City of Belle Isle

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. The City of Belle Isle is the AHJ for residential solar permitting inside the city limits (pop. ~7,032-7,239, Orange County). It has no building department: the entire building-permitting and building-inspection function is performed under contract by UES Professional Solutions, LLC / Universal Engineering Sciences. Zoning review and zoning permits stay with the City (City Planner, City Hall). Fire/life-safety is Orange County Fire Rescue. 95% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both, via a contractor, plus an in-house zoning desk. The City issues building AND electrical permits in its own name; UES reviews, approves, sets the fee and performs all building inspections. The City itself performs zoning review, issues zoning permits and does zoning inspections (City Planner). Delegated away: fire and life safety to ORANGE COUNTY FIRE RESCUE; planning, city engineering and IT to outside firms; contractor competency licensing to the State/Orange County; technical codes adopted by reference from Orange County Code ch. 9 (Belle Isle Sec. 6-1). 95% · RFP scope of work / background
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes, unconditionally. LDC Sec. 54-1(a)(1): 'Building permits shall be required for all construction within the city... Separate permits shall be required for plumbing, electrical, mechanical and/or structural work... All work regardless of value shall be subject to the requirements of this Land Development Code.' The point is settled beyond doubt by the July 2026 UES 'Permit Exemption Guidelines' implementing Florida HB 803: under 'What Work Does NOT Qualify?' it lists 'Electrical work - wiring, panel work, new circuits, SOLAR SYSTEMS, or meter replacements' as always requiring a standard permit regardless of cost. 95% · permit exemption guidelines (Jul 2026)
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate. Page 2 of the Building Permit (Land Use) Application states: 'SEPARATE PERMITS ARE REQUIRED FOR ROOFING, ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, GAS, MECHANICAL, WINDOW/DOOR, POOLS, ENCLOSURES, LOW VOLTAGE, ETC.' LDC Sec. 54-1(a)(1) says the same. A rooftop PV retrofit therefore takes an Electrical Permit, plus a Building Permit for the structural attachment, and the electrical application carries a field 'Building Permit Number (required if the Electrical Installation is associated with any construction or alteration where a Building Permit has been issued)'. A ground mount adds a $175 Accessory Structure zoning permit. 92% · permit application form
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No City architectural approval of any kind exists. There is no architectural review board, no design review, no certificate of appropriateness and no appearance code in Belle Isle. HOA approval is a private-covenant matter: FS 163.04 preempts any HOA prohibition on solar, and the City's own July 2026 exemption guidance notes 'HB 803 does prohibit HOAs from requiring a City building permit as a condition of architectural review - but all other HOA rules remain fully in effect.' The Building Permit (Land Use) Application warns 'Note that this Zoning Approval may or may not conflict with your Deed Restrictions.' (Contrast: the City DOES require HOA sign-off for improved parking-surface permits, Ch. 30 - so the absence of such a clause for solar is meaningful.) 80% · permit exemption guidelines (Jul 2026)
• Is there a historic-district review? No. Belle Isle has no historic district, no historic preservation ordinance, no certificate of appropriateness and no architectural/design review board. Searching mechanisms rather than titles across the entire Code and Land Development Code (235,459 words, all chapters retrieved node by node): 'certificate of appropriateness' 0, 'architectural review' 0, 'design review' 0, 'historic preservation' 0, 'shall not issue' 0. The word 'historic' appears 5 times only - in the Live Local Act definitions (Sec. 54-85), and in the flood article's variance provisions for historic structures (Sec. 48-165). The only 'architectural' obligations in the code are that a detached garage or connected accessory building be 'architecturally similar to the principal building and of like materials' (Sec. 50-102), which reaches a solar carport but not a rooftop array. 90% · codified ordinance (full-text controlled search)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certificate, but wind data must be stated. The Building Permit (Land Use) Application's checklist requires 'Wind Load Category: A___B___C___D___' to be completed and initialled. Orange County Code Sec. 9-34: 'The basic wind speed requirements for Orange County are established pursuant to (i) Section 1609.3 and Figures 1609A, 1609B and 1609C of the Florida Building Code, Building and (ii) Section 301.2.1 of the Florida Building Code, Residential... and may be accessed online through the Orange County Infomap link.' Belle Isle is NOT in the HVHZ (Miami-Dade and Broward only) and is an inland lakeside city, so standard Florida Product Approval applies rather than Miami-Dade NOA. 80% · adopting ordinance (Orange County, adopted by Belle Isle Sec. 6-1)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No. Rooftop PV needs no special exception or Council approval. LDC Sec. 54-75(b) closes the R-1-AAA/R-1-AA/R-1-A/R-1 use list with 'Only the following uses shall be permitted', but item (2) of that list is the residual catch-all 'Accessory buildings and uses', which carries solar. Sec. 54-134 (Public utilities) does require a special exception for 'gas substations, electric substations, telephone dial exchange buildings, radio and television stations and towers' - that is utility infrastructure, not customer-owned generation behind the meter, and does not bite. Variances/special exceptions are $300 and go to the Planning & Zoning Board (Sec. 42-63, 42-64). 80% · codified ordinance (LDC Sec. 54-75)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? None in the City's code - zero mentions of solar, photovoltaic, net metering or renewable generation across the whole Code and LDC. The constraints are all utility-side and come from FPSC Rule 25-6.065 as applied to Duke Energy Florida: Tier 1 is 10 kW or less, Tier 2 above 10 kW to 100 kW, Tier 3 above 100 kW to 2 MW; AC nameplate for inverter systems is DC nameplate x 0.85; and customer-owned renewable generation must be sized to offset no more than the customer's own annual kWh. 70% · state rule + controlled code search

