City of West Hollywood

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% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both (Building and Electrical, self-performed in-house by the Building & Safety Division); Planning issues a Zone Clearance; Fire (LACoFD) is delegated for conventional rooftop PV but retains ESS>3kWh, a BIPV subset, and disconnect/placard review 90% · department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · published checklist
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 95% · department page
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No 90% · department page
• Is there a historic-district review? No 95% · municipal code
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No - not applicable/not found in any WeHo or LACoFD document reviewed 50% · absence across reviewed department documents
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Not for qualifying systems (handled by ministerial Zone Clearance only, per the city's own page: 'Projects with an output no greater than 10kW will be issued under a zone clearance,' processed 'similar to nondiscretionary permits'). Larger/non-qualifying systems could fall under the general Development Permit (WHMC Ch.19.48) or CUP (Ch.19.52) process depending on zoning district, but no solar-specific CUP/Council-approval trigger was found. 65% · department page + municipal code TOC
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? 10 kW (AC) for simple PV systems; 30 kWth for solar water heating; 30 kWth for solar pool heating - all scoped to single- or duplex-family dwellings under the city's AB 2188 streamlined ordinance. This is the ONLY cap I could find: the codified zoning solar chapter (WHMC 19.20.170) sets siting/screening standards but no kW number; the city's permit portal is Tyler EnerGov, not SolarAPP+ or Symbium, so no separate live-portal cap exists to conflict with it. 90% · department page

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 (licensed contractor or, per the city's general Owner-Builder Permit process, the homeowner) 55% · department page (title only; PDF blocked)
• 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 60% · department page (title only; PDF blocked)

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? Zoning clearance application; building permit application; electrical permit application; completed Expedited Solar Photovoltaic Permitting Checklist (all 'YES' answers required for streamlined eligibility); Solar PV Standard Electrical Plan (or a custom electrical plan with disconnect locations, module/string counts, inverter/combiner make-model, one-line diagram, grounding/bonding and conductor sizing, equipment cut sheets, CEC 690/705 labeling); roof plan showing layout, fire-access pathways, PV fire classification and required label locations; and a completed Structural Criteria for Rooftop Solar Energy Installations form (or PE/SE-stamped structural drawings/calcs for non-qualifying systems) 95% · published checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic/digital submittal (PDF); the Division has accepted electronic-only submittals since March 2020 for residential plan check generally, submitted via the online permitting portal 60% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes - a site diagram showing arrangement of panels on the roof or ground, north arrow, lot dimensions, and distance from property lines to adjacent buildings/structures (existing and proposed) 95% · published checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes 95% · published checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Yes 90% · published checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Structural PE/SE stamp is NOT required for systems that pass the city's own 'Structural Criteria for Rooftop Solar Energy Installations' self-certification form (qualifying systems). For non-qualifying systems, stamped structural drawings and calculations by a California-licensed civil or structural engineer are required. 75% · published checklist
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No solar-specific electrical PE stamp threshold found; the general Electrical Code amendment (WHMC 13.08.030) requires electrical plans to be prepared by a CA-registered electrical engineer 'or a person who is qualified...and exempt from registration' under the Professional Engineer's Act - this is boilerplate applicable to all electrical permits, not a solar-specific stamp trigger, and qualifying PV systems use the standard plan instead. 60% · municipal code

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? Tyler Technologies EnerGov Self-Service Portal (cityofwesthollywoodca-energovweb.tylerhost.net) 95% · portal landing page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes 88% · department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $0 for building, electrical and plumbing plan-check and permit fees on qualifying residential rooftop solar (waived by the City); a Zone Clearance fee from Planning and any State/outside-agency fees still apply (amount not published in any source I could reach); permit fees for required structural upgrades are NOT waived and follow the standard valuation-based fee schedule 90% · department page
• How is the fee calculated? Flat ($0) for qualifying systems' building/electrical/plumbing plan check and permit; the separate Zone Clearance fee and any non-waived structural-upgrade fees are calculated per the Planning and Building fee schedules respectively (schedules not retrievable this session) 70% · department page
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Building/electrical plan-check fee is $0 (waived) for qualifying systems; a separate Planning Zone Clearance fee still applies 80% · department page

