The city of Merriam will now require vehicles parked in front of electric vehicle charging stations to be plugged in, or the owner will be subject to fines.
On Monday, the Merriam City Council in a 6-0 vote approved a new ordinance that levies fines for owners of vehicles, both non-EV and EV alike, who park in EV charging spots without using the charging station.
Councilmembers David Neal and Amy Rider were absent.
This follows the city of Overland Park’s move in June that set similar rules for EV parking spots, requiring vehicles parked at city chargers to be actively plugged in.
The ordinance fines violators a minimum of $100
- Only EV vehicles that are plugged into the charging station — the intended purpose of such spaces — are allowed to be parked in the charging spots.
- Signage will be posted at each EV charging station noting the new requirements.
- If someone is parked in an EV charging station space and is not using it for its intended purpose, the new ordinance allows the city to ticket that individual.
- There is a minimum fine of $100 for a ticket and a maximum of $500 under the new ordinance.
This applies to both public and private spots
- City Attorney Ryan Denk told the city council on Monday that the ordinance applies to public and private charging spots.
- There are eight public EV charging stations in Merriam, city staff told the Post via email on Monday — two at City Hall, two at the Merriam Marketplace and four at the community center.
- For the ordinance to apply to EV charging stations on private properties, signage would have to be posted, Denk said.
- Property owners will need to give the city permission to post signage at private EV spots, he said.
Councilmembers weigh in
- In response to a question from Councilmember Jason Silvers, Denk said that enforcing the ordinance for private chargers would be similar to enforcing handicap signage on private properties.
- The police department is generally allowed to ticket non-handicap vehicles parked in a spot marked for handicap use only, he said.
- Councilmember Chris Evans Hands asked if the ordinance covers vehicle owners whose cars are plugged into the charging station, but whose vehicle is fully charged.
- “It will come up, eventually, but we’re not there yet, ok,” Hands said, following Denk’s response that the ordinance — like Overland Park’s — requires vehicles to be actively plugged into the charging station.
Keep reading: Overland Park adding EV chargers around city. How much will they cost drivers to use?
