Town of Portola Valley

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
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both 78% · department page + municipal code
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · municipal code
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 70% · municipal code
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No (not required by the Town as a permit gate) 70% · department page
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes, conditionally 82% · municipal code
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No 85% · municipal code
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Yes, conditionally: PVMC 15.21.060(C) lets the Building Official require a 'use permit' if there is substantial evidence the solar system would have a 'specific, adverse impact' on public health/safety; a denial of that use permit may be appealed to the Planning Commission. 90% · municipal code
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No hard citywide size cap on residential solar generation; 10 kW AC / 30 kW thermal is only the eligibility threshold for the EXPEDITED (3-business-day) review path defined at PVMC 15.21.020(B), not a ceiling on system size generally. 85% · municipal code

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 50% · municipal code (inference from silence)
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes 80% · department page

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 Town's Building Permit FAQ: a completed Building Permit application, payment of filing/plan-check/inspection fees and any professional-service deposits, and 'wet signed and stamped building plan sets, structural calculations, and Title 24 calculations.' 55% · department FAQ 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? No dedicated online permit portal for Town building/solar permits was found -- applications go by email to planbuild@portolavalley.net (or in person). The Town does run OpenGov Citizen Portal for business licenses (portolavalleyca.portal.opengov.com). On the fire side, Woodside Fire Protection District runs its own Accela Citizen Access Portal (live since 10 Mar 2025) for fire construction permits and inspections covering Town-issued building permits. 78% · department page
• Can the whole application be completed online? No (for the Town's own building/solar permit -- email/in-person submittal only). The fire-safety half of the process can be completed online via WFPD's Accela portal. 72% · department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? Building/electrical permit cost from the Town's own Master Fee Schedule (effective 7/1/2026) could not be retrieved this run -- see not_found. The fire-safety side is confirmed: Woodside Fire Protection District's own current fee schedule (effective 1 Jul 2026) lists 'Photovoltaic Systems -- Residential' at $449 flat (includes 1 plan review + 1 inspection), separate from the Town's building-permit fee. 60% · fire district fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Flat (confirmed for the fire-district portion only) 65% · fire district fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No (for the fire-district portion): WFPD's $449 residential PV fee is bundled and 'includes 1 inspection' with no separate plan-review line. The Town's own building-side plan-check fee status is unconfirmed. 55% · fire district 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? PVMC 15.21.060(B): the Building Department must issue the permit within 3 business days of a complete application, 'including review by Woodside Fire Protection District.' However, WFPD's own current submittal-requirements page separately states its own 'plan review process and issuance of a fire construction permit may take approximately 14 days' -- a direct conflict between the codified 3-day figure and the fire district's own stated turnaround. 78% · municipal code vs. fire-district page (conflicting)
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 180 days (inferred: unamended CBC §105.5 / CRC §R105.5 default; the Town's own ch. 15.04 amendments to the 2025 CBC/CRC do not touch the standard permit-expiration section) 55% · municipal code (inference)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) 72% · fire district page (secondary confirmation, not the utility's own map)

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 95% · municipal code (code-adoption chapter)
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code (based on the 2024 IBC) and 2025 California Residential Code (based on the 2024 IRC) 95% · municipal code (code-adoption chapter)
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code (based on the 2024 IFC) 95% · municipal code (code-adoption chapter)
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 95% · municipal code
• What is the installation judged against? PVMC 15.21.040(C): solar-electric systems 'shall meet all applicable safety and performance standards established by the California Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and accredited testing laboratories such as Underwriters Laboratories and, where applicable, rules of the public utilities commission regarding safety and reliability.' 92% · 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? No Town-specific ridge-setback or fire-access-pathway figure was found for residential PV; defaults to the unamended 2025 California Fire Code (based on 2024 IFC) as adopted by reference. 76% · municipal code (control-checked absence)

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, via the unamended NEC (2023 edition, adopted as the 2025 CEC) -- NEC 690.12 rapid shutdown applies by reference. The Town's own code and solar chapter (ch. 15.21) do not separately restate or emphasize the rapid-shutdown requirement in their own words. 78% · municipal code (inference from code adoption)

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? None beyond the unamended 2025 CFC / 2023 NEC baseline (e.g., standard NEC 690.56/705.10 disconnect and rapid-shutdown labeling); the Town has not added any placard requirement of its own. 74% · municipal code (control-checked absence)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No 78% · municipal code (control-checked absence)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No 78% · municipal code (control-checked absence)
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Not specified by the Town locally; governed only by the unamended 2023 NEC §705.10 facility-map/placard requirement as adopted by reference. 68% · municipal code (control-checked absence)

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 90% · municipal code
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, permitted. The Town's locally-amended CRC §R330.1 (PVMC 15.04.030(P)) reads: 'Energy storage systems (ESS) shall comply with the provisions of this section. Exceptions: 1. ESS less than 1 kWh (3.6 megajoules).' On the fire side, Woodside Fire Protection District charges a distinct 'Electrical Energy Storage System (ESS)' construction-permit fee of $449 (effective 7/1/2026), separate from its PV fee. 82% · municipal code + fire district fee schedule
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Yes, at least on the fire-district side: WFPD's fee schedule lists 'Electrical Energy Storage System (ESS)' ($449) as a fee/permit line distinct from 'Photovoltaic Systems -- Residential' ($449). Whether the Town's own building-side permit is likewise split for solar-plus-storage jobs could not be confirmed this run. 68% · fire district fee schedule
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes, by inference 60% · municipal code (inference)

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 much notice is required? 2 business days 90% · municipal code
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No open-ended same-day option; the ordinance guarantees a 2-3 hour scheduled inspection window within 2 business days of the request. 85% · municipal code

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 95% · municipal code
• If delegated, to whom? Woodside Fire Protection District (for the fire-safety inspection component only -- the building inspection itself is self-performed by the Town, see q52) 88% · municipal code + fire district 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? One final building inspection performed by the Town's Building Department, plus one separate final fire-safety inspection performed by Woodside Fire Protection District; the ordinance does not specify which must occur first. 80% · municipal code
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No 90% · municipal code

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 dedicated, published solar inspection checklist was found 62% · department page (title-level absence, PDFs unverified)

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? Woodside Fire Protection District: $374 per 'Additional Inspection / Re-inspection Fee,' effective 7/1/2026. The Town's own building-side re-inspection fee could not be retrieved this run. 62% · fire district fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? For an incomplete application: PVMC 15.21.060(B) requires the Building Department to 'issue a written correction notice detailing all deficiencies in the application.' For a failed inspection: 15.21.060(G) requires 'an additional, follow-up inspection' if the installation does not conform to approved plans or current code. 82% · municipal code