| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jurisdiction | 3 kW Residential 2009 | 3 kW Residential Fee Update 2012 | 131 kW Commercial 2010 | 131 kW Commercial Fee Update 2012 | Notes for 131 kW commercial for 2010 survey | Responses | More responses | |||||||||||||
2 | Aliso Viejo # | $924.30 | $12,872.55 | $4,696.00 | On 11/17/10 at 10:10 AM Will Chen, Permit Technician took zoomerang survey. Total fee 131 kW: $12,736.22; Itemized: General Plan $1,670.10, Plan Review $4,654.72, Permit $6,382.07, Electrical $Varies: $50 estimated fee (Kurt phoned Ted Halsey, CBO on 11/17/10 at 10:45 AM to confirm the electrical fee, Ted said it would be minor about $50), Planning Dept. Review: $69 ($69/Hour for 1 hour max, estimated per phone chat with Ted Halsey with Kurt Newick), Scanning Fee: $12 ( $1\Page, 12 pages assumed by Kurt Newick), Issuance Fee: $34.66 ($17.33\Trade, 2 Trades estimated by Ted Halsey: building and electrical). Comments: "These fees are approximate and not the final cost for permit. Cost varies and cannot be determined until plan review approval." On 12/20/10 at 10:15 AM Albert Armijo, Director of Planning Services, sent Kurt Newick an email to revise the survey results: "To Whom It May Concern: Re: the in-depth solar photovoltaic (PV) permit fee report for commercial projects for all jurisdictions in Orange County that the Sierra Club (Angeles and Loma Prieta Chapter) published in Dec. 2010, the fee for Aliso Viejo should be $4,696, not $12,873 because Aliso Viejo calculates the fee according to square footage (not valuation). Thank you for noting this correction." | www.SolarPermitFees.org/AlisaViejoPVFeeResponse.pdf | |||||||||||||||
3 | Anaheim | $0.00 | $0.00 | On 11/17/10 Kurt Newick spoke to Eibet Olmedo on the phone and the fees for all PV projects (residential and commercial) are waived through the end of 2010. Kurt also spoke to Dina Predisik at the Anaheim Utilities Dept. and Dina confirmed the PV permit fee waiver and mentioned that starting in 2011 the PV permit fees would be a fixed fee for any size of PV system residential or commercial of just over $900. | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Brea | $466.40 | $1,350.00 | On 10/26/10 at 8:24 AM CBO took zoomerang survey. Itemized fees: PLAN CHECK DEPOSIT PLANNING, FIRE, BLDG= $400. INSPECTION DEPOSIT= $250. PLANNING SURCHARGE $264, SEISMIC STATE FEE= $252, GREEN STATE FEE= $48, RECORDS MANGMNT= $120, ISSUANCE FEE= $16. | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Buena Park # | $242.00 | $10,000.00 | $2,197.70 | On 10/25/10 at 9:08 AM Donald W. Godfrey, Building Manager took zoomerang survey. Comments: You are talking cost of equipment. What is the cost of construction. Plan review,inspectors time, permit techs all are factored. Therefore, if the equipment is a Billion the we have to make a fee on that figure. Why don't you work on some that is realistic like: equipment cost and construction costs? On 12/20/10 at 5:22 PM Ruth Santos, Secretary to Joel Rosen, City of Buena Park sent Kurt Newick an email with an official response to our 12/12/10 email letter requesting that PV permit fees for commercial projects be reviewed and lowered. This email had an attachment with revised PV permit fees for the 131 kW project in our survey as follows: 131 kW Total fee: $2,197.70; itemized as: Building fee: $1,049; Structural plan check fee: $734.30 ; SMI tax: $20 ; NPDES: $104.90 ; Zoning plan check: $280 ; CA building fee: $8 ; Micro fee: $1.50. | www.SolarPermitFees.org/BuenaParkPVFeeResponse.pdf | |||||||||||||||
6 | Costa Mesa * | $0.00 | $7,464.00 | On 11/8/10 at 1:24 PM Khanh Nguyen, Chief Building Official took zoomerang survey. Comment: We are proposing to set a maximum fee for solar by capping the valuation at $60,000; thereby capping the fees to $1,417. We are taking this to the City Council for approval in December or January. On 1/10/11 Khanh Nguyen, CBO of Costa Mesa called Kurt Newick to mention that PV permit fees are "under review" and will be changing on 7/1/11 to the $1,417 level for the 131 kW project in the survey. Residential PV permit fees are no longer waived (this was a temporary fee waiver program between 2007 and 2009), fees for PV residential system are currently claimed to be at cost recovery levels in the $400 range per CBO phone chat 1/10/11 with Kurt Newick. On 8/2/11 Kurt spoke to