CARLSBAD — The Carlsbad City Council has advanced plans to install additional paid electric vehicle charging stations in the city’s downtown Village area.
When completed, the project will add six charging stations to the city-owned parking lot on State Street, about a half block southeast of the intersection with Carlsbad Village Drive. Of the six new stations, two will be Level 3 fast chargers, and four will be Level 2 chargers, each capable of serving two vehicles at a time, according to city documents.
The additions would bring the total to seven charging stations at the lot, including the existing charger, and expand capacity to support up to 12 vehicles at once. Users pay fees for the charging service, the city said.
The council voted unanimously Feb. 3 on the consent calendar to appropriate $147,000 from the public facilities fees fund to the project’s capital improvement budget. The funding is expected to cover remaining costs, including construction, contingency and inspections.
The city has already spent nearly $400,000 to purchase the equipment, complete designs, and obtain permits, according to records.
Because the construction estimate of $193,000 falls below the $220,000 threshold, the city manager or a designee may award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder through an informal bidding process.
Most of the project’s funding — $350,000 — comes from a California Energy Commission grant included in the state’s Budget Act of 2023, documents show.
Councilmember Teresa Acosta thanked Tasha Boerner for helping secure the state funds.
“I just want to thank her for fighting for Carlsbad and making sure that we get funding for our electric vehicle charging stations,” Acosta said.
Mayor Keith Blackburn agreed, saying Boerner has been “very cooperative with us and worked very closely with our city.”
Construction is expected to be completed in about six months, or by late summer 2026, according to city documents.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the total number of charging stations and vehicle capacity at the parking lot once the project is complete. The figures have since been corrected.
