To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Bryan Weimer, PWLF, Director, Public Works & Development
Prepared By:
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James Katzer, PE, Transportation Division Manager, Public Works and Development
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presenter
Presenter: James Katzer, PE, Transportation Division Manager, Public Works and Development
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Subject:
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2:00 PM *Revised Draft Electric Vehicle Action Plan
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Staff will present the revised draft of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Action Plan based on input received at the study session on September 26, 2023, from the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). Staff would like the BOCC to provide feedback on the revised draft plan, public engagement, and direction/concurrence on finalizing the plan for formal approval.
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Background and Discussion: The County entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Xcel Energy to participate in the Partners for Energy program, which covers all the costs to develop an EV Readiness Plan (EV Action Plan) within the boundaries of Xcel Energy. The areas outside of Xcel Energy’s but within the County fall into CORE’s area. This area is generally within the rural parts of the County and will be incorporated in the plan. The EV Action Plan is a high-level Countywide plan that will provide an overarching vision and implementation plan that local jurisdictions can utilize as a starting point for the drafting of more specific plans for each local jurisdiction.
The BOCC held study sessions on this project on November 14, 2022, and February 6, 2023, which included gathering input on the Plan’s vision and goals along with the results of Workshop #1.
From March to July, the project team conducted Workshops #2, #3, and #4. The workshops had great participation from community partners, including:
• City of Aurora
• City of Cherry Hills Village
• City of Centennial
• City of Englewood
• City of Littleton
• City of Sheridan
• Greenwood Village
• Town of Deer Trail
• Arapahoe Community College
• Arapahoe County Library District
• Colorado Department of Transportation
• Colorado Energy Office
• CORE Electric Cooperative
• Denver South Transportation Management Association
• Drive Clean Colorado
• E-470 Public Highway Authority
• Regional Economic Advancement Partnership
• Regional Transportation District
• South Suburban Parks and Recreation District
• Xcel Energy
After the workshop series concluded, Partners in Energy drafted the Plan document based on stakeholder input provided in the planning workshops and post-workshop surveys. The draft Plan was reviewed and revised by the Project Management team through emails and bi-weekly meetings. The draft plan was then shared and reviewed by the Stakeholder team. This feedback was used to further revise the draft plan which will be presented at the study session.
On September 26, 2023, PWD presented the draft EV Action Plan to the BOCC and received some great feedback. They expressed concerns around the greenhouse gas emissions relating to EVs, the cost of installing EV charging stations, the impacts of EVs, uncertainty of community support for the County to start a new program related EVs, and the costs the EV Action Plan would obligate the County to. After the study session, PWD performed more research, and revised the EV Action Plan in the following ways:
• Executive summary was changed to a more narrative text versus being image rich.
• The two EV Goals were changed to be the key metrics that the County will be tracking to understand the need for more local government support.
• Added information to Argonne National Laboratory cradle to grave GHG emissions analysis.
• Added average EV charger and installation costs for residential, multifamily, and commercial from the Xcel Energy semi-annual report.
• Included County staff supplemental report as an appendix that includes environmental factors, EV battery manufacturing and recycling, EV tire wear as it relates to the weight of the increased weight of EVs, EV charging considerations, EV costs and economics, micro-mobility and transit considerations.
• Added language to explain that the plan is a high-level document and total costs cannot be determined until further details are defined.
If the BOCC approves the revised draft, the draft EV Action Plan will be presented to the community in January/February of 2024 for feedback on the County’s website for a 30-day public comment period. The County plans to host a virtual meeting in January to discuss the plan, answer questions, and obtain feedback from the public about the Action Plan. Based on the BOCC, the PWD will also conduct a survey of the public as it relates to the EV Action Plan. The survey will seek to obtain the public’s thoughts about the role the County should play in providing EV Charging Stations and promoting the adoption of EVs.
The final draft plan with any proposed revisions based on public comment will be presented to the BOCC at a March/April study session along with a discussion about public comment that was received during the engagement process. At this time, PWD will also seek concurrence from the BOCC to move forward with adoption of the EV Action Plan.
The draft EV Action Plan contains the planning efforts that have been completed to date and how the County can support the adoption of EVs by the implementation of the Plan. The Plan also includes appendices that provide supporting documents that help understand EV concepts, the challenges of owning an EV, and research completed by the County.
EV Action Plan proposed Vision:
Arapahoe County and its communities will partner to support safe, reliable, innovative, affordable, and equitable electric transportation options that improve air quality.
EV Action Plan proposed Goals Removed
PWD removed the two goals listed below from the Plan and will monitor the progress of EV adoption within the County by tracking the total number of zero tail-pipe emission vehicles and the number of public EV charging stations. It is projected, and likely, that the number of registered EVs and the total number of public charging stations will increase in the County, but the rate and amount of increase is in question.
Goal 1: By 2030, Arapahoe County will support the transition of 12% of registered vehicles to zero tail-pipe emission vehicles.
Goal 2: By 2030, install a combined 3,097 public Level 2 and DC fast charging ports equitably distributed across Arapahoe County.
The Action Plan does not recommend when local governments should increase their level of involvement in the EV adoption process, but the strategies proposed in the plan define how the County and local jurisdictions can help increase EV adoption. The Plan developed four (4) focus areas and twelve (12) priority strategies that will be carried out from 2023 to 2025. The Plan has identified six short-term strategies that are possible to be completed within existing budget and staffing. These are highlighted in the draft Plan and will be discussed further in the study session.
EV Action Plan Focus Areas
1. Outreach and Education
2. Charging Infrastructure
3. Fleet Electrification
4. Electric Multimodal Transportation
Public Engagement
The County will engage the public for input on the EV Action Plan over a 30-day period and will follow the County’s Title VI Plan. This effort will launch in January 2024 on the County’s website where the draft EV Action Plan will be shared along with an online feedback survey to provide comments on the Plan. The project team will host a virtual townhall event, as well. The townhall meeting will be to discuss the EV Action Plan, how the plan will be implemented, and will seek input from attendees through polling questions with a question and answer period. The County will promote the event through the County’s and other community channels.
Fiscal Impact: The fiscal impact to the creation of the EV Action Plan is zero. However, the implementation phase of the EV Action Plan may require an investment of the County depending on the level of involvement the BOCC would like to take. The financial commitment will be presented during the budget process and will be based on the input from the BOCC gathered in this study session.
Alternatives: One of the alternatives would be for the BOCC to provide direction to continue moving forward with the adoption of the plan, which includes obtaining public/stakeholder input and incorporation of applicable comments and suggestions. The other alternative includes the County suspending the effort in creating an EV Action Plan.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☒Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that the County move forward with gaining input from the public and develop the final Plan for BOCC adoption. After adoption staff recommends implementing the plan’s vision and goals that align with the County’s strategic plan.
Concurrence: The Arapahoe County Attorney’s Office has reviewed this report.