Khanh Nguyen (now the community Development Director), who said that his proposal to modify the PV permit fees has not yet been brought to city council, but this may be done in Oct. 2011 or Jan. 2012. | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Cypress # | $625.00 | $9,495.26 | $1,187.00 | On 11/17/10 Kurt Newick spoke to Marcia Otsuka on the phone. Total Permit fee 131kW: $9,495.26; itemized: Bldg. permit fee: $4,857.50; Plan Check fee: $3,157.38; Electrical Plan check fee: $728.63; Prime contractors tax: $312; Electrical fee: $18; Inverter Fee: $18; Disconnects Fee: $18.75 (5 assumed, 4 combiner boxes and 1 DC disconnect at $3.75 per disconnect); BSC Fee (AB1473): $48; SMIP: $252; Admin fee: $35; Developers fee: $50. On 2/8/11 at 4:06 PM the Building Official at Cypress took the survey to update the commercial PV permit fees as reported in our Sierra Club web site and report: Total Permit Fee 131kW: $1,187; itemized: Plan check = $472, Permits = $715, Total = $1,187. | www.SolarPermitFees.org/CypressPVFeeResponse.pdf | |||||||||||||||
8 | Dana Point | $421.00 | $778.47 | On 11/22/10 at 11:17 AM Mike Henson Sr. Permit Technician took zoomerang survey (and Mike called Kurt Newick also at 11:17 AM on 11/22/10 to confirm survey response was received and to confirm results). Comment: Electrical Permit fee $600.00 + $25 Issuance + $12.00 microfilm ($1 per page, 12 pages assumed) + $141.47 per hour for planning review or $35.40 for an over the counter review. Kurt confirmed that it is likely that this permit would probably not be done over the counter, although Dana Point has never done a commercial PV permit before (as far as Mike Henson could recall). OCFA (Fire) review required by the city of Dana Point only when the total square footage of the arrays exceed 50% of the total roof area. Kurt Newick contacted on Nov. 2010 and there is not fee for Fire Dept. review of commercial PV systems. For this survey we will assume that more than 50% of roof surface is covered in PV modules. Mike Henson mentioned that Dana Point decides which plans need to be submitted to OCFA for fire review. | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Fountain Valley # | $663.00 | $443.00 | $11,179.40 | $2,360.59 | Kurt Newick called Candy Nock on 11/22/10 at 4:50 PM...Candy said that the residential PV permit fees have dropped since the 2009 survey and that now in 2010 they are $430 total, plus a $13 Fire Dept. review fee for a total of $443 for a 3kW residential total permit fee. Candy Nock emailed Kurt Newick on 11/24/10 at 3:31 PM the commercial PV fee survey info: Total Permit fee 131 kW: $11,179.40; Itemized as: Electrical Permit (based on valuation): $10,057; Building dept. plan chk fee: $460 (4 hours assumed at $115/hr.); Fire Dept plan chk fee: $36.80; Plannning Dept. plan chk fee: $50.60; Miscellaneous fees (not accounted for in itemization): $575. Andy Perea, planning Dept. Manager, called Kurt Newick on 1/27/11 at 5:40 PM and mentioned that the commercial PV permit fees are being reviewed (Andy said they may not necessarily change, but that its OK to consider these fees under review for now). Kurt spoke to Andy Perea who called Kurt Newick via phone on 8/1/11 to mention that commercial PV permit fees have officially been changed per city council. Vickie Rogers called Kurt Newick on 8/2/11 to compute the newly revised commercial PV permit fees that became effective on 7/1/11. Total 131 kW fee: $2,689.59; Itemized: Plan check fee: $1,058, Bldg Permit fee: $1,302.59, Bldg. Stds. commission fee: $48, Archival fees: $11.00 (12 pages assumed, 8 pages of 8.5" X 11" at $0.25/pg. and 4 pages of 24" X 36" at $2.25/pg.), Fire Dept. plan check and inspection (flat fee for commercial projects): $270 (the Fire Dept. fees were told to Kurt Newick over the phone by Adria Paesami, Fire Marshal). On 9/19/11 Bob Elkins called Kurt Newick in the morning to mention that the permit fee shown in the Orange County Register 9/18/11 article ($2,689.59) was not correct, and so Vicki Rogers emailed Kurt Newick on 9/19/11 at 11:01 AM a corrected version of the estimated PV permit fees for the survey. The Total revised PV Permit fee for a 131 kW System as of 9/19/11: $2,360.59; Itemized: Plan Review Fees: $948.36, Permit issuance fee: $15.00, Miscellaneous Fees (may vary slightly): $192.23, Inspection Fees: $935.00; Fire Dept. Review Fee: $270.00. | |||||||||||||||
