Today, Mayor Edwin M. Lee signed a new law that will help San Francisco meet the growing demand for electric vehicle charging and continue the City’s forward-thinking leadership on climate change.

The ordinance, introduced by Mayor Lee and Supervisor Katy Tang, was unanimously adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday and will make plug-in electric vehicle (EV) charging more widely available in new building stock, while helping to reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

“As the President continues to signal that his administration will roll-back fuel efficiency standards and efforts to reduce vehicle tailpipe emissions, San Francisco is leading the charge for zero emission electric vehicles,” said Mayor Edwin M. Lee. “By improving access to electric vehicle charging citywide, San Francisco is accelerating our transition to a clean-energy transportation future.”

Starting January 2018, the ordinance requires new residential, commercial, and municipal buildings to have sufficient electrical infrastructure to simultaneously charge vehicles in 20% of parking spaces. On day one, a new building will be required to have circuits for EV chargers installed to 10% of parking spaces, and will have the capability to expand from there in order to meet tenant needs.

“We need to move our city and the world forward by making electric vehicle usage more accessible to everyone,” said Supervisor Katy Tang. “I am proud that San Francisco is leading the charge on this effort and encouraging more San Franciscans to choose clean vehicles.”

The San Francisco Bay Area remains one of the fastest growing markets for electric vehicles. Nationally, EV sales are increasing 35 percent annually, and as of March 2017, there are more than 286,000 EVs on California roads. The State of California currently offers incentive programs and rebates to first time EV buyers or lessees and Governor Jerry Brown has a goal of 1.5 million Zero Emission Vehicles, including plug-in EV’s, on California roads by 2025.

The “EV Readiness” ordinance is part of a larger City-led shift away from fossil fuels to cleaner, more renewable energy sources for transportation and building use. Last week, Mayor Lee announced a bold new target of sourcing 50 percent renewable energy for San Francisco by 2020. This goal is made possible by the success of the City’s community choice aggregation program, CleanPowerSF, which empowers San Francisco residents and businesses to choose cleaner, more renewable energy at competitive rates.

The Mayor also recently announced that San Francisco has successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent below 1990 level.

“As we continue to make progress towards our greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, we need innovative policies that push us forward and help us achieve greater reductions in the long term,” said Mayor Lee. “Promoting a shift to electric vehicles will drive us further down the road to a cleaner and healthier environment.”