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? 3 business days 85% · department page
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Southern California Edison (SCE) 98% · department page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel / no hard permit dependency 65% · department page

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 edition underlying the California Electrical Code, 2025 Edition, which West Hollywood adopts by reference) 88% · adopting ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? California Building Code, 2025 Edition (via LA County Code Title 26, as amended and in effect 1/1/2026) 92% · adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? California Fire Code, 2022 Edition, via LA County Code Title 32 as amended and in effect March 2, 2023 (WHMC 14.04.010, last amended by Ord. 23-12 in 2023). NOTE: this is one cycle BEHIND LACoFD's own current 2023 LACFC (Ordinances #23-0008 & 2023-0058, codified effective 2024-01-11) that its Fire Prevention Division's PV/ESS guide and Appendix QQ fee schedule now operate under. 85% · adopting ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes for Building, Electrical, Green Building, and Fire codes generally (local amendment chapters exist for each), but NO solar/PV/ESS-specific local amendment was found in any of them - checked WHMC 13.08.030 (Electrical amendments: Building Official/permit-application content only), 13.24.015 (Green Building amendments: water-use only), and 14.04.020 (Fire Code amendments: sprinkler threshold only). Ran positive control (found 'electrical'/'fire code' text throughout) and fabricated control ('zzqqx', 0 hits) in the same pass. 85% · municipal code
• What is the installation judged against? CA Building Code 2025, CA Electrical Code 2025 (CEC Sections 690 and 705 specifically cited for PV equipment labeling), CA Residential Code (R324.7 cited for roof access pathways), and LA County Fire Code/LACoFD's current PV-ESS-Disconnects guide for fire/disconnect/placard matters; the State Fire Marshal's Solar PV Installation Guide is cited by the city for pathway examples. 85% · published checklist + municipal code

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? Roof access and pathways per LA County Fire Code Section 605.11 and California Residential Code Section R324.7 (no WeHo-specific numeric setback beyond incorporating these codes) 88% · department page

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? Required as a matter of the currently-adopted CEC 2025 (based on NEC 2023, i.e., CEC/NEC Section 690.12), but NEITHER the city's own PV handout nor its live Solar West Hollywood page, nor LACoFD's current PV/ESS guide and inspection checklist, mention 'rapid shutdown' by that CEC section number anywhere - I grepped all of them for '690.12' and 'rapid shutdown' with zero hits in the city's documents (LACoFD's guide/checklist do use the term 'Rapid Shutdown' generically 6 times but never cite 690.12 specifically). 60% · published checklist (absence) + adopting ordinance (requirement)

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? At the building/electrical level: signs identifying the PV power-source system attributes at the DC disconnect, the AC point of connection, and the switch for the alternative power system (standard CEC 690/705-style placards, per the city's own inspection checklist). At the fire level (LACoFD-retained scope): the LACoFD Electrical Power Source Disconnect Placarding System - an Exterior Placard ('F.D. - ELECTRICAL / BLDG DISCONNECT / #X of Y') and a Panel-Interior Placard for specific breakers. 90% · fire authority guide
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Yes, but only by the fire AHJ (LACoFD), not the building AHJ (city). LACoFD specifies exact wording: 'F.D. - ELECTRICAL / BLDG DISCONNECT / #X of Y.' The city's own PV handout describes sign FUNCTIONS (DC disconnect sign, AC point-of-connection sign, alternative-power-switch sign) but does not itself dictate wording beyond referencing CEC 690/705. 90% · fire authority guide
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Yes, by LACoFD (fire-retained scope): red letters engraved into a yellow background; Arial, all-capitals, solid, minimum 24pt (28pt bold for 'F.D.' and '#X of Y'); minimum 2in x 3.5in weather-resistant plastic for exterior placards, 7/16in x 3/4in for panel-interior placards; permanent epoxy mount. The city's own building-side documents do not separately specify letter height/color/material for the CEC 690/705 signs. 92% · fire authority guide
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? No dedicated separate 705.10 facility-map placard requirement was found distinct from the roof-plan submittal itself, which must show 'PV system fire classification and the locations of all required labels and markings.' 65% · published checklist
• Where must the labels be placed? At the DC disconnect, at the AC point of connection, and at the switch for the alternative power system (city side); LACoFD Exterior Placards go on/immediately adjacent to each panel/enclosure or standalone disconnect switch to be operated, with Panel-Interior Placards inside the panel identifying specific breakers where multiple switches require operation. 85% · fire authority guide + published checklist

