City of Dade City

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 Dade City is the AHJ for residential solar building and electrical permitting inside the city limits. The Building Department (Building and Safety Services Division, Community & Economic Services) is at 38020 Meridian Ave; the Building Official is Mike Barthle, with two named Building Inspectors. The City ALSO issues and inspects building permits for the City of San Antonio and the Town of St. Leo under interlocal arrangements. Fire/life-safety AHJ is NOT the City: it is Pasco County Fire Rescue. 95% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both, plus floodplain and zoning. The City issues and inspects building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and gas permits itself. Delegated away: (a) fire and life-safety permitting, plan review, inspection and AHJ under the Florida Fire Prevention Code went to PASCO COUNTY FIRE RESCUE by an interim agreement dated 8 April 2024, adopted by Amended Resolution 2024-22; (b) contractor licensing/competency is Pasco County Contractor Licensing Division (813) 847-8009. The Building Official is also the Floodplain Administrator (Code Sec. 50-14). 92% · adopting resolution
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. A permit is required, and the City has TWO dedicated solar permit types in its live application: 'Solar' and 'Solar Photo Voltaic Electric' (plus 'Water Heater / Solar'). Code Sec. 22-62(a) requires a permit to 'erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, convert' any building or structure. The only permit exemptions are valuation of $500 or less (Sec. 22-62(e)), small pre-manufactured sheds, small satellite dishes and small temporary pools (Sec. 22-61(b)(3)) - none reaches PV. 95% · permit portal application form
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Either, and in practice combined. The catalogue offers a single combined type 'Solar Photo Voltaic Electric' as well as a plain 'Solar' type and a separate 'Electrical Alteration/Upgrade' type. The paper application has separate signature blocks for Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing and Roofing subcontractors on one permit, and its affidavit warns 'a separate permit may be required for electrical, plumbing, signs, wells, pools, air conditioning, gas'. The 2008 fee resolution prices Building and Electrical permits separately, each with its own $35 base fee. 75% · permit portal application form
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? HOA: not regulated by the City, but the permit affidavit puts the risk on the applicant - 'NOTICE OF DEED RESTRICTIONS: The undersigned understands that this permit may be subject to "Deed Restrictions" which may be more restrictive than City Regulations. The undersigned assumes responsibility for compliance.' Architectural approval: there is no architectural review board and no design-review permit in Dade City. The nearest thing is the Historic Preservation Advisory Board review at Q25, which is advisory. FS 163.04 limits what an HOA may do about solar; the City takes no position on it. 85% · permit application affidavit
• Is there a historic-district review? YES, but it is an ADVISORY gate with an automatic 45-day waiver - not a certificate of appropriateness, and it does not block the permit outright. Code Ch. 54 Art. II (from Ordinance No. 492, 28 June 1983, amended by Ordinance No. 511, 9 April 1985, and Sec. 54-31 amended by Ord. 2025-12, 14 Oct 2025). Sec. 54-32(e): the HPAB 'shall review all plans pertaining to construction, renovation, ALTERATION, moving, demolition for structures DESIGNATED BY THE CITY as historic landmarks, sites or districts, and the building official shall notify the chairperson and members of the historic preservation advisory board within five working days of an application for a building permit concerning a designated historic site, landmark, or district. The historic preservation advisory board shall develop a CERTIFICATE OF SUGGESTIONS... within 45 calendar days... Failure... shall be considered as grounds to waive the process, and the applicant may proceed with any plans desired so long as the plans meet all other city building, development and zoning codes.' Sec. 54-32(f) lets the owner proceed 'once in receipt of the Certificate of Suggestions'. THE THREE LIMBS, TESTED SEPARATELY: (1) DESIGNATION IS REQUIRED - the trigger words are 'structures designated by the City', with no 'proposed or' and no 'within the district' catch-all, so an ordinary undesignated house is outside it; (2) DESIGNATION IS NOT PURELY VOLUNTARY - it is a City Commission act on HPAB recommendation, and the published Application for Historical Designation Review asks 'ARE THE OWNER(S) AND THE APPLICANT(S) THE SAME? YES NO', so a third party can nominate; the criteria sheet also says the Register 'shall also include' whole classes such as 'Surviving structures constructed before 1887' and 'Structures constructed before 1918 which have not been remodeled so extensively as to destroy their original exterior appearance'; (3) ALTERATION IS IN THE TRIGGER LIST but is NOT DEFINED anywhere in the Code. THE DESIGNATED SET IS LARGE: the City publishes a Historic Register of roughly 120 named properties, most of them houses, plus a Church Street Historic District. THE BOARD IS REAL AND SEATED: the CivicWeb portal lists Historic Board meetings on 08 Jun 2026, 09 Mar 2026, 09 Feb 2026, 13 Oct 2025, 25 Aug 2025, 14 Jul 2025, 24 Apr 2025, 10 Feb 2025 and back to Oct 2022, with a named membership - this is not dead-letter machinery. THERE IS NO DOLLAR-VALUE LADDER. NO 'shall not issue the building permit' language exists anywhere in the corpus (zero hits). Practical effect on a PV job at a Register address: up to a 45-day advisory delay, a meeting cadence of roughly every 2-3 months that makes the auto-waiver likely, and a TRIPLE permit fee under Sec. 22-62(a) if work starts without a permit on a Register structure. 90% · ordinance + board minutes
