Deal to allow fast electric vehicle chargers at 1111 Soquel Avenue lot

In plain English

The City Council would let the City Manager sign an option agreement with Citizen Energy LLC giving that company the right to license part of city parking lot 32 at 1111 Soquel Avenue to build and run four direct current fast chargers for electric vehicles. Citizen Energy would apply for state or federal grant and rebate money (such as California's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program or CalEVIP) and would own, install and maintain the chargers. The option lasts 24 months and can only be exercised if Citizen Energy gets a 'Notice of Proposed Award' from a grant or rebate program; if that happens, a final license agreement would come back to Council for approval. The Council would also find the action exempt from further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Drivers who need fast charging downtown could gain four high-powered chargers available 24 hours a day, while some spaces in the city's Soquel Avenue lot 32 would be converted to charging use by a private operator under a license of at least ten years.

Key facts

Site: parking lot at 1111 Soquel Avenue, parking lot 32, APN 010-042-19, in District 2
Four direct current fast chargers would be installed, owned and maintained by Citizen Energy LLC
Option period: 24 months from the effective date; any resulting site license agreement would run at least 10 years
The City's Climate Action Plan 2030 measure T4.1 calls for at least 1,247 new public electric vehicle charging stations by 2030; the city now has over 200 public charging ports
Staff report states no impact on the General Fund and no budget adjustment; Citizen Energy previously won National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding for 4 chargers at the Downtown Library, saving that project over $400,000
A similar agreement for this site was approved by Council in March, 2026, but named a specific grant round; this version omits the grant number so staff can pursue other funds without returning to Council

Reasons to support

Site control is required to show 'project readiness' in the grant application, and the agreement costs the city nothing up front while a future final agreement 'could have positive benefit on the General Fund.'
The same partner already won this type of grant for four chargers at the Downtown Library, saving that project over $400,000 in infrastructure costs.
The site scores well on the grant criteria — distance from a Highway 1 exit, downtown high-use location, and public availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — and adding four fast chargers advances the Climate Action Plan 2030 goal of 1,247 new public chargers.

Reasons to oppose or change it

Removing the grant round number means staff can pursue any state or federal grant or rebate for this site without coming back to Council first, reducing Council review at that stage.
The chargers would not be in the 'frontline neighborhoods' the Climate Action Plan prioritizes; the staff report says the city owns no lots there and those areas did not meet the selection criteria.
The agreement gives Citizen Energy an 'exclusive and irrevocable' interest in the property for up to 24 months, requires the city to keep the developer's site and product designs confidential, lets the developer assign its rights without city consent, and would commit public parking spaces at lot 32 to a private operator for at least ten years.

Official wording

Approval of an Option Agreement for EV Charging Services Site License to Support Direct Current Fast Charging Infrastructure (CM) LOCATION: District 2 Motion to: 1) Authorize the City Manager to execute an Option Agreement for EV Charging Services Site License for space at the parking lot located at 1111 Soquel Avenue for the purpose of installing and operating Direct Current Fast Charging infrastructure; and 2) Adopt a CEQA finding of categorical exemption pursuant to: 14 CCR 15301 (Existing Facilities); 14 CCR 15304 (Minor Alterations to Land); and 14 CCR 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption).

Official agenda

Summary written by claude-opus-5 from the agenda and the Staff report (agenda packet, pages 30-37). It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.