10 | Fullerton # | $0.00 | $7,690.99 | On 11/17/10 Kurt Newick spoke to Judi Igasaki on the phone. Total permit fee 131kW: $11,201.04; itemized: Issuance fee: $23.78; Doc image fee: $0.36; Permit Surcharge: $6.71; Permit Fee: $4,265.32; NPDES Fee for permit: $213.27; Plan Check Fee: $2,985.72; Seismic Safety Commercial/Inds: $288; General Plan Update Fee: $2,004; Zoning Plan Check Fee: $360; Fire Inspection Plan Check: $1,005.88; CBSC - SB1473: $48. Then on Nov. 29,2010 at 9:16 AM Chi Yang emailed Kurt Newick with a revision of the PV permit fee response for the 131kW system: "Permit Issuance $23.78, Permit Surcharge $6.71, Doc Image for Permit $0.36, Plan Check $500.0, Electrical Plan Check $90.05, Electrical Inspection/Permit $74.72, Fire Inspection/Plan Check $90.05, Permit Fee $4,265.32, Seismic Safety $288, General Plan Update $2,004.0, Zoning Plan Check Fee, $300.0, CBSC-SB1473 $48.0. Total Fee for 131kW: $7,690.99" In the letter sent to Fullerton city council, and the city manager on 12/12/10 the original survey response of $11,201.04 was erroneously used (mistake by Kurt Newick), so Chi Yang emailed Kurt on 12/13/10 at 7:18 AM to notify Kurt of this error. Kurt will email Fullerton city leaders the corrected PV permit fee in AM of 12/13/10... | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Garden Grove # | $160.00 | $9,263.92 | $1,685.00 | On 11/17/10 Kurt Newick spoke to Joanne Chung; Permit fees are based on valuation. Total Permit Fee 131kW: $15,936.20; itemized: Art in public places: $3,000; General Plan Fee: $1,401.33; Art Fee (for contractors?): $700.67; Bldg. Plan Check fee: $4,074.80; Bldg. Permit Fee: $6,146; Energy Conservation Plan Check Fee: $407.48; Permit Center Surcharge fee: $122.92; Issuance Fee: $35; BSC Fee: $48. On 11/24/10 at 3:22 PM Rodrigo E. Victoria, Building Services Manager took zoomerang survey after Kurt Newick emailed confirming emails to all Orange County jurisdictions. The updated fee entered in this zoomerange survey is: $9,263.92. Comments entered on 11/24/10: Permit cost have been updated to exclude a fee that is not relevant and to calculate plan check fee based on estimated time to check this plan. On12/17/10 Susan Emery, Community Development Director at the city of Garden Grove, mailed a real letter (!) to Kurt Newick stating that Garden Grove is re-evaluating its fees for solar panel installations and that changes would be officially done by amendment to the Fee Schedule Resolution during the annual review of fees for service scheduled on July 2011. | www.SolarPermitFees.org/GardenGrovePVFeeResponse.pdf | |||||||||||||||
12 | Huntington Beach # | $0.00 | $5,370.98 | $729.80 | On 11/12/10 at 10:40 AM Debra Gilbert, senior analyst Planning & Building took zoomerang survey. Comments and itemization: NO permit cost for photovoltaic system, cost only relates to the building permit for mounting of system, waterproofing, penetrations, roof sheathing, etc. Itemized as: Electrical inspection = $0.00; Electrical Plan Check = $0.00; Building Inspection = $1,812 (this is not charged for PV); Building Plan Ck = $1,431 (this is not charged for PV); Planning Plan Review = $1,268 (this is not charged for PV); NOTE all the rest of the fees ARE charged for PV: Microfilm Permit = $1.56; SMIP = $39.27; CA Build Standards Fee = $8.00; Microfilm Plans = $31.20; Fire Inspection = $334.80; Fire Plan Check = $395.00. NOTE: the itemized fees sum to $5,320.83 which is $50.15 less than the survey response provided in the total fee question (this is only a minor discrepancy so Kurt Newick has decided to publish the total fee, instead of the sum of the itemized fees, contact Kurt at KurtNewick@yahoo.com to have this changed. On 1/3/11 Debbie Gilbert called Kurt Newick to revise the PV permit fee survey response for Huntington Beach. In the city of Huntington Beach there is no fee for building permits for residential or commercial roof top PV solar projects (there is a fee for Fire Review and for building structural upgrades)...anyway after the phone chat with Kurt Newick, we decided to revise the response to ONLY include the Fire review fees ($334.80 for FIre Inspection and $395.00 for Fire Plan Check)...as prior survey responses had assumed there were structural modifications to the building and this is why there was an fee that was submitted initially. Total 131 kW Fee (as of 1/3/11): $729.80. | ||||||||||||||||