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification is issued. Wind design is through the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) as adopted by Sec. 22-61(a)(1) with no local wind-speed amendment - and notably NO frozen local wind speed of the kind found elsewhere. Dade City is inland Pasco County, outside the FBC High-Velocity Hurricane Zone and outside the wind-borne debris region boundaries that bite on the coast. The City's only local structural amendment is Sec. 22-61(c) on aluminum construction. 80% · adopting ordinance
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No. There is no Special Use Permit, Conditional Use or Council approval anywhere in the path for residential rooftop PV. The LDR Table 4.1-1 Conditional Use list does not reach it, and 'solar' and 'photovolt' return ZERO hits across all nine LDR articles. A ground mount is different: it is not in Table 4.4-1 (Table of Permitted Accessory Uses), so under LDR 4.4.2(D)(3) 'The Community Development Director shall evaluate potential accessory uses that are not identified in Table 4.4-1... on a case-by-case basis' - an administrative interpretation, appealable to the DRC under 2.4.16. 88% · land development regulations
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No City cap. Nothing in the Code or the LDRs limits residential generation size. The binding caps are the UTILITY's: TECO Tier 1 is up to 10 kW with 'a GPR that does not exceed 90% of the Customer's utility distribution service rating', and above that limit 'the Customer shall be responsible to pay the cost of upgrades for that distribution service'. Tier 2 is 10-100 kW with a $250 application fee. WREC sets no published kW tier but requires $1,000,000 liability insurance for any system over 10.00 kW (AC). 90% · utility tariff + ordinance

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 state-certified or state-registered contractor (or a holder of a Pasco County certificate of competency) in the trade involved, or the property owner by sworn affidavit. Code Sec. 22-31 lists 'Solar contractor' among the licensed classifications and 'Solar energy installation contractor' among the specialty classifications, which 'shall meet minimum licensing requirements of the county government construction licensing entity'. Sec. 22-62(b) also bars anyone holding only a power of attorney from an owner. 90% · ordinance
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes - mandatory, and this is not the 'voluntary registration' shape seen elsewhere. Code Sec. 22-92(a): 'It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the trades designated under the authority of this division without first registering his license in the city.' The Building Department page says 'General & Sub contractors must be signed & registered with us prior to release'. The registration form requires: Workers Compensation reflecting the City of Dade City, liability insurance reflecting the City of Dade City, the Florida State licence, and a Business Tax Receipt from the contractor's home city. If work is in San Antonio or St. Leo the insurance must name THAT city as well as Dade City. No annual deadline - 'There is no deadline for renewing your contractor registration.' 95% · published form + ordinance
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes. Code Sec. 22-62(b)(1) allows an owner to pull the permit 'provided the owner executes a sworn affidavit that he will personally perform the work or supervise the work performed by licensed contractors', and Sec. 22-92(a) exempts 'any owner from performing his own work upon his own premises, for his own use and occupancy'. Operationally the portal requires a 'Notarized homeowners disclosure statement... if homeowner is pulling the permit' and a notarised application. 92% · ordinance

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 PV-specific checklist exists. For an Electrical permit the published requirement list is: permit application (notarised); description of work stating type (new/alteration/addition/repair/low voltage), number of fixtures, TECO layout # where applicable, number of amps; and a Notice of Commencement where valuation exceeds $5,000. General submittal items are the notarised Building Permit Application, site plan, Owner Disclosure Statement (if the owner pulls it), Authorized Agent of Record letter where applicable, and contractor registration current before release. The Building Official may additionally require a boundary survey or flood elevation survey if the site is in FIRM zone A or V (Sec. 22-61(b)(1)). 85% · published checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Digital, single upload, through the iWorQ Citizen Portal - 'Online applications are the preferred method of applying' and 'PLEASE NOTE WE PREFER DIGITAL SUBMISSIONS'. HOMEOWNERS AND CONTRACTORS must upload a NOTARIZED permit application. No paper copy count is published. Drop-offs accepted until 5:00 pm but payments are not processed after 4:00 pm. 85% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? A site plan is required for the permit types the City lists it for (fences, sheds, attached additions, driveways, pools, new construction); the published 'Site Plan' form is a generic grid sheet. Where a site plan IS required, Code Sec. 22-61(b)(1) sets the content: location of the proposed and every existing building or structure, all existing and proposed impervious area, all roads and rights-of-way, septic/drainfield/well where applicable, all man-made and natural surface waters, proposed and existing water lines and meters, proposed final grade, a north arrow, and drawn to scale with the scale indicated. Nothing published says whether a rooftop PV array triggers one; a ground mount plainly would. 80% · ordinance
