Solar PC permit fee report for Commerical and Residential systems in Los Angeles County

High Permit Fees Hinder Residential and Commercial Solar Power, Half of L. A. County Cities Over-Charge, Others Promote Solar

The Sierra Club (Angeles and Loma Prieta Chapters) are following up on a campaign to encourage municipalities in Los Angeles County to support the installation of residential and commercial roof-top solar power systems by lowering permit fees. Back in June 2009, the Sierra Club, Angeles Chapter formally asked L. A. County municipalities with unreasonably high residential solar permit fees to consider lowering them to cost-recovery levels. Between 2009 and 2011, some significant changes in solar permit fees have occurred: 38 cities have lowered them (but 14 have raised fees) for residential PV systems. During the period of the latest study, between January 2011 and June 2011, fifteen cities have significantly lowered their commercial solar permit fees while two others have raised them. (Note that “significant” is defined as fee changes greater than $100.)

In the winter of 2010/2011, Sierra Club volunteers surveyed all municipalities in Los Angeles county to determine their 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 this survey 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 Los Angeles County (see: http://www.solarpermitfees.org/losangeles.html). This web link has an executive summary of the report that shows fee rankings for all jurisdictions in Los Angeles County.

The Sierra Club's solar permit fee campaign in Southern California began in 2009 for residential PV systems. Now this is being updated to include both residential and commercial rooftop solar projects in Southern California.

The survey report shows that for commercial PV projects 131 kW in size, 62% (55 out of 89) L. A. 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. In addition, 47% (42 of 89) cities are charging excessive fees for residential PV projects. Kurt Newick, leader of the study states, “This survey reveals many municipalities are incentivizing solar power by lowering solar permit fees to reasonable levels, while other cities are doing just the opposite, charging many times more than what is needed to recover city permitting costs for inspections and plan reviews.”

On May 30, 2011, the survey team contacted 44 municipalities with fees exceeding $10,000 for a 131 kW commercial PV project. These Sierra Club volunteers also contacted 27 cities in LA County that have fees exceeding $700 for a 3 kW residential PV system. The team notified these cities that their solar permit fees were unreasonably high and requested that they review their solar permit fee calculation methods, since they are likely charging fees higher than cost-recovery levels. Several cities have responded by either lowering their solar permit fees or starting the process to review their fees. 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."

Since local sunlight and available roof space are plentiful, only the number of solar power installations limits the production potential of this abundant renewable resource. The Sierra Club acknowledges leaders of those cities that have already taken action to 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, Angeles and Loma Prieta Chapters Commercial and Residential PV Permit Fee Report, Los Angeles County: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeStudyLosAngeles.pdf

Executive Summary of Commercial & Residential PV Permit Fee Report, Los Angeles County

by Sierra Club, Angeles and Loma Prieta Chapters, 4/27/2011, updated 6/18/2011

A 2010 - 2011 survey by the Sierra Club revealed wide variations in permit fees charged for commercial and residential rooftop photovoltaic (PV) energy systems by municipalities in Los Angeles County. The survey found that fees for commercial PV projects of 131 kW in size varied from nothing to over $46,000. High fees can discourage businesses and residences from making good, long-term, high-yield investments in solar power. Fifty-five municipalities (62%) are charging fees that exceed the maximum cost-recovery levels identified in this report for commercial PV projects. Thirteen cities are charging more than $20,000 for a commercial PV permit (8 times higher than an estimated maximum fee that enables full cost recovery). Commercial PV permit fees for some LA County cities are extremely high. For 3 kW residential PV permits, 44 of the 89, half of the municipalities in LA County are charging fees that are excessive!

The time needed for city staff to review and inspect a commercial PV project does not vary linearly by system size. For instance, interviews conducted in the preparation of this report revealed that the difference in time needed to process a 100 kW PV project is about two to three times longer than a 10 kW project (not ten times longer). Basing fees on the value of the solar equipment inflates permit costs to unreasonably high levels, especially for larger, more expensive solar power projects. To recover costs, therefore, permit fees should be based on specific review times and billable hourly rates and not on PV project valuations.

The authors of this study have developed a free, public fee calculator spreadsheet for PV systems mounted on commercial rooftops to help municipalities determine cost recovery:

http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeCalcCommercial.xls.

This report recommends best practices that municipalities can adopt to assure greater consistency, and help our society develop an energy source that leads to a healthier, safer, and more stable community. These include setting permit fees at cost-recovery levels, and instituting streamlined permit processing procedures. Please see the detailed survey responses for each jurisdiction at: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeesLACounty2011.html.

Web site for Los Angeles County PV permit fee report (published April 2011, updated 6/18/2011):

http://www.solarpermitfees.org/losangeles.html

This executive summary: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeLosAngelesExecSum.pdf

Key recommendations: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVPermitFeeRecommend2010.pdf

Summary of California Laws Governing PV Solar Permits and Fees:

http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/SolarPermitLawsSumCA.pdf

Sierra Club PV Permit Fee Campaign lead: Kurt Newick, 408-370-9636, SolarPermitFees [at] gmail.com