City of Selma

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 90% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both 90% · department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 90% · department page
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 60% · department page
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No -- no HOA/architectural-approval prerequisite found; a residential rooftop PV system would be governed by the state Solar Rights Act (Civil Code §714), which bars an HOA from unreasonably restricting solar. 65% · zoning code (full-text review)
• Is there a historic-district review? No historic-district review found 65% · zoning code (full-text review)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No dedicated windstorm-certification requirement found; the Plan Check page's own 'Technical Information' lists a general Minimum Basic Wind Speed of 85 MPH, Wind Design Exposure C, applicable to all building work city-wide via the unamended 2022 CBC/ASCE 7-22 -- not a solar-specific certification. 70% · department page
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No -- rooftop PV is not shown as requiring a CUP or Council approval; the Zoning Code's general residential-use table lists 'Accessory Structures' as permitted by right ('P') rather than conditional, and no CUP trigger specific to solar/PV was found anywhere in the 242-page code (0 'photovoltaic' hits). 65% · zoning code (full-text review)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No codified local system-size cap found. The city relies on the SolarAPP+ program's own (national default) eligibility categories -- 'Solar (Photovoltaic)', 'Solar (Photovoltaic) with Storage', 'Building-Integrated Solar (Photovoltaic)', and 'Building-Integrated Solar (Photovoltaic) with Storage' -- without stating a specific kW figure on the city's own page. 60% · department page + zoning/building code review

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 55% · inference (comparable authority + statewide default)
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes 65% · department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 55% · inference

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? Per the city's Plan Check page, a 'SOLAR PLAN CHECK REQUIREMENTS' submittal must include: a site plan, solar building plans, Title 24 (energy) documentation, and a signed Owner Authorization Form (if the applicant represents the homeowner). 80% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes -- a site plan is required; the Plan Check page lists 'site plan' as the first item under Solar Plan Check Requirements, alongside solar building plans and Title 24 documentation, but does not itemize what the site plan itself must show. 70% · department page

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? OpenGov (branded the 'Selma Permit Center') -- the same platform selmaca.viewpointcloud.com also resolves into, since OpenGov's Permitting & Licensing product absorbed ViewPoint Cloud. 90% · department page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes 85% · department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? Valuation-tiered building permit fee per the city's 2021 User Fee Study 'Suggested Building Permit Fees' table, e.g. $554.00 for the first $25,000 of valuation plus $15.00 per additional $1,000 up to $50,000 (a typical residential PV valuation band). 65% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation 85% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes, but bundled -- 'CD-001 BUILDING PLAN CHECK/INSPECTION' is a distinct cost-recovery fee category in the User Fee Study's fee comparison report, but plan-check and inspection are priced together under one reference number rather than as two separate dollar figures. 55% · 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? For SolarAPP+-eligible projects: instantaneous issuance ('instantaneous permit issuance once permit application is completed'). No turnaround time is stated for the standard (non-SolarAPP+) plan-check track. 75% · department page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Likely 180 days without commencement/continuous work, per the unamended 2022 CBC/CRC §105.5 -- Selma's own local amendments to the Building Code (SMC 4-3-2) delete only the CBC's Appendix Chapter 1 permit/fee/appeals sections and Appendices A-J, not §105.5 itself. 60% · municipal code (local amendment section, fetched before a site outage)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) 85% · department page (phone directory)
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit (PTO), but construction/installation may begin once the AHJ permit issues -- per PG&E's own Rule 21 tariff (§D.13.b), PTO for NEM is processed upon receipt of 'evidence of Applicant's final electric inspection clearance from the Governmental Authority having jurisdiction.' 60% · 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? 2020 80% · adopting ordinance (fetched before a site outage)
• Which building code edition is in force? 2022 California Building Code / 2022 California Residential Code (based on the 2021 IBC/IRC) 90% · department page + adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? Likely 2022 California Fire Code (same cycle as building/electrical, under the general SMC 4-1-1 adoption of the '2022 Edition' California Building Standards Code, of which the CFC is one part) -- but the city's own Plan Check page lists '2022 NFPA' rather than naming the CFC directly, and Title VII (Fire Regulations), which would carry the fire code's own adoption section and any local amendments, could not be verified. 55% · department page (Title VII fire-code adoption section itself unreachable due to site outage)
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 85% · municipal code (fetched before a site outage)
• What is the installation judged against? The 2022 California Building Standards Code as a whole -- 2022 CBC/CRC (structural/building), 2022 CEC (electrical, based on the 2020 NEC), 2022 CMC and 2022 CPC -- plus Title 24 Part 6 (Energy) and the fire/life-safety code referenced on the Plan Check page as '2022 NFPA', per the city's own 'Technical Information' list. 80% · department page