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Not published as a requirement by the City. The City's Electrical Permit submittal list asks only for a description of work, fixture count, TECO layout # and amperage - it does not name a one-line or three-line diagram. The requirement comes from the UTILITY, not the AHJ: TECO's interconnection application and WREC's Application for Operation of a Renewable Generation System both require an 'Engineering quality drawing in PDF format. (No hand drawn One-Line diagrams or photographs will be accepted)', and WREC's instructions describe that diagram as the 'document sent to the county for permitting'. 80% · utility application form + city checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not published. No City document requires string or conductor calculations, and the A/C Mechanical block is the only place the City asks for an 'electric diagram with details of the electric work being done'. Judged against NEC 2020 as adopted (Sec. 22-61(a)(2)), so Article 690 calculations are required in substance by the code in force rather than by a local submittal rule. 70% · published checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local threshold is published for solar. The City requires 'Set of engineered plans' for new single-family homes, sheds, carports/aluminum structures and signs, and 'Sets of Engineered Plans (signed & sealed)' for in-ground pools - solar appears in none of those lists. Code Sec. 22-61(c) gives the Building Official discretion: he 'shall be vested with the discretion to determine any requirement necessary for the strength or stability of an existing or proposed building or structure'. So a structural stamp is a Building Official judgement call, at FBC 8th Edition (2023) thresholds. 78% · published checklist + ordinance
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Not required by any published City rule, and no threshold exists. The fee resolution charges an Electrical permit on the same base-plus-valuation formula as any other trade, with no PE line. Nothing in Code Ch. 22 or the LDRs requires an electrical engineer's seal on a residential PV submittal. 70% · fee schedule + ordinance

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? iWorQ, in two separate tenants. Building permits: the Citizen Portal at dadepermit.portal.iworq.net (application at /DADE/new-request/702/2105), with the public permit register and inspection scheduling at www.portal.iworq.net/DADE/permits/600. Planning & Zoning applications run through a SECOND iWorQ tenant at dade.portal.iworq.net (/DADE/new-permit/601/776). Meeting agendas and minutes are on CivicWeb (dadecityfl.civicweb.net); public records requests go through JustFOIA. 95% · portal landing page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes for submission and payment; no for the whole transaction. 'Online applications are the preferred method of applying.' The applicant uploads a NOTARIZED application and supporting documents; staff review, then notify the applicant with a permit number to pay online; the permit is emailed. Card payments carry a 3.5% convenience fee, minimum $2.50. The notarisation requirement means the application cannot be completed entirely on screen. Contractor registration is still done by email to buildingpermits@dadecityfl.com, not in the portal. 92% · department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? There is no solar line. Fees come from Resolution No. 2008-0997, effective 1 October 2008, which is still the current schedule. On a $25,000 residential PV job charged as an Electrical permit the arithmetic is: $35.00 base fee, PLUS the valuation table ($35.00 for the first $1,000 plus $7.00 for each additional $1,000 to $50,000) = $35 + (24 x $7) = $203.00; sub-total $238.00. Add a Plans Examination fee (minimum $30.00; one-half of the permit fee where the valuation table is used, i.e. up to ~$102) and a $35.00 Site Examination fee if a site plan is required. Realistic range $270-$375, plus the state FS 553.721/468.631 surcharges, which the resolution does not mention. If a separate Building permit is also required for the roof attachment, add another $35 base plus valuation. 65% · fee schedule (Res. 2008-0997)
• How is the fee calculated? Tiered by valuation, on top of a flat base. $35.00 base fee per permit and per trade category, plus a stepped valuation table: $1,000 and less no fee unless an inspection is required (then $35 per inspection); $1,000-$50,000 = $35 for the first $1,000 plus $7 per additional $1,000; $50,000-$100,000 = $378 plus $6 per $1,000; $100,000-$500,000 = $678 plus $5 per $1,000; over $500,000 = $2,678 plus $4 per $1,000. Valuation must be evidenced by written contract and 'in no case shall the valuation be less than that determined by using the latest version of the ICC Building Valuation Data'. 90% · fee schedule (Res. 2008-0997)