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? A licensed contractor holding the appropriate state or Orange County licence - the Application for Electrical Permit is signed by 'LICENSE HOLDER SIGNATURE / LICENSE #' and UES verifies 'Contractor's Licenses & Insurance are on file'. Orange County Code Sec. 9-116: 'Before engaging in the trade or business of electrical construction, every electrical contractor shall either be certified with the state or have passed the county-approved examination and be registered with the county.' An owner may act as owner-builder under FS 489.103(7) - UES publishes a City of Belle Isle Owner-Builder Disclosure Statement. 85% · permit application form
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes. The UES portal: 'IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR CONTRACTORS: If we do not already have your registration paperwork on file, please submit your state and local licenses, General Liability Certificate of Insurance and Worker's Comp Certificate of Insurance (or a copy of your exemption) with your permit application. The certificate holder box... MUST be made out as follows: City of Belle Isle, 1600 Nela Avenue, Belle Isle, FL 32809.' The City also publishes a standalone Contractor Registration Form (FORM 003) faxable to 407-240-2222. Registration can be filed with the permit application; there is no annual deadline published. 92% · permit portal page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes, under the state owner-builder exemption - UES publishes a 'City of Belle Isle Owner-Builder Disclosure Statement' (FS 489.103(7)). But the Building Permit (Land Use) Application carries the limiting note 'HOMEOWNERS required to have a contractor on record for rented homes or no homestead', so the owner-builder route is closed on a rental or non-homesteaded property. 80% · permit 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? No solar-specific checklist exists. Assembled from the live forms: (1) completed, signed and notarised permit application (owner and contractor notary blocks); (2) for building review, 'min. of two sets of signed/sealed plans'; (3) contractor state and local licences, General Liability COI and Worker's Comp COI or exemption, with the City of Belle Isle as certificate holder; (4) recorded Notice of Commencement where the job is $5,000 or more, posted on site before the first inspection; (5) Florida Product Approval printouts and installation instructions where a roof product is involved, plus the COBI Product Approval Form; (6) parcel ID from ocpafl.org; (7) wind load exposure category A/B/C/D; (8) Erosion & Sediment Control Form / BMP perimeter controls (silt fence; DOUBLE ROW on any lakefront parcel); (9) a Planning & Zoning approval stamp on the building application; (10) plot plan for anything other than an electrical/mechanical/plumbing/re-roof permit. UES adds: 'additional documents may be required as determined by the building official.' 70% · permit application form
• How many copies, and in what format? Email a completed PDF to COBIpermits@TeamUES.com (or fax to 407-581-0313). 'For larger projects that have sets of plans, please drop off at least two (2) sets of prints at our office along with the permit application. If you're submitting plans larger than 11 inches by 17 inches, three (3) sets will be required.' Mailed applications are accepted at 3532 Maggie Blvd, Orlando FL 32811. 90% · permit portal page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? For a stand-alone ELECTRICAL permit, NO. LDC Sec. 54-1(a)(6): 'A plot plan is not required for the following building permits: electrical, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, ventilation, reroof or plumbing. A plot plan which conforms to subsection (a)(4) of this section shall be required for all other permit applications.' Where a plot plan IS required (a ground mount, or any accompanying building permit), Sec. 54-1(a)(4) requires 'certified copies of a plot plan... signed and sealed by a surveyor, engineer, architect or contractor licensed by the state', drawn to scale showing actual lot dimensions and the size, shape and location of all existing structures, pools, fences, driveways and patios, plus the proposed structure. The building application adds a signed Impervious Surface Ratio worksheet and, for new single-family, 'Survey-specific foundation plan... to show compliance with zoning setbacks'. 88% · codified ordinance (LDC Sec. 54-1)
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Signed and sealed plans are required for building review with NO stated value threshold: the Building Permit (Land Use) Application's building-review block is headed 'PLEASE COMPLETE FOR BUILDING REVIEW (min. of two sets of signed/sealed plans required)'. No separate structural-PE trigger for solar is published, and no local amendment raises or lowers the state position. 65% · permit application form
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local rule. The state position governs: FS 471.003(2)(h) exempts electrical work from the PE-seal requirement below $125,000 / 600 amps. Belle Isle's code, its LDC, the UES form set and Orange County Code ch. 9 art. III are all silent on an electrical PE stamp. 55% · state statute (floor)

