City of Lompoc

A city address is usually permitted by the city, not the county — but not always, and some authorities keep building and hand electrical to someone else. Getting this wrong costs the whole submittal, because every requirement below belongs to whoever actually holds jurisdiction. Check the overlays in the same pass: an HOA, a historic district, a windstorm certification or a system-size cap can reshape the design, and all of them are cheaper to find now than after the array is laid out.

• Is this authority the AHJ for residential solar at this address? Yes 95% · adopting ordinance
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both 93% · department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 97% · ordinance
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 65% · ordinance
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No local HOA/architectural-review requirement was found for rooftop PV; California's Solar Rights Act (Civil Code §714) statutorily preempts HOA disapproval of solar statewide, and no zoning-code Architectural Design and Site Development Review (LMC Ch 17.512) trigger for rooftop PV was found. 60% · ordinance
• Is there a historic-district review? Conditional — only if the specific property is a City-designated Landmark or a listed historic resource. LMC Ch 17.516 requires a Certificate of Appropriateness for 'exterior alteration... of any individual Landmark or historic resource, or potential historic resource' by the City or a private party; this is not a citywide requirement for ordinary residential properties. 75% · ordinance
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No wind/windstorm certification requirement found (California does not use a TDI-style wind certification regime); the local CBC amendments (LMC §15.04.010) were searched for 'wind' (excluding false-positive matches on 'Wildland' and 'Window') and returned zero hits, with positive control ('building official') and fabricated control ('zzqqx') both behaving as expected. 70% · ordinance
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Not required for systems that qualify as 'small residential rooftop solar' under LMC §15.74.020 (≤10kW AC / 30kW thermal, single/duplex-family, within height limits) — those go through the nondiscretionary Ch 15.74 process. A Conditional/Minor Use Permit (Ch 17.520) or Council action could be triggered only if a system falls outside that definition (e.g., oversized, or a ground-mount treated as an accessory structure exceeding standards), which was not independently confirmed. 55% · ordinance
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? Two separate caps exist: (1) LMC §15.74.020 defines the 'small residential rooftop solar energy system' eligible for the expedited/nondiscretionary review path as no larger than 10 kW AC nameplate (or 30 kW thermal); (2) independently, Lompoc Electric's interconnection rules cap the system's expected annual production at no more than 100% of the customer's trailing 12-month energy use as recorded by their electric meter (Self-Generating Application Requirement #1; G-1 tariff eligibility). 90% · ordinance

Several authorities require the electrical permit to be pulled by a licensed electrician, or require the contractor to be registered with them BEFORE applying. Registration is not same-day. This is second on the list rather than fourth because it is the step most likely to stop the job before the drawings matter.

• Who is allowed to pull the electrical permit? Either 75% · department page
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes 70% · department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 75% · checklist

Almost everywhere wants a site plan, a one-line or three-line electrical diagram, equipment cut sheets with listings, and a structural attachment detail. Build it against the published checklist rather than the last jurisdiction you worked in — the checklist is what the reviewer marks against.

• What documents make up a complete submittal? Building Permit Application; site plan; electronic construction documents/plans and technical specification sheets; AESC CSI Incentive Calculator (csi-epbb.com) production report per array; shading-analysis report if shading exists; equipment cut sheets showing CEC-listed PV modules/inverters; initialed Schedule G-1 and signed Self-Generating Electric Facility Installation and Interconnection Application submitted to the Electric Division; City Standard Drawing SM-1600 attached to the plan set. 85% · checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Digital-only: the current Building & Safety Services page states permits are submitted electronically via the Customer Self-Service (EnerGov) portal ('we have recently converted to digital-only submittals for all permit applications'). An older Building Permit Application form on file (Bulletin No. G-2019-001, dated Feb 18, 2022, under the former 'Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division' letterhead) still specifies '3 sets / 1- or 2-family dwelling' for paper submittals, which appears superseded. 70% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes. Must be drawn to scale from an accurate boundary-line survey, show size/location of new and existing structures, distances from lot lines and established street grades; for Wildland-Urban Interface parcels must also show topography, access-road width/grade and landscape detail. A generic 'Sample Residential Site Plan' template is published. 75% · checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes 75% · checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not separately itemized as a distinct submittal item in the city's published plan-review or solar-application documents; the general Plan Review page lists 'Structural Design Computations' as supporting data 'depending on scope' but does not name string/conductor voltage-drop calculations. 55% · checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No PV-specific structural PE-stamp threshold is published. The general Plan Review page requires 'Structural Design Computations' only 'depending on scope' (i.e., when the project departs from a prescriptive/pre-engineered path). LMC §15.74.050(D) directs the city's solar checklist to 'substantially conform' to the statewide California Solar Permitting Guidebook, which allows PE stamps to be waived for standard prescriptive residential PV installs. 50% · ordinance