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes. Part II 'Plans Examination Fees': minimum $30.00 where plans must be submitted under the Florida Building Code; where the Building Permit fee is calculated by the valuation table, the Plans Examination fee is one-half of the Building Permit fee. Mobile-home set-ups also pay $30. A deposit of $0.02 per square foot (minimum $35) is payable at plan submittal and credited against the permit fee. Re-filed or duplicate plans are reviewed at one-half the original review fee. A separate Site Examination fee of $35.00 applies when site plans are required. 90% · fee schedule (Res. 2008-0997)

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? 4-6 weeks on the City's own page: 'Be advised our review time is anywhere from 4-6 weeks. We do not offer expedite services and are processed in the order they are received.' The iWorQ citizen portal states a different figure on the same day: 'If your permit request require a review, our review time is 2-6 weeks.' Record both - they conflict. Note that 4-6 weeks brushes against the FS 553.792(1) 30-business-day clock, and that the flat refusal to expedite is the opposite of what FS 553.792 and FS 163.04 contemplate. 90% · department page + portal
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 180 days to commence, then void; void also if work is suspended or abandoned for 60 days after commencement; one or more extensions of not more than 90 days each may be granted by the Building Official on a written request showing justifiable cause (Code Sec. 22-62(a)(1)-(2)). BUT the City's own paper Building Permit Application prints different terms: 'invalid unless the work authorized by such permit is commenced within six (6) months of permit issuance, or if work... is suspended or abandoned for a period of six (6) months', with 180 days between approved inspections. Record the conflict; the ordinance governs. 88% · ordinance + permit application
• Which utility handles interconnection here? TAMPA ELECTRIC COMPANY (TECO). The codified electric franchise (Appendix A, Article II, Ordinance No. 439, accepted 9 January 1980) is granted to Tampa Electric Company alone, 6% of revenue from residential and commercial sales inside the corporate limits, with a covenant that the City 'will not engage in the business of distributing and selling electric energy'. More decisively, the City's own Building Permit Requirements page presumes TECO on every job: a pool needs a 'Tampa Electric Company (TECO) power approval Letter', an electrical permit needs the 'TECO layout #', and a demolition needs a 'Teco Letter that power has been disconnected'. WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE IS HEADQUARTERED IN DADE CITY (14651 21st St) and serves Pasco County - but an HQ address is not a service territory, and WREC is named nowhere in the City's code, budget, audit or forms. 88% · codified franchise + department page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel, with the utility gate LAST - and for TECO the application is filed AFTER the system is built. TECO's own page: 'After you complete a certified installation, Tampa Electric will interconnect your system to the grid and install a bi-directional net meter.' The TECO Application for Interconnection of a Renewable Generator System asks for Installed Date, Installed by and Installed cost, and instructs that the 'Manual disconnect switch must be in open position prior to submittal'. TECO then executes the Tier 1 agreement 'within 30 calendar days of receipt of a completed application', 'Subject to an approved inspection, including installation of acceptable disconnect switch'. Separately, Code Sec. 22-35 makes it unlawful for any utility to supply permanent power to a structure under construction before the City issues a certificate of occupancy, so the City's power release gates the utility too. 88% · 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? NEC 2020. Code Sec. 22-61(a)(2) adopts 'NFPA National Electric Code (2020) Edition, as amended from time to time', most recently amended by Ord. No. 2024-08, 12 November 2024. This is a FLOATING adoption but it currently names the same edition Florida has in force, so there is no gap. 95% · adopting ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, Eighth Edition (2023), adopted by Code Sec. 22-61(a)(1) 'as amended from time to time' (Ord. No. 2024-08, 12 Nov 2024). The International Property Maintenance Code (2021) is also adopted. WATCH THE FORM: the City's published paper Building Permit Application still cites '(FBC 2001, Chapter 1, section 104.5.1)' - the 2001 edition - for its permit-expiry terms. That is a wrong code year printed on the live application, and it is also where the expiry conflict at Q19 comes from. 95% · adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, Eighth Edition (2023). Two adoptions, and they differ in form: Code Sec. 22-61(a)(4) adopts 'Florida Fire Prevention Code, [Eighth] Edition, as amended from time to time (this technical code is also adopted in section 46-81)', while Sec. 46-81 adopts 'The Florida Fire Prevention Code, current edition' alongside a fossil 'N.F.P.A. Fire Prevention Code, 2000'. Both float safely. The AHJ for the FFPC is PASCO COUNTY FIRE RESCUE, not the City, under the 8 April 2024 interim agreement adopted by Amended Resolution 2024-22. PCFR's schedule states: 'Fire Permit not required on one (1) or two (2) family dwellings.' 