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? Three separate systems, none of them a conventional permit portal. (1) APPLICATION - fillable PDFs downloaded from teamues.com/city-of-belle-isle-permits-portal/ and emailed to COBIpermits@TeamUES.com. (2) INSPECTION SCHEDULING - http://gadget.teamues.com/citizenportal/ (a Blazor Server app). (3) PERMIT COPIES AND INSPECTION RESULTS - belleislepermits.teamues.com (a Blazor WebAssembly app titled 'BelleIsleFileRepository', Azure Blob backed). Zoning permits are handled entirely off-portal at City Hall by email/phone (407-851-7730). The City's financial system is Edmunds GovTech MCSJ, which also holds building permits. 90% · department page
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. The application is download-complete-notarise-email; there is no online form. Payment is 'due upon receipt' - cheques payable to the City of Belle Isle, or credit card via a separate Credit Card Authorization Form emailed or faxed in advance. The permit must then be physically collected: 'A representative of UES will contact you as soon as your permit is ready for pick up.' Inspections ARE online-only (portal; email and phone requests are refused). 85% · permit portal page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? There is NO solar-specific fee line anywhere. A residential rooftop PV job is priced off the general schedule (City of Belle Isle Fee Schedule, effective 1 October 2025, Resolution 24-09). ELECTRICAL: minimum electric permit fee $100. If no meter-service change - 'Additions, Alterations, and Repairs not Requiring a Change in Service': $50 up to and including $1,000 valuation, then $12 for each additional $1,000, PLUS a review fee of one half of that total. If the service is upsized, the fee is amperage-banded on the 1-phase 240V table ($75 for 0-150A, $90 for 151-200A, $120 for 201-400A), charged on the DIFFERENCE between new and previous amperage, plus one half as review fee. BUILDING (for the racking/roof attachment): minimum $100, calculated $50 up to $1,000 of value then $5 per additional $1,000, plus one half as review fee. On top: a non-refundable Permit Submittal Fee of 1% of the value of work, minimum $50 / maximum $250; 1% BCAIB surcharge; 1.5% DCA surcharge; a Building Permit Surcharge and an Operating Trust Fund Surcharge each at 1/2 cent per sq ft of roofed floor space. A ground mount adds a $175 Accessory Structure zoning permit. Realistic total on a typical $25,000 residential rooftop system: roughly $600-$900. 82% · adopted fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Mixed, and the split point is whether the meter service is touched. Electrical permit fees are 'based upon the total amperage of the service required' - a TIERED amperage table - where service work is done; where no service change is involved the fee is VALUATION-based ($50 first $1,000 + $12 per $1,000). Building permit fees are valuation-based ($50 first $1,000 + $5 per $1,000) or by average cost per square foot for new construction. A review fee equal to half the permit fee is added to almost every line. Zoning permits are flat (Accessory Structure $175). 