13 | Irvine # | $210.00 | $0.00 | $809.00 | $0.00 | On 11/8/10 at 8:24 AM Victor Kao, Principal Plan Check Engineer took zoomerang survey. | |||||||||||||||
14 | La Habra | $410.07 | $1,861.40 | On 11/16/10 at 4:44 PM Roy Fewell, Building Official took zoomerang survey and provided this response (note: Kurt Newick will contact Roy to derive an estimated Bldg Plan Review fee...for now Kurt has assumed the Bldg Plan Review time is 3 hours, thus the total fee for the 131 kW system is assumed to be: $1,861.40, after adding in the $270 bldg. plan review fee for 3 hours at $90/hr.). Roy's survey response: Permits - $699.45; Building Plan Review - hourly @ $90.00; Planning Plan Review - 891.95. Roy's Comments: The April 2009 data appears to have been based on different assumptions than would be currently relevant for residential solar PV systems being built in La Habra. Permits for the last five systems we permitted in La Habra were as follows: $80.79, $269.35, $285.55, $362.05, and $168.00 (for an average of $233.15). If you can provide the basis of your first survey, perhaps I could give you a response based on current practices and policy. The number you are distributing in your current survey appears inaccurate. | |||||||||||||||||
15 | La Palma | $211.00 | $571.00 | On 11/2/10 Randy Fiore took phone survey with Kurt Newick. Total Fee 131kW: $571; itemized: Issuance fee: $23; Electrical Fee: $400; Disconnect Fee: $148. | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Laguna Beach | $0.00 | $0.00 | On 10/25/10 at 9:06 AM Senior Building Inspector/Plan Checker took zoomerang survey. Comments: If our juridisdction were to have permit fees for a PV system (of the size you indicate) the cost would be between $600 - $4,000. The high range would include a electrical and building permits. The low range would be an electrical permit only. Whether we would require a building permit as well as an electrical permit would be determined by management and city council. | |||||||||||||||||
17 | Laguna Hills | $182.70 | $1,399.10 | On 11/5/10 at 8:18 AM Genny deVries, Building Counter Technician took zoomerang survey. Total 131 kW fee: $1,399.10; Itemized: Issuance: $26.00; State T-24 Fee: $48.00; Document Archive (based on 6 plan size and 10 letter size sheets): $30.00; Electrical Fee (based on sq ftge): $1,295.10. | |||||||||||||||||
18 | Laguna Niguel | $700.00 | $1,400.00 | On 10/22/10 at 2:50 PM Building Official took zoomerang survey the first time and entered a total fee for the 131 kW project of $1,500. On 10/27/10 at 10:16 AM Gary Hawken CBO Building Official took zoomerang survey for the second time and entered a total fee for the 131 kW system project of $1,400. | |||||||||||||||||
19 | Laguna Woods # | $633.00 | $9,118.64 | $1,575.00 | On 11/17/10 at 3:51 PM Gary Gates, Building Official took zoomerang survey. Total Fee 131 kW: $9,118.64. On 12/12/10 Kurt Newick & Jim Stewart emailed a formal Sierra Club letter (Angeles Chapter) to the city leaders at Laguna Woods requesting that their PV permit fees for commercial projects be reviewed and lowered...no response was sent back...so on 1/7/11 Kurt Newick emailed the city council, city manager and building official a second time to notify Laguna Woods that their commercial solar permit fees are many times higher than cost recovery levels and in violation of the intent of the California Solar Rights Act that requires minimum solar permit fees...that same day on 1/7/11 Leslie Keane, City manager of Lagua Woods, emailed Kurt Newick back to say, "We did not get your earlier email so thank you for resending it. I will take a look at this matter next week with our Building Official and get back to you.". Kurt followed up with a thank you email on 1/7/11 and provided Leslie Keane a link to the commercial PV fee calculator...Leslie Keane then emailed Kurt Newick a second time on 1/7/11 to say, "We are a small city with no in-house planners or plan-checkers - that may be part of our problem. Last year, we reduced fees for residential "green improvements" and we have a green home certification program, so I will indeed check into this. - Leslie." On 2/16/11 Gary Gates the Chief Building Official at Laguna Woods sent Kurt Newick an email, saying "Council Members for the City of Laguna Woods have approved revised fees for rooftop photovoltaic systems. Based on City cost, minus councils' subsidy, the approved fee for a 131 kw system is $1,257." Kurt Newick emailed Gary Gates back on 2/17/11 to confirm the total fee for a 131 kW project (including issuance fee and state fees), and Gary has confirmed via email that the total Fee for a 131kW PV project (effective April 18, 2011, per city council resolution adopted 2/16/11) is: $1,575; roughly itemized: permit fee: $1,257 (fixed fee for PV systems 20 kW and larger); SMIP: $252; BSC fee: $48; issuance fee: $18. | www.SolarPermitFees.org/LagunaWoodsPVFeeResponse.pdf | |||||||||||||||