92% · adopting resolution + ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, but very few and none of them touch PV. Sec. 22-65 adds three Florida Building Code amendments, all flood-related (new 104.10.1 on modifying flood-resistant construction requirements; new 107.6.1 barring affidavit-based permitting for flood loads; new Section 117 on flood-hazard variances) - Ord. No. 2014-07. Sec. 22-61(b) adds ten local building regulations: the detailed site-drawing content spec, reinspection-fees-before-final, three permit exemptions, a MINIMUM FIRST FLOOR ELEVATION OF 78 FEET ASL for all residences, a mandatory non-portable heat source, an extra first-floor framing inspection in flood zones or multi-storey wood construction, a 300 sq ft minimum living area, job-site debris containment and erosion control. Sec. 22-61(c) puts aluminum construction under the Building Official's engineering judgement. 92% · adopting ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? NEC 2020 (Sec. 22-61(a)(2)) as enforced by the City Building Official, who Sec. 22-61(d) expressly designates 'the authority having jurisdiction for enforcing the National Electrical Code and all other codes adopted in subsection (a)'. There are no local electrical amendments. NEC 2020 Article 690 and 705 therefore govern, including 690.12 rapid shutdown and 705.12 interconnection. 92% · adopting ordinance

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 local ridge-setback or access-pathway rule, and none is published by the City. The requirement flows from the Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023) as adopted at Sec. 22-61(a)(4) and Sec. 46-81 - and the AHJ enforcing it is PASCO COUNTY FIRE RESCUE, not Dade City. PCFR's adopted schedule states 'Fire Permit not required on one (1) or two (2) family dwellings', so on a normal house no fire permit or fire plan review is issued at all, and the pathway requirement is enforced, if at all, by the City building inspector applying the FFPC. The City publishes no PV pathway handout: zero of 323 site documents contain 'solar' or 'photovolt'. 70% · adopting ordinance + county fee schedule

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, to NEC 2020 Article 690.12 (module-level, 1 ft outside the array boundary / 1 ft inside, 80 V within 30 seconds), because Sec. 22-61(a)(2) adopts the 2020 NEC with no local amendment. No City document mentions rapid shutdown by name - the term returns zero hits across the entire codified corpus with controls passing. 88% · adopting ordinance

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? The AHJ specifies NO placards of its own. What is required is (a) the NEC 2020 labelling package by adoption - 690.13(B), 690.56(C) rapid shutdown label, 705.10 directory, 705.12(B)(3) busbar marking, 690.54/690.53 - and (b) whatever the utility requires. TECO REQUIRES NO PLACARDS AT ALL: its interconnection tariff Section 8 contains no placard, label, warning-sign or nameplate requirement anywhere across 184 pages, and the only marking-adjacent text is that its own padlock and tag go on the disconnect. WREC likewise specifies no placard in its Application for Operation of a Renewable Generation System or its Interconnection Agreement. THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF DUKE, whose White Book Section VI-E carries six placard part numbers - do not carry that answer across. 82% · utility tariff
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. The City specifies no placard wording of its own. Zero hits for 'placard' across 246,671 words of codified text with positive controls passing ('electrical' 46, 'building' 970) and two fabricated controls at zero. The only City-side MARKING requirement found anywhere is on the electrical panel generally, and it is not PV-specific. 90% · ordinance (proved absence)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No letter height, colour or material is specified by the City, and none by TECO or WREC either. The governing spec is therefore NEC 2020 110.21(B) - permanent, suitable for the environment, not handwritten - and the specific label texts in 690.13(B), 690.56(C) (reflective, per 690.56(C)(3) requirements) and 705.10. NOTE THE CONTRAST FOR THE SURVEY: SECO Energy, 60 miles north, mandates engraved 1/4-inch white-on-red non-ferrous plates; TECO mandates nothing. 85% · utility tariff + ordinance (proved absence)
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Not required by the City or by either utility as a placard. NEC 2020 705.10 requires a permanent plaque or directory at each service equipment location (or an approved readily visible location) denoting the location of each power source disconnecting means, and that applies by adoption of the 2020 NEC at Sec. 22-61(a)(2). No City document specifies its content. TECO's tariff requires instead that the manual disconnect be 'mounted separate from the meter socket on an exterior surface ADJACENT TO THE METER' and 'readily accessible to the Company' - a physical-location rule in place of a map. 78% · adopting ordinance (NEC by adoption)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? No. Neither TECO nor WREC specifies any placard beyond the NEC. TECO's Tier 1 Standard Interconnection Agreement requires the switch to be lockable and taggable by the Company but imposes no customer-installed sign. WREC's Application and Interconnection Agreement impose no marking requirement at all. WREC does impose an unusual related cost: 'IF THE SEAL IS REMOVED BY OTHER THAN WREC PERSONNEL, THERE WILL BE A $100.00 TAMPERING CHARGE ASSESSED TO THE WREC MEMBER' - so the contractor must ring the local WREC office to have the meter-can seal pulled. 85% · utility application form + tariff
