Allen Matkins Team Secures Approval under California's EV Charging Streamlining Law (AB 1236)

Allen Matkins' Jonathan Shardlow and Jennifer Dorgan assisted with securing approval for 7190 Jurupa Avenue in Riverside, a project under California's EV charging streamlining law, AB 1236 and one of the largest projects ever approved under that law. The project converts a 96,100-square-foot office and warehouse building into a facility with interior and exterior electric vehicle charging. The project team sized it to store and charge a rotation of more than 1,000 cars at a time. The facility serves passenger vehicles only, with no heavy-duty truck charging. It was designed for tenants such as Manheim or CarMax, and much of the charging takes place inside the existing building. The City of Riverside issued a Certificate of Occupancy for the project this year.

Beginning in November 2024, Shardlow and Dorgan worked with the City of Riverside's Planning Division to confirm that the project qualified for AB 1236 streamlining. As support, they pointed to an earlier County of San Bernardino approval of a similar use under AB 1236 (detailed below). No planning entitlements or CEQA review was required.   

About AB 1236

AB 1236, together with AB 970, added Sections 65850.7 and 65850.71 to the California Government Code to remove unreasonable barriers to installing EV charging stations. Under these laws, local agencies must approve EV charging stations administratively through a nondiscretionary permit. Review is limited to whether a project meets health and safety requirements. The laws apply to all types of installations, including standalone charging facilities. They also preempt conflicting local zoning and set firm deadlines for local agencies to review applications.

A Second Landmark AB 1236 Approval

The Riverside approval is the second large-scale AB 1236 approval Allen Matkins has been a part of. The first was for client Chateau Energy Solutions, which recently opened Tesla's first public Semi Megacharger location in Bloomington, California. Since 2023, Paige Gosney and Jennifer Dorgan have represented Chateau, guiding the project through entitlements in collaboration with the County of San Bernardino. That project is a charging facility for 138 trucks at 18434 Valley Boulevard.