20 | Lake Forest | $253.50 | $2,540.00 | On 11/2/10 at 2:40 PM Kurt Newick called city of Lake Forest and spoke to Randy Fiore on the phone. Randy responded in this phone chat to the survey at that time. Randy also confirmed Kurt's emailed response to survey with the CBO and Randy emailed back to Kurt confirmation of these fees on 11/2/10 at 4:05 PM. 131 kW total permit fee: $2,540 (computed as 8 arrays X $280/array + SMIP: $252 plus Green Building Fee: $48). | |||||||||||||||||
21 | Los Alamitos | $250.00 | $250.00 | On 11/3/10 at 8:38 AM Director of Community Development took zoomerang survey. | |||||||||||||||||
22 | Mission Viejo | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | On 11/18/10 at 4:13PM Kurt Newick spoke with Alex Muratalla on the phone and ALL PV permits residential and commercial are waived (a policy enacted Feb. 2008). There would only be a permit fee if the electrical box is being upgraded. | ||||||||||||||||
23 | Newport Beach # | $899.73 | $691.25 | $6,138.00 | $4,126.00 | On 10/26/10 at 11:13 AM Permit Counter Supervisor took zoomerang survey and entered a total fee for the 131 kW system of $13,204.07. Comment from 10/26/10: "Our planning department does not charge plan check fees". Then On 11/10/10 at 7:55 AM Daniel Kennedy, Principal Engineer: Customer Service took survey a second time to correct the fees that were erroneously entered on 10/26/10. These revised fees are: 131 kW Total fee: $6,138.00. Comment from 11/10/10: "Fees base on $4.00/watt valuation for 131kW at $524,000.00. The submittal would require a comprehensive Structural and Fire review. The City amended its Fee structure July 2009 to reduce the permit fees for up to 3kW single family systems with a plan check fee not to exceed $130. making the 3kW fees now total $691.25 < $900.00 shown in the 2009 survey". On 12/8/10 Faisal Jurdi, CBO, emailed to Kurt Newick this confirmation survey response and plan to lower fees, "This e-mail confirms Newport Beach current total fee for plan check and permit is $6,138 for 131 kW. solar system. We are planning to lower the fee to approximately $4,072 in early 2011." On 8/1/11 Faisal Jurdi emailed Kurt Newick to update the commercial solar permit fees to $4,126, via this message "Hi Kurt. Based on the revised 2011 fee schedule, the permit fee for a 131 KW solar system will be $4,126. This is slightly higher than $4,072 previously calculated due to CPI fee increase applied to all fees. Faisal Jurdi, PE, CBO, Deputy Building Official" | www.SolarPermitFees.org/NewportBeachPVFeeResponse.pdf | ||||||||||||||
24 | Orange # | $717.13 | $366.07 | $11,539.72 | $6,014.83 | On 11/17/10 Pam Propst took survey over the phone with Kurt Newick. Total fee 131kW: $11,539.72; itemized as: Bldg. permit fee: $5,990.98; Plan Check Fee: $3,894.14; SMIP: $252; Micro Film fee (12 pages assumed): $36; Bldg. Stds. Commission green building fee: $48; Issuance Fee: $15; Electrical Fee: $95; General Fund Fee: $304.30; General Plan Update Surcharge: $600; Records Fee: $304.30. On Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 2:59 PM, David DeBerry (Orange city attorney) wrote: "Not sure if anyone got back to you, but the City’s Community Development Department is reviewing its solar fees based on the Sierra Club’s hypothetical example. We hope to be able to get back to you in a couple of weeks with the City’s conclusion. Sincerely, David De Berry, City Attorney, [City of Orange]". On 7/29/11 Kurt Newick became aware of the city of Orange resolution number 10540 passed by the city council on 3/8/11 that called for a 50% reduction in plan review and inspection fees for photovoltaic systems. On 7/29/11 Pam Probst re-took the survey with these results: Total permit fee 131 kW project to: $6,014.83; itemized as: Solar Bldg. Permit fee: $2,995.49; Solar Bldg. Plan Check fee: $1,947.07; General Plan Update Surcharge: $600; Seismic Commercial: $252; Fund 110 Building records fee: $149.77, Micro Film fee: $7.50; SB 1473 green building fee: $48; Issuance Fee: $15. Total 3 kW residential fee as of 7/29/11: $366.07; Itemized as: Permit Fee: $206.5, Plan check fee: $134.23, Records Fee: $10.33, Issuance Fee: $15.00. | www.SolarPermitFees.org/OrangePVFeeResponse.pdf | ||||||||||||||