• Where must the labels be placed? At the service equipment and at the PV system disconnecting means, per NEC 2020 (690.13(B) at the PV system disconnect; 690.56(C) rapid-shutdown label at the service equipment or the PV disconnect location; 705.10 directory at each service equipment location; 705.12(B)(3) at the busbar/breaker). The utility-side physical rule is TECO's: the manual AC disconnect goes on an exterior surface adjacent to the meter, separate from the meter socket, readily accessible and lockable open by the Company. No City rule places any label anywhere. 80% · utility tariff + adopting ordinance

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? TECO: a manual disconnect switch of the visible load-break type is REQUIRED, 'mounted separate from the meter socket on an exterior surface ADJACENT TO THE METER', readily accessible to the Company and capable of being locked in the open position with a Company padlock. NO DISTANCE IN FEET IS GIVEN and no mounting height - 'adjacent to' is the whole specification. FOR TIER 1 THE COMPANY PAYS: 'The Customer shall install, AT THE COMPANY'S EXPENSE and subject to the approval of the cost by the Company, a manual disconnect switch...' and if the customer's quoted cost exceeds TECO's own, TECO installs it. That is PSC Rule 25-6.065(6)(a) working exactly as the baseline says - inverter-based Tier 1 is exempt from PAYING, not from HAVING. For Tier 2 and Tier 3 the customer bears the cost. WREC publishes NO disconnect specification at all in either of its two public documents. 92% · utility tariff
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes in substance, by two routes. NEC 2020 110.3 listing applies by adoption. The utilities add a compliance standard rather than a list: TECO's Tier 1 agreement and WREC's application both require the system to be compliant with UL 1741 and IEEE 1547 - WREC's contractor signature block certifies 'the RGS has been tested and is compliant with UL-1741 and/or IEEE-1547 (2014)'. There is no City approved-equipment list. Florida Product Approval numbers are demanded by the City only on re-roof permits. 85% · utility application form
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted, with no local ESS rule at all. The Code, the LDRs and the fee schedule are silent on batteries and energy storage; the FFPC 8th Edition (2023) provisions on ESS apply by adoption, enforced with Pasco County Fire Rescue as FFPC AHJ. On the utility side: WREC's application has an explicit 'Battery Back Up System (Yes/No)' field requiring the interconnect to be IEEE-1547/UL-1741 compliant and asking for battery count and wattage; TECO publishes SEPARATE tariff agreements for battery subsystems of 1 kW or more (Interconnection Agreement 1 - Battery Subsystems 1 kW or More, and an adopting agreement). 82% · utility application form + adopting ordinance
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No separate ESS permit type exists. The 103-type iWorQ Permit Type catalogue contains 'Solar', 'Solar Photo Voltaic Electric', 'Water Heater / Solar' and 'Install Generator' - but no battery, ESS or energy-storage type. A battery would be permitted under the solar or electrical type, or under 'Other'/'Misc.'. No separate ESS inspection type is published. 85% · permit portal application form
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Undetermined by rule - it falls to the Community Development Director. A ground mount is not listed in LDR Table 4.4-1 (Table of Permitted Accessory Uses), whose 17 entries run from Accessory Dwelling Units and Air Conditioner Compressor Units to Satellite Dish Antennae and Storage Buildings, with no solar entry. LDR 4.4.2(D)(3) therefore applies: 'The Community Development Director shall evaluate potential accessory uses that are not identified in Table 4.4-1... on a case-by-case basis.' IF treated as an accessory structure the binding standards are LDR 4.4.2(E): not in any required front, side or waterfront yard; in a rear yard not less than 10 feet from the rear lot line; not projecting beyond the front building line of the principal structure; not within 5 feet of the principal structure; not within any platted or recorded easement or over any known utility; combined floor area of all detached accessory structures not more than 33% of the principal structure's floor area; and in RS-1, accessory structures within a 25% lot-cover cap (RS-2: 20%). Max height RS-1 is 35 ft. A ROOFTOP array is better off: LDR 5.2.3(A)(2) excludes from the height limits 'spires, belfries, cupolas, antennae, water tanks, ventilators, chimneys... or other APPURTENANCES usually required to be placed above the roof level and... not intended for human occupancy'. 80% · land development regulations
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule. Nothing in Code Ch. 22 or the LDRs addresses service upgrades, busbar sizing or the 120% rule; NEC 2020 705.12 governs unamended. The only local service-upgrade artefact is a FEE: Res. 2008-0997 Part VIII.B.3 charges 'Service Upgrade $0.15 per amp' on top of the $35 electrical base fee - so a 200 A upgrade alongside a PV job adds $30 plus base. 85% · fee schedule + ordinance
