Manchester officials are considering zoning rule amendments to accommodate electric vehicle charging stations.
Driven by the EV charging station company, Volta, the proposal also would allow advertising screens at each station. The planning and zoning commission is to hold a public hearing on the proposal Feb. 1.
The company wants to install 15 plug-in stations outside the Shoppes at Buckland Hills, but needs to get zoning amendments passed before seeking approval for that project, planning officials said.
The proposed changes would open much of the town to the charging stations. Volta, which runs stations in Waterbury, Milford and Norwalk, offers electricity for free in exchange for running ads at each station.
Electric vehicle charging stations currently are not regulated in Manchester. Also, current rules prohibit the type of signs Volta is proposing, those that advertise a service or commodity not available at the site where the sign is posted. Some of Volta’s advertising clients include Netflix, Alaska Airlines, Jaguar and Haagen Daz.
The proposal would allow up to 20 charging stations at each site. Signs would be a maximum of 10 square feet and the electronic visual ads (no audio) would rotate at a maximum rate of 8 seconds.
Town planning staff have recommended the commission consider whether the charging station ads could promote a business in direct competition with a nearby business or pose a distraction to motorists. Staff also recommends the panel consider whether such stations are appropriate in all business and mixed use zones.
Electric vehicle sales are a small fraction of all light vehicle sales in the U.S., but industry experts say those numbers are changing.
Three types of vehicles run on electricity — hybrid-electric; plug-in hybrid electric; and all electric. The hybrids have internal combustion engines in addition to battery-powered motors.
The U.S Department of Transportation says hybrid-electric vehicles captured 2% of the light vehicle market in 2019, while plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles accounted for 2.1% of the market that year.
Industry experts, however, expect electric vehicle sales to continue to climb. In the last five years, the New York Times reported recently, electric car maker Tesla has gone from producing 50,000 cars annually to 10 times that many last year. General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen and other manufacturers are investing billions to develop electric cars and trucks to supplant gas burning models.
The U.S. government is on board, too. Pete Buttigieg, President Joe Biden’s nominee to the lead the Department of Transportation, has said he would try to achieve Biden’s goal of creating 500,000 charging stations as part of an overall plan to battle climate change.
Not everyone is happy with all aspects of the changing scene, however. Many Canton residents are fighting a proposed 23,500-square-foot electric vehicle showroom on the Canton-Simsbury line, a raft of letters to the planning department shows.
The proposed development (https://bit.ly/3qGVVBC) also is to include a gas station/convenience store with ice cream, coffee and sandwich shops and 20 gas pumps that the applicant says can be converted to charging stations.
Canton Advocates for Responsible Expansion (https://bit.ly/2Y4BylB) contends that blasting for the development on Albany Turnpike (Route 44) will disrupt a toxic waste site and contaminate area residents’ water, among other concerns. A hearing on the proposal has been continued to Feb. 17.
Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com
