Title
Resolution to Repeal Resolution No. 2000-0646 and Establishing a Monthly Electric Vehicle Parking Discount for Qualifying Low-Income Customers
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FileID
File ID: 2025-00994
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Location
Location: District 4
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution: 1) Repealing Resolution No. 2000-0646 effective July 1, 2025; and 2) Establishing a monthly parking discount for customers with electric vehicles who qualify as low-income under specific federal and state criteria; 3) Updating the City’s Fee & Charge Report to reflect a 50% monthly parking discount for electric vehicle accounts with qualifying household income criteria.
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Contact
Contact: Staci Hovermale, Parking Manager (916) 808-5047, shovermale@cityofsacramento.org, Department of Public Works
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Presenter
Presenter: None
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-Resolution No. 2000-0646
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: The City of Sacramento was a pioneer in promoting electric vehicles (EVs), implementing many programs and strategies for more than 30 years. As part of a citywide green initiative, the City offered a free monthly EV parking program in all City-owned garages for City staff in 1994 under Resolution No. 1994-0199. By the next year, Resolution 1995-0634 extended this free parking benefit to all EV monthly parking customers.
As EV use gradually increased, Resolution No. 1998-0274 amended this program to convert the free parking benefit to a 50% discount when EV transactions exceeded 5% of the total garage transactions. Resolution No. 2000-0646 later added an amendment to limit the free monthly parking benefit only to EVs registered to small businesses and individuals because the majority of monthly EV accounts by this time were registered to government entities and corporate fleets. The transactions from these larger accounts caused the number of EV transactions to advance quickly towards the 5% threshold, which was to the detriment of small businesses and individual account holders who would then lose financial benefits in the early adoption of the program.
By 2014, the number of EV transactions in each City garage exceeded 5% of their respective garage transactions. The 50% monthly rate was then initiated on all monthly EV accounts at each garage and has continued since.
As EVs have become more widely accepted and with many vehicle models available, City garages have experienced an increase in demand for available EV charging stations and the expectation is this trend will continue as Governor Newsom’s Executive Order (N-79-20) for 2035 will affect the rate of EV ownership for the next 10 years.
Despite increases in sales, the rate of EVs sold to low-income households has not significantly improved due to barriers to access and costs. The State of California continues to prioritize deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure near low-income, rural, and multifamily communities in conjunction with promoting various incentives and informational programs.
In support of the State’s goals, staff recommend approval to repeal Resolution No. 2000-0646 and establish a resolution to limit the 50% monthly discount to participants who submit evidence of household income levels at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level or to recipients of public benefits identified under Government Code section 68632(a). Monthly parking customers who do not qualify for this discount will be assessed the full monthly rate of their designated garage.
Thirty-one years after the program’s inception, efforts at both the state and local level have resulted in the program’s goal to support increased EV ownership and, with EV ownership on the rise, to eventually represent the majority of vehicles parked in City garages. However, to encourage ownership amongst low-income households, the City of Sacramento will continue to offer this discount to eligible monthly parking customers.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The proposed actions herein are consistent with the City of Sacramento’s 1994 initiative to promote EV ownership through financial incentive programs. EV ownership in Sacramento now comprises over a quarter of all new car sales with increases expected by 2035 to align with Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-79-20 (ZEV Market Development Strategy).
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: None.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): This ordinance is not subject to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under the general rule (CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3)) that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
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Sustainability
Sustainability: This action supports the City of Sacramento’s sustainability goals to improve and optimize the transportation infrastructure.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: None.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The primary initiative of the City’s EV monthly parking program was to promote EV ownership amongst users of the City’s parking system. Over the last thirty-one years, the Sacramento region has experienced an increase in EV charging stations, financial incentives to spur purchases of new and used EVs, and increased demand for available charging stations in City-owned garages.
In 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-79-20 to set zero-emission policies to provide that zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) will comprise 100% of all new car sales and off-road vehicles and equipment in California by 2035, and 100% of medium and heavy-duty vehicles by 2045.
According to a January 2025 report by the Sacramento Electric Vehicle Association, ZEV represented 25.5% of the 30,244 vehicle sales in the Sacramento region during Q3 in 2024. The report also confirmed that used EVs are more accessible and affordable than in past years, and new EV leases are double the automotive industry average. EV ownership is expected to increase with Governor Newsom’s Executive Order, which may eventually result in EVs representing a majority of all vehicles in City garages. However, the cost of EV ownership and access to chargers continues to be a deterrent to low-income households and ongoing efforts to create or improve access should continue.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: Fees collected from monthly parking programs in City garages are deposited into the Parking Enterprise Fund (Fund 6004) for Off-street Parking.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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