Solar PVpermit fee report for Commerical and Residential systems in Placer County

In the fall of 2011, Sierra Club volunteers surveyed all municipalities in Placer County to
determine their current estimated permit fees for installing roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV)
systems on residential and commercial buildings. Such structures can include homes, office
buildings, stores, industrial facilities, schools, churches, government and non-profit buildings.
Volunteers conducted surveys for a 131 kW commercial PV project and a 3 kW residential PV
system. A new report has been published for the Sierra Club’s Commercial and Residential
PV permit fee campaign for Placer County (see http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/placer.html). This
web link has information and an executive summary of the report that shows fee rankings for all
jurisdictions in Placer County.

The Sierra Club's solar permit fee campaign in Northern California began in 2005 for residential
PV systems. Now this is being updated to include both residential and commercial rooftop solar
projects in many Northern California counties.

The report shows that for commercial PV projects 131 kW in size, 86% (6 out of 7) of the Placer
County jurisdictions are over-charging fees, exceeding maximum cost recovery threshold levels as
determined by a basic PV permit fee calculator highlighted in this new report. One municipality is
currently slightly over-charging for residential PV projects. Marilyn Jasper, Chair of the Sierra
Club Placer Group states, “This survey reveals most municipalities in Placer County are supporting
local solar power by collecting very low fees for residential solar permits. However most of the
municipalities are doing just the opposite for larger commercial PV projects, charging many times
more than what is needed to recover city permitting costs for inspections and plan reviews, in
violation of the intent of California State law which requires minimum solar permit fees.”
On Oct. 19, 2011, the survey team contacted 6 municipalities with fees exceeding $4,000 for a 131
kW commercial PV project. The team notified these cities that their solar permit fees were
unreasonably high and requested that they review their fee calculation methods, since they are
likely charging fees higher than cost-recovery levels. Charging more for solar permits than the
reasonable costs to administer them violates California Government Code Section 66014, which provides that fees associated with building inspections and building permits "shall not exceed the
estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged." California
Government Code Section 65850.5 states “it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the
installation of solar energy systems by removing obstacles to, and minimizing cost of, permitting
for such systems.”

The Sierra Club acknowledges leaders of those cities that have already taken action to streamline
solar permitting processes and make solar energy more affordable for homeowners, businesses and
non-profit entities, and asks others to follow their lead.

Sierra Club PV Permit Fee Campaign for many California Counties: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org

Sierra Club, Placer Group Commercial and Residential PV Permit Fee Report, Placer County (Oct.
2011): http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeStudyPlacer.pdf