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 Selma 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? Presumptively yes, per the 2020 NEC §690.12 (module/system-level rapid shutdown) as incorporated by the adopted 2022 CEC -- but no Selma-specific document was found that cites §690.12 or rapid shutdown by name. 55% · inference from adopted code edition

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 UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? PG&E's own Rule 21 tariff requires a visible interconnection disconnect with open/closed position markings, lockable and accessible, and shown on the single-line diagram (§H.1.d-equivalent general Rule 21 tariff text). 55% · 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.

• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? No city-maintained approved-equipment list found; California statewide practice requires CEC/UL-listed equipment generally, but no Selma-specific list or statement was found either way. 55% · department page (partial check)
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes -- the city's SolarAPP+ eligibility list explicitly includes 'Solar (Photovoltaic) with Storage' and 'Building-Integrated Solar (Photovoltaic) with Storage' as eligible system types for the same automated permitting pathway as standard PV. 80% · department page
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No separate ESS-specific fire permit or fee appears to exist -- storage is folded into the same 'Solar (Photovoltaic) with Storage' SolarAPP+ category as standard PV, and the Fire Prevention Bureau's own stated scope ('reviews and approves all fire sprinkler, alarm and hood systems') does not mention batteries or energy storage. 70% · department page + fee schedule (control-checked)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes, by inference -- the Zoning Code's generic 'Accessory Structure' provisions (Section 11-3-3) define an accessory building/structure as including 'any other structures with a fixed location that is detached from the main building,' with no PV-specific carve-out; a ground-mounted array would meet this generic definition and be subject to a 16-foot detached-structure height limit and the standard front/side-yard setback rules. 65% · zoning code (full-text review)
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule found on service-upgrade review or busbar sizing 70% · municipal code (fetched before a site outage)

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 or Phone 90% · department page
• How much notice is required? Effectively next business day -- 'Your request must be made before 3:30 PM through OpenGov Portal or by calling the inspection line for an inspection to be done on the following day.' 85% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No distinct AM/PM windows offered -- inspections are 'generally between the hours of 8:30 AM and 3:30 PM,' a single daily window rather than a split morning/afternoon slot system. 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% · department page
• If delegated, to whom? N/A -- not delegated; the city's own in-house Building Division performs final solar inspection (see Q52). 90% · 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? Not itemized for solar specifically -- the Building Inspections page states generically: 'Inspections are required after obtaining a building, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permit. When the permit is issued, you will be informed of the required inspections for your project.' No published stage-by-stage sequence for a PV install was found. 50% · department page

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.

• What must be on site at inspection? City-approved plans must be on site, and a ladder must be provided if the inspector needs to access the roof or attic. 85% · department page
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Likely yes, by inference -- general building-code compliance verification would include checking installed equipment against submitted plans and product listings, but no Selma document explicitly states that the inspector checks PV labels/listings. 50% · inference

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.

• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer (applicant), by general NEM-interconnection practice -- no Selma-specific document states this. 50% · inference from utility tariff practice
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $89.00/hour (2-hour minimum for after-hours re-inspections; half-hour minimum otherwise), per the 2021 User Fee Study's 'SUGGESTED' schedule. 70% · fee schedule