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? Yes, implicitly - the city's own Solar Web Resources page links CALSEIA's UL 1703 Approved Roof-Mounted PV Systems database as a resource, and LACoFD requires UL 9540 listing for ESS units (whole-unit or component) and UL 1741 for inverters. 78% · fire authority checklist
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Batteries/ESS are permitted subject to LACoFD's retained conditions: max 20 kWh per individual ESS unit, 80 kWh aggregate per site and per location category (attached garage / detached garage / exterior wall / ground), UL 9540 listing, and the setback/impact-protection/ventilation rules of LACFC 1207.11. Whether West Hollywood's OWN streamlined-PV Eligibility Checklist excludes battery storage from the expedited path entirely (as seen in several other CA cities in this corpus) could NOT be confirmed - that specific PDF was blocked all session. 68% · fire authority guide
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Yes 85% · fee schedule
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Qualified yes - WHMC 19.20.170(B)(1)(b) explicitly addresses 'wall-mounted and ground-mounted collectors,' requiring they be screened from public view, and WHMC 19.20.150(B)(2) exempts only 'free-standing solar devices...that do not exceed a height of 12 inches above finished grade' from setback measurement - implying taller ground-mounted solar installations ARE otherwise subject to standard structure setback rules. 80% · municipal code
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing found 80% · municipal code
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No prescriptive city spacing table; the city requires either its own 'Structural Criteria for Rooftop Solar Energy Installations' self-certification form (qualifying systems) or, where an approved racking system is used, manufacturer documentation of maximum allowable weight, attachment method, and product evaluation/structural design for the rack system. 75% · published checklist

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 (City of West Hollywood Permit & License Portal, Tyler EnerGov) 85% · department page
• How much notice is required? Effectively 1 business day - inspections must be scheduled 'before 4PM' the business day prior; the 2015 solar handout separately describes requests received by 6PM being scheduled for the next business day. 82% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? A roughly 3-hour arrival window rather than a simple AM/PM split - 'The jobsite MUST be available within 3 hours of the time identified on your inspection record.' 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 for standard rooftop PV (self-performed by City Building & Safety inspectors); Delegated to LACoFD for ESS>3kWh, the narrow BIPV subcategory, and disconnect/rapid-shutdown placard verification 88% · staff directory
• If delegated, to whom? Los Angeles County Fire Department, Fire Prevention Division (regional inspection office nearest the project site) 88% · fire authority checklist

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? City building permit issuance -> City Building & Safety final inspection (single final-type inspection covering modules, mounting, grounding, wiring, and signage per the city's own checklist) -> where applicable, a separately-scheduled LACoFD Fire Prevention inspection for ESS/BIPV-subset/disconnect-placard items (LACoFD requires digital proof of the issued construction permit before it will book its own inspection) 78% · fire authority checklist + published checklist
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Not called out - the city's own inspection checklist describes what appears to be a single final-type inspection for qualifying rooftop PV, with no separate rough-in/mid-roof stage mentioned 65% · published checklist

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 95% · fire authority checklist
• What must be on site at inspection? Approved plans printed at 24in x 36in (per general Inspection Services page for construction plans on any project) and equipment cut/specification sheets matching the plans (per the PV handout's checklist language); LACoFD separately requires ESS cut/specification sheets 'immediately available upon request of the fire code official.' 80% · department page
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Yes 95% · published checklist

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 (the city does not issue physical inspection cards; the current Inspection Services page states 'Inspection results can be accessed by logging onto your online account,' implying a portal-recorded final/passed status rather than a printed Certificate of Occupancy, which generally does not apply to a PV addition on an existing single-family/duplex dwelling) 62% · department page
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer 58% · department page (inference)
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $98 (LACoFD-side, for ESS/disconnect-placard re-inspections after the first re-inspection: 'Additional inspections after initial inspection and one reinspection'). No city-side (Building & Safety) re-inspection fee schedule could be retrieved this session. 80% · fee schedule