88% · adopted fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes, two of them. (a) A review fee equal to ONE HALF of the permit fee is added to virtually every permit line ('+1/2 of total = review fee'). (b) A separate non-refundable Permit Submittal Fee of 1% of the value of work, minimum $50, maximum $250, is charged at intake. Additional plan review items: Review of Additional Sets of Reviewed Plans $4/page; Archival/Scan Retention Fee $40 flat for construction plans; Plan Submittal Fee for single-family dwellings $125. 90% · 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? No plan-review turnaround is published for a standard permit. The only published service commitments are: UES acknowledges an emailed application within 24 hours ('A response documenting your request will be issued to the sender email address within 24 hours'); a Building Permit Exemption Request is reviewed 'within 5 business days of receiving complete submission'; and 'A representative of UES will contact you as soon as your permit is ready for pick up.' FS 553.792 statutory timeframes therefore govern by default. 60% · permit portal page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Not stated locally; the Florida Building Code default governs. The UES Permit Extension form quotes FBC 105.4.1.1 verbatim and states 'EXTENSION IS GOOD FOR 90 DAYS FROM ISSUANCE!'. The fee schedule adds: 'Extension Request: Only one administrative extension (90 days) shall be granted per Permit before each permit expiration date by the Building Official - $40'; 'Permit Replacement - Expired Permit (Must be within six months of the permit expiration date) $50'; and 'A final inspection is required on an expired permit within six months of the permit expiration date - $5'. 65% · permit form + fee schedule
• Which utility handles interconnection here? DUKE ENERGY FLORIDA, an investor-owned utility regulated by the Florida PSC. The City states it directly in its own RFP: 'Water and wastewater services are provided by Orlando Utility Commission (OUC) and electrical services are provided by Duke Energy.' Corroborated four more ways: (a) the City's ACFR Principal Property Taxpayers schedule lists 'Duke Energy Florida Inc' as the No. 2 taxpayer at $17,232,937 assessed (1.61% of the roll) - that is distribution plant inside the city; (b) the Public Works Utilities page's street-light item is 'Duke Energy Light Repair' (duke-energy.com/OutdoorLightingRepair, 800-700-8744); (c) the City publishes Duke's FS 163.3209 vegetation-management notice for Belle Isle; (d) the City's 'Proposed Right-of-Way Fund' page: 'Franchise fees are a way of charging companies like Duke Energy for their use of our right-of-ways', at a 6% rate. OUC IS NOT THE ELECTRIC UTILITY HERE - it is the water/wastewater provider (the 2010 Comprehensive Plan names OUC only alongside Orange County Public Utilities for potable water, and its service map legend reads 'OCU_ProvidedbyOUC'). 92% · RFP background statement + ACFR principal taxpayers schedule
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit. The interconnection application follows a passed permit inspection - Duke and every Florida IOU require evidence of local inspection sign-off before parallel operation, and FPSC Rule 25-6.065 structures the process that way. There is no City-side utility sign-off in the permit chain: nothing on the Belle Isle building or electrical application refers to the electric utility, and the only pre-power instrument is a 'Pre-Power Agreement' form used for temporary construction power, not for PV. 55% · state rule (floor) + enumerated absence on local forms

