Loomis council approves replacing 67 level-2 stalls with 14 DC fast chargers at Costco mitigation request

The Loomis Town Council on June 13 voted to approve a staff recommendation modifying the mitigation measure for the Costco project to allow 14 DC fast chargers in place of the originally required 67 level-2 chargers.

Staff said the change stems from developments in the EV market since the project's environmental impact report (EIR) was written. "When the EIR was written, fast chargers were not market available," staff explained during the discussion and advised that council make findings demonstrating the fast chargers are equal to or better than the mitigation previously required under CEQA.

Representatives from Electrify America described the operational difference between the two charger types. Whitney Richardson, government affairs and public policy lead for Electrify America on the West Coast, said DC fast chargers are designed for retail sites because they deliver a meaningful charge in a short time: "The average amount of time people spend in a Costco is like 45 minutes...you need to stay on a level 2 charger for a couple of hours to get the kind of charge that you would get in a shorter time on a DC fast charger." The Electrify America panel also said the project would include non-proprietary ports and retained the option to add a small number of level-2 chargers for legacy vehicles.

Staff noted that DC fast chargers have significantly higher per-unit costs and that Pacific Gas & Electric must still approve infrastructure connections. The staff report included findings that 14 fast chargers would deliver equal or better greenhouse-gas mitigation than the original configuration and would not require a subsequent EIR.

After public comment (including Zoom callers who urged the council to approve fast chargers) council members voted to adopt the staff resolution. Roll-call votes recorded yes from Council Members Ring, Knisely, Cortez, Youngblood and Mayor Cartwright.

The council's action updates the mitigation language to permit "14 fast chargers or 67 level-2 chargers," leaving the project able to proceed subject to PG&E and other standard conditions and permits.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the finding into the formal resolution and proceed with required CEQA documentation and coordination with the utility and project proponents.