Council unanimously OKs ordinance
The Avalon City Council this week unanimously approved the introduction of an ordinance that expedites the permitting process for electric car charging stations.
City Attorney Scott Campbell said the expedited permitting process was required by state law, so the council had to adopt it.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything expeditious about this,” said Mayor Anni Marshall.
Campbell said the checklist for the permitting process was developed by businesses that want the permits to be done quickly. That said, Campbell agreed with Marshall, saying it was interesting that the checklist for applicants was five-pages long.
“Assembly Bill 1236 was adopted to limit the restrictions that cities and counties could impose on applicants installing electric vehicle charging stations to achieve timely and cost-effective installation of electric vehicle charging stations,” wrote Campbell in his staff report to the council.
“The attached ordinance complies with the requirements set forth in AS 1236 by requiring that the City administratively approve applications that comply with the ‘Plug-In Vehicle Infrastructure Permitting Checklist’ and limit review to whether the installation would comply with safety and performance standards,” Campbell wrote.
The council also unanimously adopted the introduction of an ordinance banning the commercial use of electric scooters, boards and motorboards, including Segways.
“At this time, there are no commercial Segway or other motorized scooter operations within the City of Avalon,” according to the staff report by City Manager Denise Radde and Administrative Analyst Devin Hart.
“A single commercial operation provided guided Segway tours from March 4, 2008 to 2014. The business was sold and transportation permit was transferred in 2014,” Radde and Hart wrote.
“The second Segway business operated until 2018 and cited issues regarding safety and maintenance as reasons for ceasing operations,” Radde and Hart wrote.
“To date, more than 20 cities have banned Segways or other similar hybrid personal vehicle or scooters,” Radde and Hart wrote.
In other news, at the top of the meeting, Marshall reminded the public that the governor had called for a voluntary 15% reduction in water use.
She also reminded residents that if weather conditions continue as they have, Avalon could be in Phase 1 water use restrictoins by August of next year.
