In another move to improve the sustainability of its community, the city of Sterling Heights recently announced a new partnership with General Motors Dealer Community Charging Program to add 17 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations at public spaces throughout the City. Through this public-private partnership, the City will provide the land, and GM Dealers will underwrite the cost of the charging stations which are produced by Flo. State Electric Company will install and maintain the charging stations. Sterling Heights is the largest community with the greatest number of proposed charger installations to implement this partner program that will allow 34 vehicles to be charged at any given time across the City. The charging stations will be installed by year-end.
The Flo Level 2 chargers are up to 2.7 times faster than a typical level 2 charging station, and each station features two ports for simultaneous vehicle charging. Stations will be installed in the following locations:
- City Hall Campus (40555 Utica): four stations
- Community Center (40250 Dodge Park): two stations added to one existing station
- Dodge Park (40620 Dodge Park): three stations
- Senior Center (40200 Dodge Park): one station
- Schoenherr Towers (37500 Schoenherr): one station
- Baumgartner Park (12850 15 Mile): one station
- Nelson Park (2775 15 Mile): one station
- Delia Park (3001 18 Mile): two stations
- Delia Park (41625 Ryan Rd): one station
- DPW (7200 18 Mile): one station
In addition to this announcement, the City unveiled its comprehensive Electric Vehicle (EV) Master Plan. The plan is aimed at promoting sustainability and economic growth in terms of the City’s EV readiness and providing recommendations to prepare for the pending widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
The plan was completed at the urging of the Sustainability Commission and other residents. It was developed over the course of several months by a team made up of experts from the City and Wade Trim and was funded through a grant of almost $29k from SEMCOG’s Planning Assistance Program for Transportation Equity and Sustainable Infrastructure in combination with roughly $6k from the City.
“Fifty-two percent of our residents either own or are considering the purchase of an electric vehicle, so we knew we needed to ramp up efforts and be ready to handle this new model of transportation, which is why the new Community Charging Program partnership is so critical,” said Sterling Heights Sustainability Commission Chairman Nathan Inks. “With our help, the City has really been leaning in to sustainability and recently launched a brand called Think Sterling Green to help promote all the sustainability initiatives we are advancing in Sterling Heights. It’s exciting to see our efforts moving forward.”
The plan confirmed there are a minimum of five publicly accessible EV charging stations, but the City’s current ordinance requirements do not currently address EV charging infrastructure. The plan concluded there is a real opportunity to educate property owners and developers of the benefits of installing EV infrastructure during construction, and several recent developments have included EV charging infrastructure in their proposals.
The City’s existing sustainability plan calls for the City to allocate more time and resources to EV infrastructure and recommends transitioning the City fleet vehicles to EVs. To that end, the new Community Charging Program will include a pilot program for implementing EV in the City’s fleet this year.
The Sterling Heights EV Master Plan outlines a roadmap for achieving the goal of encouraging EV use and being prepared for the increase in EVs on our roadways by identifying key strategies, policies, and initiatives that will support the transition to this more sustainable transportation system. Other key elements of the plan include:
- Adoption of policies designed to promote renewable energy generation and on-site storage at City properties.
- Amending zoning ordinances to allow EV charging by right in commercial and parking zones, including charging stations in the public right-of-way.
- Amending zoning ordinances to define, classify and develop number requirements for EV parking spaces.
- Engage in public education about EV charging infrastructure, standards, renewable energy generation and storage, installation requirements, permitting needs, etc.
We are excited to unveil our Electric Vehicle Master Plan, which represents a major step forward in our efforts to become a leader in sustainability and economic growth," said Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor. "By embracing electric vehicles, we can create a cleaner and healthier environment, reduce noise pollution and create prosperity in the form of new economic opportunities in the clean energy sector.”
More information on the EV Master Plan can be accessed at sterling-heights.net/EVcharging.
The EV Master Plan is just one of the sustainability initiatives that are a part of the Sterling Heights Think Sterling Green brand. Other sustainability initiatives that are a part of Think Sterling Green include:
- The Go Green Grants for residential clean energy projects.
- The Rain Barrel project offering free rain barrels to Sterling Heights residents.
- The City’s new WaterSmart website that allows residents to save money by monitoring and managing their water consumption.
- An upcoming opportunity to add curbside recycling for every resident.
- An ARPA-funded initiative to add 2,000 neighborhood trees across the City over the next two years.
- The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, a long-term financing tool available to commercial property owners to pay for energy/water efficiency and renewable energy upgrades without incurring any up-front costs.
City administration will be providing regular updates on the progress of Think Sterling Green initiatives and encourages residents to get involved by implementing as many sustainable practices in their daily lives as possible. “I’m proud of everything we are doing at the City to promote responsible practices, but we can’t do it alone. We need all our residents to Think Sterling Green by adopting energy-efficient technologies, reducing energy consumption, conserving water and recycling,” Taylor said.