25 | Orange County | $16.00 | $16.00 | $16.00 | On 11/18/10 at 4:45 PM Iraj Mansouri, Plan Check Engineer, took phone survey with Kurt Newick. Total Fee 131kW: $16. ALL PV permit fees in Orange County are a fixed fee of $16, no matter what size of PV system, residential or commercial. | ||||||||||||||||
26 | Placentia | $358.00 | $5,222.00 | On 11/10/10 at 11:30 AM Kurt Newick called Placentia and spoke to Becky Cherene who estimated the fees as: Total Permit Fee 131 kW: $5,222; itemized: $251 building permit; $99 planning dept. plan check fee; $2,580 General Plan Fee (computed as $2.15 per $1,000 of valuation); $1,992 Technology Fee (computed as $1.66 per $1,000 of valuation); State Bldg Stds. Commission green building fee: $48; SMIP: $252. On 12/13/10 at 7:45 AM Becky Cherene called Kurt Newick to mention that fee we published in a letter sent to the City Council on 12/12/10 asking Placentia to review the solar permit fees, was incorrect, but after going through the itemized PV fees it was concluded that the survey response of $5,222 is correct, based on the survey question using $1,200,000 valuation. NOTE: the price of solar panels has dropped over the past few years so the actual fee paid for a 131 kW PV system permit in Placentia is likely to be substantially less that what is documented in our Sierra Club PV permit fee report for 2010. Placentia has a fixed fee for solar, but that valuation of a particular project will raise the fee from there (for this survey the valuation is $1,200,000). Becky called Kurt back in late December, 2010 and confirmed that fees as reported, are correct, but mentioned that Placentia has NEVER charged over $5,000 for a solar permit in the past and highlighted the point that Placentia has a fixed fee for ALL PV solar projects commercial or residential (Kurt's note: this fee is however not fixed for the valuation calculations, so larger more expensive PV projects will be charged more money which is added on to the "fixed fee" at permit issuance time). | www.SolarPermitFees.org/PlacentiaPVFeeResponse.pdf | ||||||||||||||||
27 | Rancho Santa Margarita | $806.81 | $2,325.98 | On 10/27/10 at 1:52 PM Tony Araujo - Permit Technician took zoomerang survey. Break down: $672-B/S plan check; $275-Planning Dept. plan check; $1008-permit; $252-SMIP fee; $48-SB1473 fee; $65 processing/issuance/admin fee; $5.98 Imaging fee. | |||||||||||||||||
28 | San Clemente # | $0.00 | $300.00 | $13,818.00 | $5,720.00 | On 8/22/11 at 4:28 PM, Mike Jorgensen, Chief Building Official informed Kurt that effective 8/17/11 (per city council vote) the commercial solar permit fees for the $1,200,000 Sierrra Club PV permit fee survey for a 131 kW project are now: $5,720.00. On 10/22/10 at 3:18 PM Mike Jorgensen - Building Official took zoomerang survey. Comments: Commercial PV System $1,200,000 valuation Building Plan Check Fee = $4,354; Building Permit Fee = $6,698; Electrical Fees = 648 panels @ $3.00 = $1,944; Electrical Plan Check Fee = $486; Electrical Permit Issuance Fee = $35; CA Building Standards Fee = $48; SMIP Fee = $252; 131 kW Total Fee = $13,818. ALSO Residential PV Systems are no longer free. Residential PV Systems are now charged a $300 flat fee. Note by Kurt Newick: the itemized fees sum to $13,817, not $13,818 that was entered in the survey response by Mike, so perhaps this is human error or due to rounding. Since it is such a small $1 variance no action is needed to re-confirm fees, per Kurt. | www.SolarPermitFees.org/SanClementePVFeeResponse.pdf | ||||||||||||||
29 | San Juan Capistrano | $350.00 | $700.00 | On 10/25/10 at 11:26 AM Kathy Mahboubian - Permit Technician took zoomerang survey. Comments: Flat fee of $350 up to 3000 sf footprint and $700 above 3000 sf footprint. | |||||||||||||||||
30 | Santa Ana | $0.00 | $0.00 | On 10/25/10 at 3:30 PM Steve Gutmann, Deputy Building Official, Bldg. Safety Div.,Planning and Building Agency took zoomerang survey. | |||||||||||||||||
