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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1:00 PM *Public Works and Development EV Action Plan update and Public Outreach Summary
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Staff will present the public outreach summary and an updated draft of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Action Plan based on the input received from the public outreach conducted from January 12 to February 29, 2024. Staff would like to obtain feedback from the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on the updated draft plan, public engagement results and comments, and direction regarding adoption of the plan.
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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.
On November 14, 2022, PWD Staff introduced this project to the BOCC in a study session. At the study session, the Board communicated that they would like to provide some input on the project and receive updates at important milestones. On February 6, 2023, PWD held a study session with the BOCC that obtained 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.
On September 26, 2023, PWD presented the draft EV Action Plan to the BOCC and received some great feedback. The 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.
The Plan was modified after the BOCC Study Session on December 5, 2023. This draft EV Action Plan was presented to the community during January/February 2024 for feedback on the County’s website for a public comment period. The County also hosted a virtual meeting on February 8, 2024, to discuss the plan, answer questions, and obtain feedback from the public about the Action Plan. Furthermore, PWD conducted a survey of the public as it relates to the EV Action Plan. The survey sought to obtain the public’s thoughts about the role the County should play in providing EV Charging Stations and input on the plan as well as EVs.
The final draft plan, with the proposed revisions based on public comment, will be presented as part of this BOCC Study Session. PWD Staff will also facilitate a discussion about the public comments that was received during the engagement process. At this time, PWD will also seek feedback from the BOCC and desire to move forward with adoption of the EV Action Plan.
The draft EV Action Plan, included in the Board Summary Report, contains the planning effort that has been completed to date and how the County can support the adoption of EVs and associated charging stations 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-pip 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 has not determined when the local governments should increase their level of involvement in EV adoption process, but the strategies proposed in the plan define how the County and local jurisdiction 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 6 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 engaged with the public for input on the EV Action Plan over a 30-day period and followed the County’s Title VI Plan. This effort launched on January 12, 2024, on the County’s website where the draft EV Action Plan was shared along with an online feedback survey to provide comments on the Plan. The public engagement period was extended and closed February 29th.
The project team also hosted a virtual Townhall event on February 8. 2024, to discuss the plan, gather feedback, and answer questions from attendees. The County promoted the event through the County’s and other community channels. Nearly 600 attendees participated in the event by attending, participating in polling questions, and asking questions.
The results of the public engagement process will be discussed in the study session in more detail. Generally speaking the results were not clear cut on the support for EVs with the public outreach. One example of that mixed review is the following question asked during the town hall:
How important do you feel is it for local government to support electric vehicles? With Answers being:
Town Hall
Not a Priority or Low Importance 44%
A Priority or Very High Priority 44%
Unsure 12%
Proposed EV Action Plan Changes
Staff will highlight the proposed changes to the draft EV Action Plan based on the feedback that was received during the public engagement process in the study session. These changes are not significant and add clarification to the study.
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 and associated projects 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. 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 any modification the BOCC would like to make to the Plan for BOCC consideration of adoption. After adoption staff recommends implementing the plan’s vision and goals that align with the County’s Strategic Plan Focus Area under Sustainable Development.
Concurrence: The Arapahoe County Attorney’s Office has reviewed this report.