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No local mounting or attachment-spacing rule exists. Judged against FBC 8th Edition (2023) and the manufacturer's Florida Product Approval. The City demands 'Florida Product approval numbers' in the description of work on RE-ROOF permits only; the requirement is not extended in writing to PV racking. Sec. 22-61(c) gives the Building Official discretion over 'any requirement necessary for the strength or stability' of a structure. 78% · published checklist + ordinance

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? Phone, email, or the iWorQ portal. The City accepts inspection requests by call or email to buildingpermits@dadecityfl.com, and the portal at portal.iworq.net/DADE/permits/600 has both a request form and a calendar scheduler. A request must include: permit number, job site location, type of inspection, date requested, contact name and phone, and miscellaneous access details (gate lock number, permit card location, time frame). 95% · department page
• How much notice is required? Next business day. 'Inspection request are done the next business day unless received by 8:00 am the day of or if requested for a future date.' So an 8:00 am request buys same-day; anything later is next-day. 95% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? Same-day is available if the request is in by 8:00 am. No AM/PM windows are published. After-hours inspections are available by prepayment: Res. 2008-0997 Part XII.N charges 'Actual Expenditure (salary plus benefits) by City', two hours minimum, 'Must be prepaid twenty-four (24) hours in advance' and only if approved by the Building Official or his designee. 88% · department page + 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? Yes - the City performs its own inspections, with named in-house inspectors. BUT the private-provider route under FS 553.791 is heavily used here and at times has dominated. The City's own FS 553.80(7)(b) Building Permit and Inspection Utilization Report for the year ended 30 September 2022 reports 1,327 permits issued, 'Number of Private Provider Inspections 8,696', 'Number of Building (Re)Inspections Conducted 0', and 'Number of Dedicated Personnel 3'. The FY2021 report shows the same line rising from 2 (FY2020) to 698 (FY2021). The fee resolution has matching local machinery at Part VI, 'Structural Inspections by Other than Dade City Inspectors', which drops the structural portion of the building permit fee to the $35 base where the City is notified in writing before issuance. 90% · FS 553.80(7)(b) utilization report
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated as an institution - the City employs its own. Named staff: Mike Barthle, Certified Building Official (ext. 414); Jason Cummings, Building Inspector (ext. 432); James Christenson, Building Inspector (ext. 438); Lorelei Wieck, Permit Coordinator / Safety Service Coordinator (ext. 412); Diane Dixon-Laird, Permit Technician (ext. 442). The FY2025-26 budget's organisational chart puts Building and Safety Services Division (Building Official -> Building Inspectors -> Code Enforcement) under the Community / Economic Director. DIRECTION OF TRAVEL IS INWARD, unlike several comparable cities: Building Services is run as a separate enterprise fund; FY2026 budgeted BI- EXECUTIVE SALARIES $100,664 and BI- REGULAR SALARIES $222,160 against BI- OTHER PROFESSIONAL SVCS of only $25,000, and FY2027 proposes salaries of $106,750 + $238,823 with professional services CUT 40% to $15,000 and other contractual at $5,000. That is roughly 3-4% of the $635,310 of budgeted permit revenue going to bought-in services - nothing like the ~48% seen at an outsourcing authority. Individual INSPECTIONS, however, are routinely done by FS 553.791 private providers (Q52). No RFP for building services exists: the two RFPs on the site are for constructing buildings, not for buying the service. 90% · budget line-item appendix + utilization report

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? No published solar inspection sequence exists. Generally: the City's local amendment Sec. 22-61(b)(6) adds 'a first-floor framing inspection after the foundation inspection when such floor construction is identified as being within a flood zone and/or of wood construction and more than one story', referring otherwise to 'the required inspections section in the building division development handbook' - a handbook that is NOT published anywhere on the City site. All reinspection and other fees must be paid before a final inspection, and an occupancy affidavit must be on file (Sec. 22-61(b)(2)). The portal's inspection-type dropdown returned empty to a plain fetch, so the type catalogue could not be recovered. 60% · ordinance
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Not published for solar. The only codified mid-stage inspection is the flood/multi-storey first-floor framing inspection at Sec. 22-61(b)(6). For a rooftop PV retrofit there is no rough-in requirement in any City document. Practically, on a re-roof the City's Roofing Affidavit machinery covers in-progress verification, but that is not extended in writing to PV. 65% · ordinance

