City of San Juan Bautista

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% · municipal code (eCode360)
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both 78% · municipal code definitions section
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · municipal code (eCode360)
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 78% · city permit application form
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? Conditionally Yes — NOT required for a standard qualifying small residential rooftop solar system, but IS required (site plan and design review, potentially with Historic Resources Board and Planning Commission review) if the property is more than 45 years old, listed on the City's Register of Historic Resources, or located in a designated historic district. No general citywide HOA-approval requirement was found. 85% · municipal code (eCode360), full chapter text extracted
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes — and it is in direct, unresolved tension with the City's own AB 2188 ministerial solar chapter. 90% · municipal code (eCode360) + adopted fee schedule
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Conditionally Yes. (1) Under Ch. 10-7 itself, the City Manager may require an applicant to obtain an administrative use permit if the system 'could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety' (§10-7-060(A)), appealable to the Planning Commission. (2) Independently, a major alteration to a historic-Register-listed property is routed to the Historic Resources Board with the Planning Commission holding final discretionary authority (§11-06-120(C)(5)), and the Master Fee Schedule's 'Historic Resources Review — Commission' tier ($5,000 deposit) confirms this is a live, priced process. 82% · municipal code (eCode360)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? 10 kW AC nameplate rating or 30 kW thermal, on a single- or two-family dwelling only, panel/module array not to exceed the maximum legal building height 95% · municipal code (eCode360)

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% · city permit application form
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 85% · city permit addendum form

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? A completed Building Permit Application (with 'Solar' checked under Project Type, project valuation, owner/applicant/contractor information, and design-professional information if used). NOTE: SJBMC §10-7-050(C) itself REQUIRES the City's Building Division to 'adopt a standard plan and checklist of all requirements with which small residential rooftop solar energy systems shall comply to be eligible for expedited review,' and §10-7-050(D) requires that checklist to substantially conform to the State's Solar Permitting Guidebook. No such solar-specific checklist or standard plan is published on the City's site: the Planning & Building Applications document center lists exactly 10 building-related forms (ADU, permit extension, building permit application, owner/builder declaration, plan revision, EV charging, window/skylight, recycling guide, smoke/CO affidavit, special inspection) and none is a PV/solar checklist. 82% · department document-center listing + ordinance requirement

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? No dedicated online permit portal found — permits are processed via a downloadable/fillable PDF Building Permit Application submitted to City Hall (311 Second Street / P.O. Box 1420) in person, by mail, or (for Planning applications) by email to planning@san-juan-bautista.ca.us. No SolarAPP+, OpenGov, Accela, eTRAKiT, iWorq or similar portal was found anywhere on the City's site. 78% · absence check across department pages
• Can the whole application be completed online? No 75% · city permit application form
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $549 flat (residential, roof-mounted); $783 flat (non-residential) 92% · adopted fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Flat 90% · adopted fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No 60% · adopted 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; 1 to 3 business days for electronic applications 92% · municipal code (eCode360)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) 90% · city-published service-provider directory

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 NEC (adopted as Part 3, California Electrical Code, of the 2025 California Building Standards Code, Title 24) 78% · municipal code adoption ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code and 2025 California Residential Code (2025 edition, Title 24, Parts 2 and 2.5), adopted by Ord. 2025-02, effective 11/18/2025 92% · municipal code adoption ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code, adopted by Ord. 2025-03, effective 11/18/2025 95% · municipal code (eCode360)
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes for the Fire Code (extensive local amendments, including PV-specific placarding and module-layout rules — see Q36/Q38-40). No substantive amendments were found to the Building/Residential/Electrical Code beyond adoption-by-reference (the only building-title change noted was repeal of the old UBC Chapter 70 appendix by Ord. 2023-03). 80% · municipal code (eCode360), fire code amendments article
• What is the installation judged against? The 2025 California Building Code, California Residential Code and California Electrical Code (Title 24, Parts 2/2.5/3) as adopted by SJBMC §10-1-110, plus SJBMC Ch. 10-7's own solar-specific requirements (§10-7-040): compliance with 'the California Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and accredited testing laboratories such as Underwriters Laboratories.' 82% · municipal code (eCode360)

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? Hip-and-valley module layout only: modules must be no closer than 1.5 feet (1'-6") to a hip or valley if modules are placed on both sides of it; modules on only one side of a hip or valley of equal length may be placed directly adjacent to it. No separate ridge-setback or 3-foot perimeter access-pathway local amendment was found beyond this — the unamended base 2025 CFC pathway/setback provisions would otherwise apply. 75% · municipal code (eCode360), fire code amendments article

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 NEC/CEC §690.12 as adopted via the 2025 California Electrical Code (Title 24, Part 3); no local amendment or exception to §690.12 was found. 65% · inference from code adoption + absence check

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? Main service disconnect panel placard reading 'SOLAR DISCONNECT INSIDE PANEL'; a separate label at the inverter/PV circuit breaker reading 'SOLAR DISCONNECT'; additional signage for any secondary power source (battery/generator) shutoff switch location; installer-identification signage (name + emergency phone number) at the main disconnect; and, where applicable, 'FUEL CELL' and 'BESS' interior equipment-location placards. 92% · municipal code (eCode360), fire code amendments article
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Yes 95% · municipal code (eCode360), fire code amendments article
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Main panel placard: red background, white capital letters ≥ 1/2" high, non-serif font, weather-resistant durable plastic with engraved letters. Circuit-disconnect label: contrasting-color capital letters ≥ 3/8" high, non-serif font, durable adhesive material. 'FUEL CELL' and 'BESS' interior placards: block letters 6" high with a 3/4" stroke on a contrasting background. 95% · municipal code (eCode360), fire code amendments article
• Where must the labels be placed? Main disconnect placard: permanently affixed to the main service disconnect panel. Circuit-disconnect label: affixed adjacent to the circuit breaker controlling the inverter/PV electrical controller. Installer-information signage: adjacent to the main disconnect. Secondary-power-source signage: at the secondary power source shutoff switch location. 'FUEL CELL'/'BESS' signage: at the interior location of that equipment. ESS disconnect: located at or adjacent to the main electrical panel. 90% · municipal code (eCode360), fire code amendments article

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.

• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, batteries/ESS are permitted under the adopted 2025 California Fire Code as locally amended. Local amendments require: ESS disconnect located at or adjacent to the main electrical panel with placarding showing equipment location and all shutdowns (§1207.4.1.1); and, where a battery energy storage system is installed inside any structure, interior signage reading 'BESS' in 6" block letters with 3/4" stroke on a contrasting background (§1207.4.8-6). 80% · municipal code (eCode360), fire code amendments article

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.

Nothing recorded for City of San Juan Bautista on this step yet — 3 questions checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

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 92% · municipal code (eCode360)

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? One consolidated final inspection, performed by the Building Division, done 'in a timely manner' and 'should include consolidated inspections.' 88% · municipal code (eCode360)
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No 88% · municipal code (eCode360)

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 78% · department document-center listing (absence check)

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.

• Is there a re-inspection fee? $182 per re-inspection 85% · adopted fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? At the APPLICATION stage: if an application is deemed incomplete, the City sends 'a written correction notice detailing all deficiencies in the application and any additional information or documentation required,' for resubmission (SJBMC §10-7-060(F)). No City document was found describing how corrections identified at a FAILED INSPECTION are issued/cleared beyond §10-7-060(I) authorizing 're-inspection' after a failure. 55% · municipal code (eCode360), partial answer