31 | Seal Beach * | $0.00 | $6,272.22 | On 10/26/10 at 10:20 AM Darik Doggett/Building Official took survey but did not respond with a fee amount. Comment from Darik on 10/26/10: "Not enough information. Seal Beach bases its permit cost on the PV system valuation after the rebates or tax credits. The applicant is asked to provide at submittal for the project. If you can provide that information for #3. Thanks." On 11/24/10 at 10:40 AM Darik Doggett/Building Official took zoomerang survey a second time to provide a specific detailed survey response (after Kurt Newick provided him with the after rebate and tax credit costs with and w/o depreciation, including splitting up the parts and labor for the mounting system before and after rebate and tax credit too...whew). Comment and itemization entered on 11/24/10 by Darik: "Valuation based on gross cost provided minus rebates and depreciation at a revised valuation of $494,224. Breakdown includes: Permit Fee-$3,258.30, Plan Check Fee-$2,117.89, Strong Motion Fee-$103.95, GIS Fee-$741.33, BSASRF Fee-$19.00, Issuance Fee-$22.75, Microfiche Fee-$9.00". On 12/12/10 Kurt Newick & Jim Stewart emailed a formal Sierra Club letter (Angeles Chapter) to the city leaders at Seal Beach requesting that their PV permit fees for commercial projects be reviewed and lowered...no response was sent back...so on 1/7/11 Kurt Newick emailed the city council, city manager and building official a second time to notify Seal Beach that their commercial solar permit fees are many times higher than cost recovery levels and in violation of the intent of the California Solar Rights Act that requires minimum solar permit fees...that same day on 1/7/11 Mike Levitt, Mayor Pro Tem of Seal Beach, emailed Kurt Newick back to say, "First time I've seen this request. Will discuss this with our interim city manager." On 8/1/11 Darik Dogget called Kurt Newick to communicate that Seal Beach is launching a comprehensive fee study that now that hopefully will be complete to present to city council new fees (including for commercial PV) in Jan. 2012. | www.SolarPermitFees.org/SealBeachPVFeeResponse.pdf | ||||||||||||||||
32 | Stanton | $397.70 | $978.25 | On 11/18/10 at 3:55 PM Kurt Newick spoke with Luz Rodriguez for a phone survey: Total permit fee 131kW: $978.25; itemized: Building permit fee: $495; Plan check fee: $173.25 (computed 35% of building permit fee); SMIP: $252; SB1473 BSC Fee: $48; Issuance Fee: $10. | |||||||||||||||||
33 | Tustin # | $695.00 | $10,500.00 | $0.00 | On 11/18/10 at 4:32PM Kim Bond did the phone survey with Kurt Newick. Total Permit Fee 131 kW: $10,500. Fees are based on $1,200,000 valuation and are approximated for this survey. On 1/11/2011 at 5:02 PM Henry Huang, Building Official took zoomerang survey to revise the reported permit fees. New Total Permit Fee 131 kW: $2,730.34. Henry entered this comment on 1/11/2011, "Building and Planning plan check and permit fees based on similar projects recently issued in Tustin. No fire fees according to OCFA." On 9/20/11 Lisa Woolery, Communications Manager, City of Tustin sent an email to Teri Sforza at the Orange County Register, mentioning that Tustin rebates PV permit fees for permits issued on or after June 1, 2010 once the PV system is completed. Fees are refunded to the owner of the PV system. Thus the Permit fee is $0. | ||||||||||||||||
34 | Villa Park | $225.00 | $275.00 | On 11/3/10 at 7:09 AM William Tarin, Building Official took zoomerang survey. 131 kW total fee (excluding $80 business license fee): $275; Itemized: $25 for plan check, $50 for Building Permit, $50 for Electrical Permit, $150 for Planning Review, $80 for Business License. Kurt Newick checked with Orange County Fire Authority to check to see what the fire dept. review fees are for commercial PV systems and there are none. | |||||||||||||||||
