§ 26-103. Review of applications.

a.

The county is adopting the ordinance from which this article is derived in order to create an expedited, streamlined permitting process for small residential rooftop solar energy systems.

b.

To facilitate an expedited permitting process, the building official is hereby authorized and directed to develop and adopt a checklist and specification of structural criteria stating all requirements with which small residential rooftop solar energy systems shall comply to be eligible for expedited review.

c.

The checklist and structural criteria shall be published on the County's internet website. The applicant may submit the permit application and associated documentation to the county's building division by personal, mailed, or electronic submittal together with any required permit processing and inspection fees. In the case of electronic submittal, the electronic signature of the applicant on all forms, applications and other documentation may be used in lieu of a wet signature.

d.

Prior to submitting an application, the applicant shall:

1.

Verify through the use of standard engineering evaluation techniques that the support structure for the small residential rooftop solar energy system is stable and adequate to transfer all wind, seismic, and dead and live loads associated with the system to the building foundation; and

2.

At the applicant's cost, verify using standard electrical inspection techniques that the existing electrical system including existing line, load, ground and bonding wiring as well as main panel and subpanel sizes are adequately sized, based on the existing electrical system's current use, to carry all new photovoltaic electrical loads.

e.

For a small residential rooftop solar energy system eligible for expedited review, only one (1) inspection shall be required, which shall be done in a timely manner by the building official. If a small residential rooftop solar energy system fails inspection, a subsequent inspection is authorized; however, the subsequent inspection need not conform to the requirements of this subsection.

f.

An application that satisfies the requirements in the checklist, as determined by the building official, shall be deemed complete. Upon receipt of an incomplete application, the building official shall issue a written correction notice detailing all deficiencies in the application and any additional information required to be eligible for expedited permit issuance.

g.

Upon confirmation by the building official of the application and supporting documentation being complete and meeting the requirements of the checklist, the building official shall administratively approve the application and issue all required permits or authorizations. Such approval does not authorize an applicant to connect the small residential rooftop energy system to the local utility provider's electricity grid. The applicant is responsible for obtaining such approval or permission from the local utility provider.

(Ord. No. 4099, § 1, 9-15-15)