MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Maplewood Township Committee discussed two proposed ordinances that deal with electric vehicles and charging stations at its meeting on Sept. 3, defining what an electric vehicle is and setting regulations for where charging stations will be placed. The ordinances are set to be on the committee’s agenda in September or October.
“These are ordinances that have been proposed by Sustainable Jersey and are part of our efforts to achieve Gold certification in energy,” Mayor Vic DeLuca said at the meeting. “We used Woodbridge as a model for some of the language. Essentially, the zoning just defines what an electric vehicle is and what a charging station is.”
The ordinance on charging stations says that multifamily buildings with five or more units will have charging stations in 10 percent of the approved parking spaces.
Committeewoman Nancy Adams said that some car manufacturers, such as Tesla, ask users to pay for the use of the station. She didn’t want to add that to the ordinance, but mentioned it as something to think about in the future.
“What Tesla does at their supercharging stations is charge 12 to 14 cents a minute to charge a car,” Adams said. “It’s nominal to charge a car, but if a car is done charging and it’s still plugged into a space, they’ll charge a dollar a minute for every minute they’re not charging. You have to keep people out of them if they’re not charging.”
Committeeman Dean Dafis also explained the difference between electric and hybrid cars, a conversation spurred by a resident who said nonelectric cars have been parking in spots reserved for electric cars across the street from the train station.
Dafis said that an electric car is a vehicle that uses electrical energy from the grid or an offboard source. Hybrid cars — such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Accord hybrid — are examples of hybrid cars, he said.
“Conventional hybrids are not plug-in,” Dafis said. “They do work with both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. Instead, their batteries are charged form capturing energy when you brake. That’s called regenerative braking. It converts the kinetic energy into electricity. This energy is normally wasted in conventional vehicles.”
DeLuca said the parking spaces by the Maplewood Train Station should be designated as electric car and low-speed vehicle spaces.
“If we have this definition of what an electric vehicle is, then I think it would clarify that the Prius is not allowed there,” he said.
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