This week I am very proud to announce that our office drafted legislation that truly brings Florida into the 21st century. It is still being tweaked by others with input, but it seeks to address an issue that we will need to deal with on a large scale, sooner than later, and that is electric cars.
Many automobile manufacturers have already announced that they won’t even be making gasoline powered vehicles in a few years. There is no question about it, ultimately we will not be driving gasoline powered vehicles and we will all be driving electric powered vehicles. So, how will our community associations adapt to this scientific phenomenon?
For HOAs, it’s easy. Every homeowner can install their own charging station at their home, at their own cost. But what do we do with condominiums and the millions of parking spots that will need to be converted or adapted to have the ability to charge electric vehicles?
Even though electric cars are still few and far between at the moment, we certainly shouldn’t wait to address this issue via legislation. In some associations the fighting has already begun. Let’s deal with it now, pass some regulations and over the next few years, and continue to modify the legislation as we learn more about how associations are dealing with this issue each year.
I would love to hear suggestions from each of you. How do we start handling this now?
Things to think about:
The law wants to encourage the use of electric vehicles so we get away from gasoline. So how do we do that?
How do we help those people who want to purchase an electric vehicle now? Should they be entitled to install a charging station in their designated parking space? Suppose the owners do not have a designated parking space and spots are common element first come / first served? Who should pay for the charging station? Since it’s inevitable, why not just do all parking spaces now? What about guest parking spaces? If only some unit owners pay now, should they be forced to pay again when the condo finally decides to install charging stations at all parking spots? Suppose the condo’s current electrical system cannot handle the increased number of charging stations and a major upgrade is required to the entire condominium? What’s the ultimate cost? At what point should condos be required to make the upgrade?
These are very serious financial issues that need answers now. Ultimately, parking your electric vehicle in your condo’s parking spots will become a reality. We need legislation and we need our major utility companies from around the state to step up and give associations guidance in this regard and perhaps rebates and financial and technical assistance. Now is the time to start thinking about all of these issues, not when we are all already driving these electrical cars………or flying them.
