MONROE — Monroe officials have approved a zoning amendment to update city regulations to clear the way for a network of electric vehicle charging stations in the city.
In a related move, they also approved a recommendation to allow certain upgraded electric golf carts to ply the same city streets and routes currently used by ATV/UTV’s, largely without major incident, in Monroe.
The moves to approve the two measures came during the Common Council’s Nov. 7 meeting.
“Currently, the Monroe Zoning Code is silent on how to treat EV charging stations,” said a memo to officials in the city council’s packet providing background on various issues. “With no guidance from the code, decisions regarding installation could be unclear, inconsistent, and will likely slow down the roll-out of this needed infrastructure.”
There is no timeline at this point for installation of the stations, as details are still being worked out, according to officials. But they agreed it is important to Monroe’s future, as the nation increasingly moves toward electric-powered vehicles to curb carbon emissions and decrease reliance on foreign oil.
Ald. Chris Schindler questioned whether the city’s electric grid could handle the load from the charging stations and was assured that local utility companies, including Alliant Energy, have no concerns.
“This is very forward for Monroe,” said Ald. Tom Miller, who added he would to “take it a step further” and see stations established in areas not on the square.
As for the golf carts, Ald. Andrew Kranig questioned how the proposal would work, as standard golf carts typically don’t have license plates or state vehicle registrations.
But Police Chief Fred Kelley said that the carts the city has in mind aren’t the standard type of cart one would see on the back 9 at the local country club. They would, officials said, have seat belts and turn signals, and the city is coming up with a registration scheme to regulate their use.
City Attorney Dan Barthoff said the upgraded carts would be able to use the same routes as ATV/UTV’s on Monroe’s streets.
The measure passed despite ‘no’ votes from Ald. Josh Binger and Kranig.
Experts say small, lightweight vehicles similar to golf carts could eliminate many Americans’ need for a second car and make roads safer for all users. And with gasoline prices way up, they are more economical than ever.
They have been popular for years in many southern retirement destinations such as The Villages in Florida and Scottsdale, Arizona. Some of those cart drivers customize the machines to look like classic cars and other, bigger vehicles.