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. Proved three ways: the codified corpus (246,671 words, controls passing) contains no checklist; a 120-page crawl of dadecityfl.com enumerated 323 documents by name with none matching 'inspect' except bid documents for a stormwater pump station project and the three utilization reports; and the ordinance itself points to a 'building division development handbook' that is not on the website. NOTE: the City DOES publish five 'Fire Inspection Requirements' sheets (Emergency & Standby Power Systems, Fire Alarm & Signaling Systems, Sprinkler Acceptance Tests, Underground Piping, Wet Chemical Hood Suppression) - all commercial, none reaching residential PV. 88% · site document inventory (proved absence)
• What must be on site at inspection? An approved set of plans and the posted permit, plus a recorded and posted Notice of Commencement. The fee resolution's reinspection triggers list the on-site requirements by implication: a $40 reinspection fee is charged where the 'Permit not posted at job site', 'Notice of Commencement not posted', or 'Approved set of plans not at job site', as well as for wrong address, repairs not made, condemned work, and work not ready. The permit application warns 'A NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT MUST BE RECORDED & POSTED ON THE JOB SITE BEFORE THE FIRST INSPECTION.' NOC threshold: the Code says direct contract price over $2,500 (Sec. 22-62(c)); the website says over $5,000 for electrical, roofing, sheds, carports, fences and signs - record the conflict (FS 713.13 was raised to $5,000, so the website is the current law and the Code is stale). 88% · fee schedule + permit application
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Not stated. No City inspection checklist is published at all - the 323-document sweep found none, and Sec. 22-61(b)(6) points to an unpublished development handbook. What IS published: Code Sec. 22-64 gives the Building Official entry powers and makes a recorded Notice of Commencement a precondition ('The failure of the owner or his authorized agent to file the original or a certified copy of the recorded notice of commencement... shall relieve the city building official or his employees from conducting the requested inspection'). Verification of labels and listings therefore rests on NEC 2020 110.3 and 690/705 compliance in the inspector's hands, with nothing published to calibrate it. 55% · ordinance

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 power release, and a Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Completion. The permit affidavit states 'NO ELECTRICAL POWER RELEASE OR CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY OR COMPLETION WILL BE ISSUED UNTIL SUCH FEES HAVE BEEN PAID TO THE CITY OF DADE CITY.' Code Sec. 22-35 makes it 'unlawful for any utility company to supply permanent electrical power to any building or structure under construction for which a certificate of occupancy has not been issued', with a 30-day temporary waiver available for testing electrical and air-conditioning equipment. The fee schedule prices a 'Duplicate of Certificate of Occupancy $10.00' and a 'Duplicate of Permit Card $2.00'. 88% · ordinance + permit application
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The INSTALLER or customer notifies the utility, after the City's inspection and power release. For TECO the application for interconnection is submitted after the system is installed (it asks for Installed Date, Installed by and Installed cost, and requires the manual disconnect to be in the OPEN position at submittal); TECO then executes the Tier 1 agreement within 30 calendar days of a complete application, 'Subject to an approved inspection', and fits the bi-directional net meter. For WREC the contractor or member emails the completed application, one-line diagram, equipment specifications and the signed Interconnection Agreement to rgs@wrec.net; 'Only after the system has been inspected and the size verified, will a net meter be installed'. The City does not notify anyone - but Code Sec. 22-35 means the City's CO is what lawfully unlocks permanent power. 88% · utility application form + tariff
• Is there a re-inspection fee? Yes, and there are TWO ladders in one document. General (Part XII.A): $40.00 for the first additional inspection, $80.00 for the second, $160.00 for the third on the same infraction - triggered by wrong address, repairs not made, condemned work, work not ready, permit not posted, NOC not posted, septic stub-out not approved, or approved plans not at the job site. Fire permits (Part XI.9): $100.00 second, $250.00 third, $500.00 fourth and subsequent per inspection visit - but fire inspections are now Pasco County Fire Rescue's under Res. 2024-22, so this ladder is superseded for fire. Also: Code Sec. 22-61(b)(2) requires all reinspection fees to be paid before a final inspection. Repermitting after expiry: the minimum inspection fee per trade if only finals remain, otherwise half the original permit fee. Time extension $30. 88% · fee schedule (Res. 2008-0997)
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Not published. No correction-notice procedure, no re-inspection request form and no published turnaround exist. What is codified: Sec. 22-92(c) requires a NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE as the first response to a minor regulatory violation by a licensee, with no fine attached, identifying the specific ordinance, explaining how to comply and specifying a reasonable time - that is a contractor-licensing provision under FS 489.113, not a field-correction rule. Corrections in practice are cleared by re-requesting the inspection (next business day) and paying the reinspection fee where one of the eight listed triggers applies. 60% · ordinance