Most authorities now take the whole application through a portal, and several states cap or constrain what a residential solar permit may cost. Check whether plan check is billed separately before you quote the job.

• Which permit portal does this authority use? EnerGov Citizen Self Service (Tyler Technologies), at energov2.ci.lompoc.ca.us/energov_prod/selfservice 92% · portal landing page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes 88% · department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? No single flat fee. Building Division: valuation-tiered Building Permit fee (e.g. $184 up to $2,000 valuation, then $184 plus $40/$1,000 up to $20,000, scaling up) PLUS a separate Building Plan Check fee ($551 permit-issuance-with-plan-check base, or $200 plus $36/$1,000 scaling by valuation) PLUS a separate Fire Department 'Solar photovoltaic power systems' construction-permit fee of $220 flat for Residential (single family) per the Fire Dept's Construction Permits fee list. 75% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation (Building Division fee) plus a flat per-system Fire Department fee 78% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes 90% · fee schedule

Interconnection is a separate process from the permit and usually the longer pole. Where the utility does not depend on the permit being issued, running both at once is the single biggest saving available on a residential job.

• What is the stated plan-review turnaround? Same day for over-the-counter applications, or 1-3 business days for electronic applications, for systems eligible for the expedited review process. 90% · ordinance
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? No local amendment to the standard CBC permit-expiration provision was found (searched LMC §15.04.010 California Building Code amendments with a positive control ('building official', 4 hits) and fabricated control ('zzqqx', 0 hits) — no override of the code's default permit-validity/expiration rule appears in the local amendments). Separately, a 2022 Building Permit Application bulletin states that an UNISSUED application (not yet a permit) 'shall expire by limitation' if no permit is issued within 365 days of application — a different clock than an issued permit's validity. 55% · ordinance
• Which utility handles interconnection here? City of Lompoc Electric Division ('Lompoc Electric') — a municipally-owned utility operated by the City itself, NOT PG&E. PG&E's role is limited to upstream transmission into the City's system (relevant to PSPS de-energization events); Lompoc Electric is the interconnecting/retail distribution utility and is not CPUC-jurisdictional. 97% · department page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Before permit 93% · utility DG manual/application

The NEC edition a jurisdiction enforces is often a cycle behind the newest one published, and local amendments sit on top of it. Rapid shutdown, conductor sizing and labelling all change between editions, so the edition in force is the first thing to establish, not the last.

• Which NEC edition is in force? 2023 88% · adopting ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code and 2025 California Residential Code 97% · adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code, locally renamed the 'Lompoc Fire Code' 97% · adopting ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 95% · ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The 2025 California Electrical Code (NEC 2023-based) as locally amended by LMC §15.04.030 (service-disconnect accessibility amendment to Art. 230.70(A)(1)), plus LMC Ch 15.74's requirement that solar systems meet 'the National Electrical Code with necessary California amendments... California Fire Code, and the International Residential Code with necessary California amendments,' plus the utility's own Schedule G-1, Interconnection Agreement, and Standard Drawing SM-1600. 85% · ordinance

Ridge setbacks and roof access pathways are fire-service requirements and they constrain the array layout. They are the most common cause of a redesign after the fire department comments on a plan set.

