Electric Car Charging Stations (ECCS)
The information on this subject is being provided by your webmaster, Walter Antkiewicz.
While I was on the Council, these are the stated positions that I advocated and still think they make the most sense for our community. In fact, they mirror the "Right to Charge" laws that have currently been adopted in 9 states. Among them are New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Virginia.
But based on our recent Annual Meeting, they do not represent the current thinking of our Council. I welcome any input from the Council so I could present their position on this subject. That is important because any plan that is officially developed must get the approval of 2/3's of the residents for it to be implemented.
An issue that the Putnam Council has been dealing with for some time
is how it could allow the installation of Electric Car Charging
Stations (ECCS) at Putnam Village.
On these webpages, I will describe many of the issues that ECCS implementation entails. Please note that the only
plans that I will address are those that A. Do not impact the Putnam budget and
therefore do not impact your condo fees in any way and B. Provide the most convenient access to an individual's personally owned charging station.
If a resident of Putnam Village wanted to buy a plug-in
electric car today, the first question that would come to mind is, can I install a
charging station at my reserved parking spot if I agree to pay for all costs associated
with the installation?
The answer today would be no.
The reason the answer is no is because Putnam Village is
governed by what is titled the “Declaration and Code of Regulations” of Punam
Village that was signed into law on Dec 14, 1976. In June of 2022 I asked our lawyers at
Marcs & Hoffman Law Firm if the Declaration would allow the Council to
approve such an installation. Their legal opinion stated in part:
As to your
Governing Documents, please note that in conducting our review in this matter
we do not believe to have found any provisions in your Governing Documents that
we believe may be utilized by the Council to allow the installation of EV
Stations on the Common Elements by Unit Owners. Rather, we believe certain
provisions in the Code would expressly prohibit Unit Owners from doing so. In
support thereof, we note that Article V, Section 15 of the Code provides, in
relevant, as follows:
"A Unit
owner shall not place or cause to be placed in the common areas or common
facilities, other than a patio or wood deck balcony to which such unit owner
has sole access, any furniture, or objects of any kind... [."
As a result of that determination, the Council would have to
follow the procedures in the “Declaration” to amend the Declaration. For an amendment to be adopted, it requires
the approval of 2/3’s of the residents by an official vote to approve the amendment.
So, that is the status right now.
What I hope to do with this webpage is
present a “Top Level Plan for the Installation of Charging Stations in Putnam
Village” that I believe could gain the support of 2/3’s of the residents. And once again, the primary consideration of
that plan is that it has essentially no impact on the Putnam Budget and will in
no way increase the monthly fees of the Putnam residents.
With the current laws, no installation
is possible until a popular plan is presented to and agreed upon by 2/3’s of
the residents.
For more information, please open the other two pages on this issue:
- Top Level Plan & Benefits
- Actions of other States to Allow ECCs
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I encourage feedback about this issue on our website email address at Info@PutnamVillage.com.
Walter Antkiewicz
PutnamVillage.com Webmaster
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