City of Los Altos

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% · authority's own page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both (Building & Electrical, self-performed); Fire Code delegated to Santa Clara County Fire Department by MMC 12.22.020(a) 92% · ordinance
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 78% · fee schedule + permit application
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No 92% · ordinance
• Is there a historic-district review? Conditional -- only for properties individually listed on the city's Historic Resources Inventory (HRI). MMC 14.93.050 requires a Historic Alteration Permit for any alteration of exterior architectural features of an HRI-listed property; the residential exemption list (swimming pools, fences/walls, minor accessory structures, landscaping) does not name solar panels, so no PV carve-out was found for HRI-listed parcels specifically. Non-HRI-listed residential parcels (the large majority) have no historic review at all. 60% · ordinance
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No 82% · ordinance (control-proven absence)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No 62% · ordinance (control-checked absence)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No codified kW/system-size cap exists in Title 12 (control-proven absence -- 'kilowatt', '65850', '2188', 'expedited' all 0 hits across every Building/Electrical/Fire/Energy/Green Building chapter, against a passing 'electrical' positive control and 'zzqqx' fabricated control). Separately, MMC 14.66.240(E) (zoning) gives solar thermal and photovoltaic panels a height allowance: they 'may project not more than twelve (12) feet above the roof and the permitted building height', and are explicitly excluded from the 4% rooftop-equipment coverage cap that applies to other rooftop equipment. 80% · 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 78% · permit application
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes 88% · authority's own page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 68% · permit application

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? For SolarApp+-eligible systems: a SolarApp+-approved plan set plus the SolarApp+ Approval Document/number, uploaded to an eTrakit contractor account. For the standard route (e.g. ground-mount/ballasted, ineligible for SolarApp+): the completed Building Permit Application (PV/EV/ESS box) plus full plan set submitted electronically per the general Permit Submittal Process; no PV-specific line-item checklist (unlike ADU/New SFD/Additions, which each have a dedicated 'Submittal Requirements' PDF) was found published. 65% · authority's own page
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic only; hard copies not accepted 85% · authority's own page
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes (inferred) 55% · inference from adopted platform

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? eTrakit (trakit.losaltosca.gov) for permit application/inspection scheduling; SolarApp+ (gosolarapp.org) for the automated solar plan review/payment step that feeds into eTrakit. 90% · authority's own page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes, for SolarApp+-eligible systems 85% · authority's own page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $314.57 flat for residential systems 15 kW or less; tiered above that ($10.48/kW from 15-50kW, $524.28 + $5.24/kW above 50kW, same rate above 250kW). Standalone Energy Storage System permit is $419.43. 92% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Tiered / per kW above a 15kW flat-fee threshold 92% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No -- appears to be a single combined fee 62% · fee schedule (inference from layout)

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? SolarApp+-eligible systems: instant issuance after payment. Standard route: up to 5 business days for completeness verification (Permit Submittal Process page) / 2-4 business days for initial processing (Building page) before routing to plan review; no stated SLA for the substantive plan-check turnaround itself. 70% · authority's own page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 365 days from issuance (12 months per the codified Building Code), or 180 days since the last signed inspection, whichever is sooner; one 6-month extension available at the Building Official's discretion. 82% · ordinance
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) 90% · authority's own document
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit (final AHJ inspection is a precondition for utility Permission to Operate) 75% · utility tariff

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 96% · ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code (incorporating the 2024 IBC) 96% · ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code (incorporating the 2024 IFC) 96% · ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 95% · ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The as-amended 2025 California Building/Residential/Electrical/Fire/Energy/Green Building Codes (each incorporating 2023 NEC / 2024 IBC/IFC as applicable); for SolarApp+-eligible systems, SolarApp+'s own automated code-compliance engine performs the check against those same code editions. 80% · authority's own page + 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.

Nothing recorded for City of Los Altos on this step yet — 1 question checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

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, per NEC 690.12 as adopted through the 2025 CEC (based on the 2023 NEC); no local amendment modifies rapid shutdown. 68% · ordinance (inference)

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.

• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No 78% · ordinance + fire authority page (control-proven absence)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No 78% · ordinance + fire authority page (control-proven absence)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes, in a limited way -- PG&E's Electric Rule 21 requires that where a visible manual disconnect is required, it must 'include markings or signage that clearly indicates open and closed positions' and allow visible verification of separation. 75% · utility tariff

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? Not specified with a distance from the meter in any city or SCCFD document. PG&E's public Rule 21 tariff requires only that a required visible/manual disconnect be reachable near the Point of Interconnection and carry open/closed markings -- no specific foot-measurement from the meter is given in the public tariff. 52% · utility tariff (partial)
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, under conditions codified from the 2025 California Fire Code Section 1207.11 (MMC 12.22.080): ESS must be in a detached garage/accessory structure; an attached garage separated from living space per CRC R302.6; outdoors/exterior wall at least 3 ft from doors and windows and not below/above emergency escape openings; or an enclosed utility closet/basement/storage space with finished or noncombustible walls (5/8-inch Type X gypsum if unfinished wood-framed). ESS is prohibited in sleeping rooms or spaces opening directly into them. Group R-3/R-4 installations require smoke alarms per Sec. 907.2.11 plus an interconnected heat alarm (or listed heat detector, or a sprinkler-triggered alarm) wherever a smoke alarm cannot be installed. 90% · ordinance
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Yes 85% · fee schedule
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes (by inference) 72% · ordinance (inference)
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local amendment on service-upgrade sizing or busbar rating was found 78% · ordinance (control-proven absence)

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? Portal (eTrakit) for building inspections; Phone for Fire (Santa Clara County Fire Prevention, 408-378-4010) and Stormwater/Engineering (650-947-2780) inspections. 90% · authority's own page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? AM/PM windows offered: mornings 8:30am-12pm, afternoons 12:30-3:30pm. No same-day scheduling or day-of time-window call described ('the inspector will not call the day of the scheduled inspection to provide a time window'). 90% · authority's own 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 (building/electrical, in-house); fire final is Delegated to SCCFD and appears conditional on project type 78% · authority's own document
• If delegated, to whom? Santa Clara County Fire Department (for fire-code-triggered aspects only) 88% · authority's own page + ordinance

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? General residential sequence (not solar-specific): Foundation -> Underfloor/Rough -> Underfloor Insulation -> Exterior Shear/Roof Nailing -> Rough All (framing/electrical/plumbing/mechanical/fire sprinklers) -> Insulation & Misc -> Drywall/Lath/Interior -> Electric Meter Release -> Final. For a simple rooftop PV retrofit on an existing structure, most of these stages would not apply; realistically only a Rough Electrical (if exposed wiring/panel work occurs) and Final/Meter-Release inspection would be triggered, but no PV-specific abbreviated sequence is published. 65% · authority's own document (inference)

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? Yes, but general rather than solar-specific -- the city publishes 'Required Inspections for Residential Construction' and 'Residential Final Inspection Requirements' handouts covering all residential work. 68% · authority's own document
• What must be on site at inspection? Permit card, approved plan set, prior correction notices, owner's manuals for all installed equipment/systems on site; for SolarApp+ jobs, the SolarApp+ Approval Document/approval number generated during the online application. 78% · authority's own document

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 (signed final inspection on the permit card); for a new dwelling, that same signed record 'serves as the official Certificate of Occupancy' -- not applicable in that form to a PV retrofit on an existing home, which would receive a signed final only. 70% · authority's own document (inference)
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer (applicant), on behalf of the customer, submits the interconnection request and evidence of the AHJ's final inspection clearance to PG&E to obtain Permission to Operate. 62% · utility tariff (inference)
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $260.04 92% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Corrections are issued via a written comment letter after plan check; the applicant must submit a response letter addressing each comment from every reviewing department, resubmit revised plans (clouded/delta-marked), and resubmit through the same electronic channel. In the field, revisions/field changes must be approved by the City plans examiner before re-inspection. 72% · authority's own page