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? NEC 2020, effective 31 December 2023, under Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023). Locally the year is NOT a local fact: Belle Isle adopts no electrical code of its own (Sec. 6-1 adopts 'all ordinances of the county pertaining to construction regulations'), and Orange County Code Sec. 9-131 is a floating adoption - 'The National Electrical Code, as it may be amended from time to time, shall be the governing law relative to electrical standards in Orange County, Florida' - naming no edition at all. 80% · adopting ordinance (floating) + state baseline
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023). Orange County Sec. 9-33(a) adopts 'the Florida Building Code, current edition as mandated by the State of Florida, as it may be amended from time to time'; Sec. 9-35(a) names the edition expressly - 'the Florida Building Code, Residential, Eighth Edition... shall be the governing law relative to residential building standards in Orange County, Florida'; Sec. 9-39 adopts FBC Existing Building on the same floating basis. FBC Residential Appendix Q is adopted (Sec. 9-33(b) creating 101.2.1). Belle Isle picks all of this up through Sec. 6-1. 88% · adopting ordinance (Orange County)
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023), applied by ORANGE COUNTY FIRE RESCUE. Belle Isle's own Chapter 12 (Fire Prevention and Protection) adopts NO fire code whatsoever - it contains exactly one substantive section, Sec. 12-1 (Ord. 17-14, 19 Sep 2017), banning open burning and burn barrels. Orange County Code Sec. 18-32(a) adopts the Florida Fire Prevention Code on a floating basis 'pursuant to F.S. ch. 633, as adopted by the state fire marshal', names no edition, and is scoped so that the county fire marshal 'shall determine the appropriate permits that shall be required within unincorporated Orange County'. Belle Isle buys fire service from OCFR under contract and OCFR files a monthly fire report to Belle Isle City Council. 78% · department page + adopting ordinances + budget
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes - all of them at Orange County level, inherited by Belle Isle through Sec. 6-1, and one of them matters a great deal for lakefront work. Orange County amends FBC Building (Sec. 9-33(b)), FBC Residential (Sec. 9-35(b)) and FBC Existing Building (Sec. 9-39(b)). The consequential amendment redefines SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT as CUMULATIVE: 'Any combination of repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, alteration, addition or other improvement of a building or structure taking place during the life of the building or structure, the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the improvement or repair is started. The period of accumulation begins when the first improvement or repair of each building or structure is permitted subsequent to September 25, 2009.' Also adopted: FBC-R Appendix Q; FBC 1612.3.1 and R322.1.4 amended to set design flood elevations by Orange County Code ch. 19 art. I div. 5 and Sec. 34-228; a created 1612.4.3 for critical facilities; Milestone/condominium inspection provisions. NO PV-specific amendment exists, and NO local electrical amendment survives - Orange County Ord. 2024-04, adopted 9 April 2024, repealed the entire legacy electrical code (Divs. 1-3, Secs. 9-51 to 9-106), leaving only the floating NEC adoption at Sec. 9-131. There is no surviving rigid-metal-conduit rule or similar fossil. 88% · adopting ordinance (Orange County FBC amendments)
• What is the installation judged against? Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) Building/Residential/Existing Building as amended by Orange County Code ch. 9, plus NEC 2020, plus Belle Isle's Land Development Code for zoning, height, setbacks, impervious surface ratio and floodplain, plus the Florida Fire Prevention Code administered by Orange County Fire Rescue. The permit application's own undertaking: 'I agree to conform to all Division of Building Safety Regulations (www.floridabuilding.org) and City Ordinances (www.municode.com) regulating the same and in accordance with the plans submitted.' 82% · permit application form + adopting ordinances