• What ridge setback and access pathways are required? No local ridge-setback or fire-access-pathway amendment was found. LMC §15.04.090 (California Fire Code local amendments) was searched for 'ridge', 'setback', and 'pathway' with a positive control ('electrical', 6 hits) and fabricated control ('zzqqx', 0 hits); no genuine hits (the only 'ridge' match was inside the word 'cartridges', a false positive). The unamended 2025 California Fire Code's own PV access/pathway provisions therefore apply as adopted, without local modification. 65% · fire code + amendments

Which rapid-shutdown rule applies follows directly from the NEC edition in force, and the initiation device has to be at a location the fire service can reach and identify. This is inspected, and it is labelled.

• Is rapid shutdown required, and to which NEC edition? Yes, rapid shutdown is required under the unamended 2025 California Electrical Code (NEC 2023-based), NEC Article 690.12. No local amendment addressing rapid shutdown was found in LMC §15.04.030 (Electrical Code amendments, which contains only a service-disconnect-location amendment). 72% · NEC edition in force

The NEC sets a baseline for permanent markings at the service equipment and the disconnecting means. On top of that, an authority may specify its own wording, and the utility may specify more again. Where any of them writes its own text, a generic off-the-shelf label set will not pass — this is the detail most often fixed on a return visit.

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? (a) Utility-required signage: a sign at the bi-directional net billing meter stating a customer generation system operates in parallel there, and a label at the generation AC disconnect switch (Interconnection Agreement §9.7). (b) No additional AHJ-specific placard beyond the unamended 2025 CEC/CFC baseline (NEC Art. 690/705 disconnect and rapid-shutdown labeling) was found in the local fire-code amendments. 68% · utility DG manual
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Partially — the UTILITY specifies required content (not exact verbatim wording): Interconnection Agreement §9.7 requires the meter sign to 'clearly indicate that a customer generation system is parallel at the meter point' and the disconnect to be 'clearly labeled as such.' The City itself (Building/Fire) has not published its own verbatim PV placard wording beyond adopting the unamended state code. 68% · ordinance / utility spec
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Material only: utility labels 'must be weatherproof and durable' (Interconnection Agreement §9.7). No letter height or color is specified anywhere found — checked the Interconnection Agreement, Standard Drawing SM-1600, and LMC §15.04.090 (Fire Code amendments, 0 hits for placard-related text beyond the unrelated Ch 15.16 post-disaster placard chapter). 65% · ordinance
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes 92% · utility DG manual
• Where must the labels be placed? At the bi-directional net billing (revenue) meter, and at the generation AC disconnect switch. Standard Drawing SM-1600 shows the AC disconnect, the 'Lompoc PV' production meter and the main breaker clustered together and requires this equipment be 'located adjacent to the City of Lompoc Electric meter and outside of any fence unless pre-approved by City of Lompoc.' 85% · utility DG manual

Where the AC disconnect must sit relative to the meter is usually the utility's rule, not the building department's. Battery storage frequently carries its own permit, its own inspection and its own fire conditions.

• Where must the AC disconnect be, relative to the meter? Adjacent to the City of Lompoc Electric meter, outside any fence 'unless pre-approved by City of Lompoc,' with the AC disconnect lockable in the open position. 88% · utility DG manual
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes 90% · ordinance
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, batteries/ESS are permitted. The utility's application flags a metering condition: a battery positioned between the generating equipment and the City's production meter must be restricted from charging off the grid, or the customer may be billed extra energy charges for grid-charged storage discharged back to load. Broader fire/life-safety conditions are governed by the unamended 2025 California Fire Code (no ESS-specific local amendment was found in LMC §15.04.090). 75% · fire code + amendments
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Yes 82% · fee schedule
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Not explicitly addressed by a Lompoc-specific ordinance; under the adopted (unamended) 2025 CBC's general definitions, a freestanding ground-mounted PV rack meeting the code's definition of 'structure' would be treated as such (subject to setbacks/permit), but no Lompoc-specific ground-mount provision was found in LMC Ch 15.04 (Building Code amendments) or Ch 17.404 (Specific to Use Standards — the only 'solar' hit there was 'solar evaporation of sea water,' a false positive, confirming no ground-mount solar use-standard exists). 55% · ordinance
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? Yes, though not solar-specific: (1) LMC §15.04.030(C) amends NEC Art. 230.70(A)(1) to require the service disconnect be readily accessible to emergency personnel without transiting the building interior; (2) the Electric Division's 'Typical Residential Electric Service' standard drawing caps the Main Electric Service Panel at '200 AMP MAX, RATED FOR RESIDENTIAL USE' and specifies grounding, clearance and work-space requirements, and requires the customer to call the Electric Division 48 hours before any panel replacement so City staff can disconnect/reconnect service. 78% · utility DG manual