35 | Westminster #* | $400.00 | $6,735.00 | $3,750.00 | On 2/14/12 at 10:15 AM Soroosh Rahbari, called Kurt Newick to revise Westminster's commercial PV permit fee for the Sierra Club survey. Total 131 kW Revised Fee as of Feb. 2012: $3,750.00; Itemized: Permit Fee: $2,452, Plan Check fee: $1,250 (assumes no structural modifications needed, otherwise the plan check fee would be closer to $2,500), SMIP: $34, Bldg. Standards Commission fee: $14. On 11/2/10 at 4:30 PM Soroosh Rahbari, Building official took zoomerang survey. Comment: The fee includes plan check and inspections by Building and Fire departments based on $500,000 estimate of value after rebates or tax credits and what is reasonable amount of time for such plan check and inspection. The City can accept deposit towards hourly charge of the actual hours, not to exceed this amount. Donald Lamm, City manager of Westminster, emailed Kurt Newick on 12/13/10 to mention that PV permit fees will be reviewed and set to a more appropriate amount. On 7/29/11 Kurt spoke on phone with Soroosh who said a complete fee study has been done, but that he is not sure when these new fees would be adopted. | www.SolarPermitFees.org/WestminsterPVFeeResponse.pdf | |||||||||||||||
36 | Yorba Linda # | $614.20 | $303.00 | $7,966.58 | $675.00 | On 2/7/12 the Yorba Linda city council approved a new PV solar permit fee schedule which Bob Silvas, the Chief Building Official submitted to the council...this new fee schedule becomes effective on 4/7/2012. Total 3kW fee for residential PV permits effective 4/7/12: $303.00; Itemized: $128.57 for Plan Check Fee, $171.43 for Permit Fee, CBSC fee: $1.00 (computed as $20,000 valuation / $25,000, rounded up to the nearest whole dollar), SMIP fee: $2.00 (computed as $20,000 valuation X 0.00001). Total 131kW fee for commercial PV permits effective 4/7/12: $675.00; Itemized: $214.29 for Plan Check Fee, $285.71 for Permit Fee, CBSC fee: $28.00 (computed as $700,000 valuation / $25,000) and SMIP fee: $147.00 (computed as $700,000 valuation X 0.00021). NOTE: the SMIP and CBSC fees for the 2012 update were provided to Kurt Newick via a phone chat with Adrienne Peterson, lead permit tech for city of Yorba Linda in a 2/8/12 at 3:19 PM. On 11/18/10 in the afternoon, Jeanelle Heaston took phone survey with Kurt Newick. Total Fee 131kW: $7,966.58; itemized: Electrical fee: $120; Plan Check Fee: $3,253; Building permit fee: $4,338; CBSC Fee: $41; SMIP: $214.58. On 8/2/11 Kurt Newick spoke to Bob Silva, Chief Building Official at city of Yorba Linda, on the phone and Bob said the city council is considering doing a full blown fee study at some point in the future, but as of now the fees for commercial PV permits are the same as in 2010. On 8/22/11 Kurt Spoke to Bob Silva, CBO, who said he did not think the commercial PV permit fees had changed yet, as they are trying to get funding for a comprehensive fee study. Kurt email Bob Silva the latest info on recommendations for solar PV permit fees on 8/22/11. In Jan. 2012 Bob Silva emailed Kurt to inform him that the Yorba Linda city council would be considering PV permit fee changes for residential and commercial projects in early Feb. 2012 (so a 3kW PV system would have a fixed fee of $300, and a 131kW project would be $500). | www.SolarPermitFees.org/YorbaLindaPVFeeResponse.pdf | www.SolarPermitFees.org/YorbaLindaPVFeeSchedule2012.pdf | |||||||||||||
37 | Average # | $338.04 | $4,740.04 | $2,479.78 | |||||||||||||||||
38 | |||||||||||||||||||||
39 | * Fee under review | News media article on topic: | |||||||||||||||||||
40 | # Fee modified | Orange county register story by Teri Sforza published on-line edition on 1/13/2011: | |||||||||||||||||||
41 | http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/01/13/which-cities-charge-exhorbitant-solar-permit-fees/72540/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
42 | |||||||||||||||||||||
43 | California City News (published Jan. 14, 2011 - Devoted Entirely to Local Governments in California): | ||||||||||||||||||||
44 | http://californiacitynews.typepad.com/californiacitynewsorg/2011/01/sierra-club-criticizes-oc-cities-for-charging-high-fees-for-solar-installation-permits.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
45 | |||||||||||||||||||||
46 | The San Clemente Times (published Jan. 20, 2011): | ||||||||||||||||||||
47 | http://www.sanclementetimes.com/view/full_story/11064903/article-Sierra-Club--San-Clemente-Overcharges-for-Solar-Panel-Permits | ||||||||||||||||||||
48 | |||||||||||||||||||||
49 | The Dana Point Times (published Jan. 18, 2011, by Stacy Galang) | ||||||||||||||||||||
50 | http://danapointtimes.com/view/full_story/11091450/article-Sierra-Club--Dana-Point-Solar-Panel-Permit-Fees-Among-Lowest-in-County--San-Clemente-s-Highest-- | ||||||||||||||||||||
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