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 Belle Isle 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.

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

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.

Nothing recorded for City of Belle Isle on this step yet — 6 questions checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

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? Duke Energy Florida territory - so FPSC Rule 25-6.065(6)(a) is the governing floor: an investor-owned utility's standard interconnection agreement 'may require customers to install, at the customer's expense, a manual disconnect switch of the visible load break type to provide a separation point between the AC power output of the customer-owned renewable generation and any customer wiring connected to the investor-owned utility's system. INVERTER-BASED TIER 1 CUSTOMER-OWNED RENEWABLE GENERATION SYSTEMS SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM THIS REQUIREMENT.' Tier 1 is 10 kW or less. Above 10 kW the disconnect returns. The City and UES specify nothing - note that the UES form titled 'Certification of Service Disconnect' is a DEMOLITION/relocation utility-clearance form, not a PV disconnect form, and must not be mistaken for one. 55% · state rule text (floor)
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Partly. Florida Product Approval is required and enforced: UES publishes a mandatory 'COBI Product Approval Form', and the portal instructs 'please attach the print out of the Florida Product Approval and the Installation Instructions... You can print out the required Florida product approval documentation at this website http://www.floridabuilding.org/pr/pr_app_srch.aspx'. That reaches the roof covering and mounting products. There is NO local approved-list requirement for PV modules or inverters. At the utility end, an IOU under FPSC 25-6.065 requires a UL 1741 / IEEE 1547 listed non-islanding inverter. 70% · permit portal page
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No. There is no ESS or battery permit type. The UES permit application catalogue is fully enumerated on the operator's portal and contains exactly these types: Building Permit (Land Use), Electrical, Gas, Mechanical, Plumbing, Roofing, Low Voltage Alarm System, Window/Door (size-for-size), Permit Extension, Certificate of Occupancy/Completion, and Swimming Pool. A battery system would be permitted as electrical work under the Electrical Permit. Fire review, if any were triggered, would be Orange County Fire Rescue - and the City states it 'does not process fire suppression, sprinklers, fire alarms, or any other fire-related permits'. 70% · permit portal form catalogue (enumerated)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes - a ground mount is treated as a structure and attracts BOTH a building permit and a $175 'Accessory Structure' zoning permit (fee schedule, citing Sec. 50-102). LDC Sec. 54-1(a)(1) captures it: 'Building permits shall be required for all construction within the city. Construction is any and all alterations, additions, and enlargements to lands, buildings or structures.' If the City Planner classifies it under Sec. 50-102(a), the accessory-structure criteria bite: side and rear yards only, never the front yard; at least 5 ft from a lot line; AT LEAST 35 FT FROM THE 86.9 CONTOUR LINE OF LAKE CONWAY; at least 6 ft from other accessory structures; maximum height 15 ft from natural grade; maximum two per lot; 300 sq ft maximum each; 20 ft setback from all rights-of-way on corner lots. Separately, the array's footprint counts toward the Impervious Surface Ratio - base 35% / maximum 65% in A-1, A-2, R-1-AAA, R-1-AA, R-1-A and R-1 - and exceeding the base triggers on-site retention sized for a 24-hour 10-year storm (7.5 in of rainfall). 65% · codified ordinance (LDC Sec. 50-102, 50-74) + fee schedule
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No technical rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing - NEC 2020 Art. 705.12 governs unmodified. But there is a FEE rule and an application rule. The Application for Electrical Permit has dedicated fields 'Meter Service Upgrade from ____ to ____ = Difference in Size' and 'Relocate Existing Meter Service (No Service Size Change)'. The fee schedule: 'Alterations Requiring a Change in Service: The fee shall be determined by the difference between the new and previous service amperage, which is then applied to the above chart.' A 'Meter Reset' inspection fee of $50 exists. 75% · adopted fee schedule + permit form

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 only, and the alternatives are expressly refused. The City's page: 'UES does not accept inspection requests via email or phone. All requests must be submitted through the portal.' The portal is http://gadget.teamues.com/citizenportal/. Zoning inspections are a separate channel and the opposite policy: 'Zoning inspections must be scheduled in advance via email to the City Planner... or by calling City Hall at 407-851-7730 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.' 92% · department page
• How much notice is required? 'For next day inspections, please send your request by 3:00 p.m.' - so effectively one business day, with a 3 p.m. cut-off. For out-of-hours work the fee schedule imposes a far heavier notice rule: 'Requests for special after-hours (regular working hours, weekends, or holidays) inspections must be submitted in writing by the developer/contractor to the Building Division Official twenty-four hours in advance of the requested inspection. The minimum number of hours approved is four hours per inspector. No inspection(s) will be performed until the assessed fee has been paid - $250', plus $60 per hour after the first four. 90% · permit portal page + adopted fee schedule

