Code, as it reads on the effective date of this Ordinance, and delivers electricity from a source outside an electric vehicle into a plug-in electric vehicle.
B. “Specific, adverse impact” shall mean: A significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified, and written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
C. “Undeveloped site” or “vacant site” shall mean: parcels lacking buildings, structures, paved access, grading, lighting, drainage, or other necessary site improvements that would otherwise be required to comply with the Ripon Municipal Code or state or federal law or regulations.
16.218.030 Electric Vehicle Charging Station Requirements A. All charging stations shall comply with applicable health and safety standards and requirements imposed by the state, the City, the Ripon Consolidated Fire District, and the applicable electric utility with jurisdiction over the area where the proposed charging station is to be constructed.
B. All stations shall meet all applicable safety and performance standards established by the California Electrical Code, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, and accredited testing laboratories such as Underwriters Laboratories and, where applicable, rules of the Public Utilities Commission regarding safety and reliability, or rules of the Department of Food and Agriculture regarding safety, reliability, weights, and measures.
C. The City of Ripon shall maintain and publish on its official website a checklist of application requirements for charging station permits. The Planning Director shall adopt and maintain the checklist, and may refer to the recommendations contained in the most current version of the “Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permitting Guidebook” published by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development when adopting or amending the checklist.
16.218.040 Expedited Permitting Process
A. Application Requirements
1. Applicants shall submit all required information and documentation indicated on the City’s checklist of requirements.
2. Applications and all supporting documents, including site plans showing site access, striping, lighting, and other information pertinent to public health and safety, may be submitted electronically via the City’s online application portal.
3. Electronic signatures on applications shall be accepted.
B. Completeness Determination
1. An application that satisfies the information requirements in the checklist, as determined by the Building Official in his or her discretion, shall be determined to be complete.
2. For applications proposing 25 or fewer charging stations at a single site, the Building Official shall notify the applicant within five (5) business days if the application is incomplete, specifying all deficiencies.
3. For applications proposing more than 25 charging stations at a site, the Building Official shall notify the applicant within ten (10) business days if the application is incomplete, specifying all deficiencies.
4. If the Building Official fails to provide notice to the applicant within the applicable timeframe specified in this subsection (B), the application shall be deemed complete.
C. Permit Review and Approval
1. For applications proposing 25 or fewer charging stations, the Building Official shall approve or deny the application within twenty (20) business days after the application is deemed complete.
2. For applications proposing more than 25 charging stations, the Building Official shall approve or deny the application within forty (40) business days after the application is deemed complete.
3. If the Building Official fails to act within the applicable timeframe specified in this subsection (C), the application shall be deemed approved.
D. Basis for Denial
The Building Official may deny an application only if he or she makes written findings, based on substantial evidence in the record, that the proposed installation would have a specific, adverse impact on public health or safety, and that there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the impact.
16.218.050 Permit Review Requirements
A. Review of an application for electric vehicle charging stations shall be limited to the Building Official’s review of whether the application meets local, state, and federal health and safety requirements. Upon receipt of an application for an electric vehicle charging station, the Building Official shall also refer the application to the Planning Director, or his or her designee, to review for compliance with City land use standards, any applicable conditions of approval, and the Ripon Municipal Code.
B. The Building Official may require an applicant to submit a Site Plan application or Use Permit application pursuant to Ripon Municipal Code Chapters 16.72 or 16.76 if he or she finds, based on substantial evidence in the record, that the electric vehicle charging station could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety. An application for a Site Plan or Use Permit may be denied by the Planning Commission for the same reasons as stated in Section
16.218.040(D).
C. The City shall not require discretionary review, design review, or impose conditions related to aesthetics or site layout, including landscaping, for EV charging stations, unless required as part of a Site Plan application or Use Permit application, if required by the provisions of this Chapter.
D. Where an application meets the requirements of the City’s current checklist, standards, and ordinances, and no specific adverse impacts upon public health and safety are found, the Building Official shall approve the permit ministerially.
16.218.060 Fees
The City Council may, by resolution, establish fees that shall be charged for permits issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
16.218.070 Approvals for Undeveloped Sites
A. Any approval granted pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter to an applicant to install one or more electric vehicle charging stations on an undeveloped or vacant site shall not constitute a permit to develop the site.
B. Notwithstanding the expedited ministerial permit process established in this chapter, any installation of an electric vehicle charging station of an undeveloped or vacant site shall require concurrent development of the site, which shall be subject to discretionary Site Plan approval and any other permit or approval required by the Ripon Municipal Code. Development of the undeveloped or vacant site shall, in all other respects, be approved and constructed in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Ripon Municipal Code and state and federal laws and regulations.
16.281.080 Appeals
Decisions of the Building Official may be appealed to the Planning Commission. A Site Plan or Use Permit required by the provisions of this Chapter that is denied by the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council. A written request for an appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) business days of the issuance of the decision of the Building Official or Planning Commission, as the case may be, accompanied by a filing fee in an amount that shall be set by the City Council by resolution.
SECTION 2. CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA).
The City Council hereby finds that the adoption of this Ordinance does not constitute the approval of a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to section 15060(c)(2) and (3), 15061(b)(3), 15262, and 15378 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines. Specifically, this Ordinance will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment because it does not authorize the construction of any new structures or other physical changes to the environment.
SECTION 3. NO MANDATORY DUTY OF CARE. This Ordinance is not intended to, and shall not be construed or given effect in a manner that imposes upon the City or any officer, agent, employee or volunteer, thereof a mandatory duty of care towards persons and property, so as to provide a basis of civil liability for damages, except as otherwise imposed by law.
SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Chapter. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed the ordinance codified in this Chapter, and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of this Chapter would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE AND PUBLICATION. This ordinance shall go into effect 30 days after its adoption and a summary of this ordinance shall be published five (5) days prior to and within fifteen (15) days following its adoption in the Manteca Bulletin, the official paper of the City of Ripon.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Ripon this 9th day of December, 2025, by the following vote:
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Leo Zuber, Council Member
SECONDER:Michael Restuccia, Council Member
AYES: de Graaf, Barton, Uecker, Restuccia, Zuber
THE CITY OF RIPON,
A Municipal Corporation
By _______________________________
GARY BARTON, Mayor
ATTEST:
By: ___________________________
LISA ROOS, City Clerk