Booking is a portal, a phone call or an email depending on the authority, and the notice required is rarely zero. Book before the work is finished rather than after — the lead time, not the work, is usually what sets the date.

• How is an inspection booked? Phone (24-hour Inspection Hotline, (805) 875-8231) or Portal (EnerGov Customer Self-Service, schedule inspection online). 88% · department page
• How much notice is required? Effectively next business day, or same day if the request is called in before 7:00 a.m. 82% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? Same-day is available for requests called in before 7:00 a.m.; no AM/PM window system is described. Inspectors are not available weekends or holidays. 80% · department page

Some authorities inspect their own solar work; some delegate it, and a few do not inspect the PV equipment itself at all. Who is coming determines what they will look at.

• Does this AHJ perform its own final solar inspection? Yes 90% · ordinance
• If delegated, to whom? N/A — not delegated; performed by the City's own Building and Safety Services Section. 85% · department page

A rough-in or mid-roof inspection, where one is required, has to happen before the work it covers is closed up. Missing a stage means opening something back up, and it is the most expensive kind of correction.

• Which inspections are required, and in what order? For systems eligible for the Ch 15.74 expedited process: a single final inspection performed by Building and Safety Services. For larger/non-expedited building work generally, the city's published sequence is grading, foundation, concrete-slab/under-floor, frame, lath/wallboard, then final. 78% · ordinance
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No, not for systems eligible for the expedited Ch 15.74 review — only one (final) inspection is required by §15.74.060(H), implying no separate rough-in/mid-roof inspection for qualifying small residential PV. 78% · ordinance

The approved plan set, the permit, and the equipment listings should be on site and reachable. Inspectors routinely verify that installed equipment matches what was approved, and that the labels are the ones the plan set promised.

• Is there a published inspection checklist? No — not published as a distinct downloadable document. 75% · department page
• What must be on site at inspection? Stamped, approved plans must be available on the job site for the inspector. 90% · department page
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Not explicitly published as a checklist item, but the CEC-listing requirement is imposed at submittal (Self-Generating Application Requirement #2 requires CEC Solar Equipment List compliance and spec sheets), and the city's general final-inspection description is to confirm 'the physical work matches the approved plans and pertinent codes,' which would include verifying installed equipment matches the listed/approved equipment on the plans. 50% · department page / practice

Passing gives you a final or an equivalent sign-off. That is not the same as permission to operate: PTO comes from the utility, and who tells the utility the inspection passed varies. A system left switched off for weeks is usually waiting on this handover.

• What is issued on pass? Final 80% · department page
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer 75% · utility DG manual
• Is there a re-inspection fee? Hourly rate — no flat dollar figure is published. Master Fee Schedule lists 'Re-Inspection/Other Inspections not Specified: Hourly Rate' under Building & Inspection (no numeric hourly rate stated in this document), and separately, for Fire, 'Additional inspection (hourly rate, minimum 1 hour): $110.' 65% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Written correction notices detail all deficiencies and required additional information/documentation for resubmission (LMC §15.74.060(G)); if a system fails inspection, a subsequent (re-)inspection is required (§15.74.060(I)). 82% · ordinance