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? No - the City does not perform its own building inspections, but it remains the AHJ. 'The permit will be approved by Universal Engineering's Building Inspection Services Consultant, who will then issue the associated permit fee and PERFORM ALL REQUIRED BUILDING INSPECTIONS.' The City does perform its own ZONING inspections, through the City Planner. The FY2025-26 budget contains no building personnel line of any kind: General Government (fund 001-519) has zero salary accounts and carries Building Permits as a single contractual line, 001-519-00-3405, $160,000 adopted. 95% · department page + adopted budget expenditure detail
• If delegated, to whom? UES Professional Solutions, LLC, trading as Universal Engineering Sciences (UES), 3532 Maggie Blvd, Orlando, FL 32811. Tel (407) 581-8161, fax (407) 581-0313. Permit submittals COBIpermits@TeamUES.com; inspection requests through gadget.teamues.com/citizenportal/; general enquiries BIDinquiry@UniversalEngineering.com; hours 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Fri. The named individual: Kenneth Derick, Sr Principal Engineer, Universal Engineering Services, who presented to Belle Isle City Council on 6 January 2026. The commercial terms are published: the City retains 20% of building permit revenue and remits 80% to Universal Engineering; the FY2026-27 proposed budget states 'The expenditure is budgeted at 80% of building permit revenue.' FY2023-24 actual: $344,674 permit revenue in, $298,901 out to UES. 92% · adopted budget + department page + council agenda

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.

Nothing recorded for City of Belle Isle on this step yet — 2 questions checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

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. There is no published inspection checklist of any kind, for solar or generally. Enumerated: all 23 forms on the UES City of Belle Isle permits portal; all 161 unique document attachments reachable from 130 City department pages (building, planning, code, finance, administration, departments, publicworks); and 19 City Council agenda packets spanning Jan 2025 to Aug 2026. None is an inspection checklist. The nearest published guidance is a single sentence on the UES portal: 'no work should be covered up prior to a documented inspection.' 85% · enumerated form catalogue + site attachment sweep
• What must be on site at inspection? Four things. (1) The permit card itself: 'Once you have picked up your permit, please post it on the jobsite'. (2) 'any stamped (approved) plans'. (3) 'Florida Product Approval documentation including the product installation instructions'. (4) A recorded Notice of Commencement where required - 'A notice of commencement must be recorded if the job is $5,000(+) or if A/C Replacement is $15,000(+) and posted on the job site before the first inspection.' Where work started without a permit, UES issues a job placard marked 'WWP' (Code Sec. 6-5(c)(4)b) or 'ATF' for after-the-fact work. 92% · permit portal page + permit application form

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? A Certificate of Completion for a retrofit such as PV (a Certificate of Occupancy is the equivalent for a new or newly occupied structure). Both are $100 on the current fee schedule, and UES publishes a combined 'Certificate of Occupancy/Completion' application form. This matters at the utility end: an interconnection application in Florida is supported by evidence of a 'Passed City/County Permit Inspection or Certificate of Completion'. 70% · adopted fee schedule + permit form
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer/contractor, to Duke Energy Florida, after the permit inspection has passed. Neither the City nor UES has any published role in notifying the utility - no City or UES form mentions the electric utility at all, and the only pre-power instrument in the form set is a 'Pre-Power Agreement' used for temporary construction power. Under FPSC Rule 25-6.065 the customer (in practice the contractor on the customer's behalf) applies to the utility for interconnection and the utility grants permission to operate. 55% · state rule (floor) + enumerated absence on local forms
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $75. 'Re-inspection Fees $75. Re-inspection fees that remain unpaid for more than 60 days will be assessed a $11.00 collection fee per account, plus the re-inspection fee due.' A separate $75 re-inspection line appears at the end of the Mechanical section. Related penalties: working without a permit costs 'double the permit fee or $103.00, whichever is greater' under the fee schedule, while codified Sec. 6-5(d)(2) sets the WWP permit at '$500.00 plus double the cost of the applicable permit fee plus all costs' - two different numbers for the same offence, in two current City instruments, and I record both rather than choosing. 90% · adopted fee schedule