BILL NUMBER: SB 209 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 121
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 25, 2011
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 25, 2011
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 7, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 5, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 6, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 22, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
(Coauthor: Senator Kehoe)
FEBRUARY 8, 2011
An act to add Section 1353.9 to the Civil Code, relating to common
interest developments.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 209, Corbett. Common interest developments: electric vehicle
charging stations.
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act defines and
regulates common interest developments, which include community
apartment projects, condominium projects, planned developments, and
stock cooperatives.
This bill would provide that any covenant, restriction, or
condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or
other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a
common interest development, or any provision of the governing
documents of a common interest development, that effectively
prohibits or restricts the installation or use of an electrical
vehicle charging station is void and unenforceable. The bill would
authorize an association, as defined, to impose reasonable
restrictions on those stations, as specified, and would impose
requirements with respect to an association's approval process for
those stations. If the station is to be placed in a common interest
area or an exclusive use common area, the homeowner would be
responsible for various costs associated with maintaining and
repairing the station, as well as costs for damage to common areas
and adjacent units resulting from installation and maintenance of the
station. The bill would impose other responsibilities on the
homeowner, including maintaining an umbrella liability coverage
policy of $1,000,000 that names the common interest development as an
additional insured. An association that violates the bill's
provisions would be liable for damages and a civil penalty, as
specified.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1353.9 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1353.9. (a) Any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in
any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument
affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a common interest
development, and any provision of a governing document, as defined in
subdivision (j) of Section 1351, that effectively prohibits or
restricts the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging
station is void and unenforceable.
(b) (1) This section does not apply to provisions that impose
reasonable restrictions on electric vehicle charging stations.
However, it is the policy of the state to promote, encourage, and
remove obstacles to the use of electric vehicle charging stations.
(2) For purposes of this section, "reasonable restrictions" are
restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of the
station or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified
performance.
(c) An electric vehicle charging station shall meet applicable
health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and
local permitting authorities.
(d) For purposes of this section, "electric vehicle charging
station" means a station that is designed in compliance with the
California Building Standards Code and delivers electricity from a
source outside an electric vehicle into one or more electric
vehicles. An electric vehicle charging station may include several
charge points simultaneously connecting several electric vehicles to
the station and any related equipment needed to facilitate charging
plug-in electric vehicles.
(e) If approval is required for the installation or use of an
electric vehicle charging station, the application for approval shall
be processed and approved by the association in the same manner as
an application for approval of an architectural modification to the
property, and shall not be willfully avoided or delayed. The approval
or denial of an application shall be in writing. If an application
is not denied in writing within 60 days from the date of receipt of
the application, the application shall be deemed approved, unless
that delay is the result of a reasonable request for additional
information.
(f) If the electric vehicle charging station is to be placed in a
common area or an exclusive use common area, as designated in the
common interest development's declaration, the following provisions
apply:
(1) The homeowner first shall obtain approval from the common
interest development to install the electric vehicle charging station
and the common interest development shall approve the installation
if the homeowner agrees in writing to do all of the following:
(A) Comply with the common interest development's architectural
standards for the installation of the station.
(B) Engage a licensed contractor to install the station.
(C) Within 14 days of approval, provide a certificate of insurance
that names the common interest development as an additional insured
under the homeowner's insurance policy.
(D) Pay for the electricity usage associated with the station.
(2) The homeowner and each successive homeowner of the parking
stall on which or near where the electric vehicle charging station is
placed shall be responsible for all of the following:
(A) Costs for damage to the station, common areas, exclusive
common areas, or adjacent units resulting from the installation,
maintenance, repair, removal, or replacement of the station.
(B) Costs for the maintenance, removal, repair, and replacement of
the electric vehicle charging station until it has been removed from
the common area or exclusive use common area.
(C) The cost of electricity associated with the station.
(D) Disclosing to prospective buyers the existence of any electric
vehicle charging station and the related responsibilities of the
homeowner.
(3) The homeowner and each successive homeowner, at all times,
shall maintain an umbrella liability coverage policy in the amount of
one million dollars ($1,000,000) covering the obligations of the
owner under paragraph (2), and shall name the common interest
development as an additional insured under the policy with a right to
notice of cancellation.
(g) An association that willfully violates this section shall be
liable to the applicant or other party for actual damages, and shall
pay a civil penalty to the applicant or other party in an amount not
to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(h) In any action to enforce compliance with this section, the
prevailing plaintiff shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees.