City of Key West

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, but only within the corporate limits of the City of Key West. The City of Key West Building Department (1300 White Street) is the AHJ for residential building and electrical permitting inside city limits, including rooftop PV. 90% · department page (jurisdiction caveat) + building department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both Building and Electrical are permitted, plan-reviewed and inspected by the City's own Building Department (in-house, not contracted or delegated to Monroe County). Fire is held separately, in-house, by the City of Key West Fire Department's own Fire Marshal's Office (Fire Prevention Bureau: 1 Fire Marshal + 4 Fire Inspectors). 92% · FS 553.80(7)(b) utilization report (statutory, City's own)
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. A permit is required for a residential rooftop PV system, and the City publishes a dedicated Solar Installation Permit checklist. 95% · City checklist (dated PDF, current)
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? The City lists 'Solar' as its own distinct permit-type checklist, separate from the 'Electrical' checklist also listed on the same Permits page. The Solar checklist itself does not state whether a companion Electrical sub-permit is also required, but the City's general electrical-requirements guidance ('All applications involving work on service needs a riser diagram & Keys Energy Services meter location') and the fact Electrical is listed as its own line item strongly suggest the two are administered as related but distinct permit records, as is typical for FBC-adopting Florida cities. 55% · City permit-type checklist listing
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No City-imposed HOA-approval precondition was found. However, exterior work within the Historic District requires HARC's own architectural review (a Certificate of Appropriateness) BEFORE building permit issuance -- see Q25. 70% · City department page
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes, and this is a first-order issue for Key West. The Historic Architectural Review Commission (HARC) has a written Solar Collectors policy inside its Historic Architectural Design Guidelines requiring HARC approval, a preferred-location hierarchy favoring locations NOT visible from public streets, and specific design constraints, BEFORE a building permit for exterior solar work can be issued. 95% · City's own current Historic Architectural Design Guidelines (dated section, ordinance-approved)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? Monroe County (and Key West within it) is NOT in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) -- HVHZ is Miami-Dade and Broward Counties only under the Florida Building Code. Key West/Monroe County sits in the ASCE 7 Wind-Borne Debris Region with high design wind speeds, so the applicable regime for solar equipment is the standard statewide Florida Product Approval process (FS 553.842) with wind-load design per the locally applicable ASCE 7 basic wind speed, not the separate Miami-Dade/Broward HVHZ product-approval/NOA regime. No City-specific wind-certification document (distinct from standard Product Approval submittal) was found in Key West's own material. 65% · Florida Building Commission (state-level; no City-specific document found)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No zoning-code cap on residential generation system SIZE was found. At the utility level, Keys Energy Services caps its Renewable Generation System (RGS) definition itself at 2 megawatts (Tier 3 ceiling), and its Schedule NM1 tariff and Application form both flag that 'renewable generation system size limits may be subject to a cumulative ENROLLMENT limit on net metering customers located within KEYS' service area' -- i.e. a possible program-wide aggregate cap, not a per-system zoning cap, and the aggregate figure itself was not stated in the reachable tariff text. 55% · utility's own interconnection application (first-party)

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, or an owner/builder under Florida's owner-builder exemption -- electrical permits are issued 'in the name of the person performing the work.' 85% · City FAQ page
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? No City-specific contractor registration step was found beyond verification against the state DBPR license database; the City's online permit-submission form is explicitly gated to 'DBPR State Licensed Contractors' rather than to a separate City registration list. Local competency CARDS (for the specific-trades list e.g. drywall, masonry, awning erection -- not electrical/solar) are issued by Monroe County, not the City. 60% · City department page (specialty-contractor licensing)
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes, under Florida's statutory owner-builder exemption (FS 489.103/489.503), which the City has adopted its own disclosure form for. 85% · City solar checklist + FAQ

Almost everywhere wants a site plan, a one-line or three-line electrical diagram, equipment cut sheets with listings, and a structural attachment detail. Build it against the published checklist rather than the last jurisdiction you worked in — the checklist is what the reviewer marks against.

• What documents make up a complete submittal? Per the City's own 'CHECKLIST FOR SOLAR INSTALLATION PERMIT APPLICATION': Permit application with property address; owner name/contact; contractor name/contact; qualifier name/contact; proof of ownership (MCPAO property record card or deed); job valuation (all overhead, labor, materials); detailed scope of work. Required plans/documentation: signed and sealed engineered plans; technical specifications of the solar equipment to be installed; Keys Energy Riser Diagram Approval. Notes: a recorded Notice of Commencement (NOC) is required for jobs valued $5,000+ before the first inspection; Owner-Builders must submit a signed/notarized Owner-Builder Disclosure Form. 96% · City solar-specific checklist (dated, current)
• How many copies, and in what format? Two (2) sets of hardcopy plans plus one (1) PDF electronic copy, for all permit applications generally (not a solar-specific figure, but the City's stated general rule). 70% · City requirements handout (general, not solar-specific)
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Not explicitly stated as a distinct 'site plan' line for solar. The Solar checklist requires 'signed and sealed engineered plans' rather than naming a site plan separately; the general Minimum Requirements document requires a 'Survey with Site Plan' only for equipment placed on roof/ground for AC units, exhaust fans, pools, propane/fuel tanks, etc. -- solar is not one of the rows given a site-plan requirement in that table. 50% · City requirements handout (general table, solar not listed as a row)
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes -- a Keys Energy Riser Diagram, approved by the utility, is a required submittal item. 90% · City solar-specific checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not stated by name. The Solar checklist requires 'signed and sealed engineered plans' and 'technical specifications of solar equipment,' which in practice would need to include string/conductor sizing, but the City's own documents do not use the words 'string calculation' or 'conductor calculation.' 45% · City solar-specific checklist (inference)
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, and with NO monetary threshold -- the City's Solar checklist requires 'signed and sealed engineered plans' on every solar permit application, unconditionally. 90% · City solar-specific checklist (dated, current)
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? State floor: no PE stamp is required for electrical work performed by a licensed EC where the electrical work value is $125,000 or less and aggregate service capacity is 600A (240V) or less on a residential system (FS 471.003(2)(h)). No Key West-specific stricter electrical threshold was found (contrast Q13, where the City's own solar checklist DOES require an engineer seal on the structural/PV side unconditionally). 60% · Florida Statute (state 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? eTRAKiT (etrakit.cityofkeywest-fl.gov), the City of Key West's own permit portal. 90% · portal landing link (City's own site)
• Can the whole application be completed online? Partially -- the City's on-line submission form (routing into eTRAKiT) is explicitly offered to 'DBPR State Licensed Contractors' for submitting applications online. Whether an owner-builder can complete a full solar application online (vs. having to submit certain notarized forms in person/by mail) was not confirmed. 55% · department homepage
• What does a residential solar permit cost? No solar-specific fee line was found. General building permit fees run $24.00-$36.00 per $1,000 of job valuation, per the City's own FAQ; fencing-type permits are charged by linear foot instead. A residential rooftop PV job (job valuation stated on the Solar checklist itself) would be billed under this general valuation-based schedule via the electronic fee calculator built into eTRAKiT. 70% · City FAQ page
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation-based (job cost, including labor and materials) for the general building/electrical permit fee, per the City's own FAQ; the Solar checklist itself requires 'Job valuation (including all overhead, labor, and cost of materials)' as an application field, consistent with a valuation-based fee calculation. 72% · City FAQ page + City solar checklist

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.

• Which utility handles interconnection here? Keys Energy Services (KEYS), formally the Utility Board of the City of Key West DBA Keys Energy Services -- a MUNICIPALLY OWNED utility (self-declared in its own contract language), NOT FPL, Duke, or a cooperative. KEYS serves the City of Key West and the Lower Keys 'to the Seven-Mile Bridge at Marathon.' 97% · utility's own Standard Interconnection Agreement (first-party, self-declared)
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After the City's building-code inspection, and before KEYS allows parallel operation. The RGS Owner must obtain the City's inspection/certification first and provide a copy to KEYS in writing; only then does KEYS install the required bi-directional meter, and the RGS Owner 'shall not commence parallel operation... unless and until Utility has installed a bi-directional meter.' 92% · utility's own net metering checklist (first-party)

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, is the statewide-adopted edition under the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) cycle. Key West's own Code of Ordinances (Sec. 14-31, 'Adopted construction codes') adopts NFPA 70/the National Electrical Code by a FLOATING reference to 'editions as adopted by the State of Florida Building Commission,' without naming a year itself -- so the City has not independently stated a year, and the answer is the statewide baseline, not an independently reproved local fact. 80% · Municode (Key West's own Sec. 14-31, floating adoption) + state baseline
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), by floating reference in the City's own Code of Ordinances. 80% · Municode (Key West's own Sec. 14-31)
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023) (incorporating NFPA 1 and NFPA 101), by floating reference in the City's own Code of Ordinances to 'the most recent' editions. 75% · Municode (Key West's own Sec. 30-57, floating adoption)
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, at least administratively. Chapter 14 (Buildings and Building Regulations) contains City-specific administrative provisions layered on top of the floating FBC/NEC/Fire Code adoption -- e.g. its own owner-builder procedures, demolition-permit types, floating-home electrical rules, and (via HARC) its own historic-district design standards that function as local amendments for exterior/solar work. A full technical (non-administrative) amendment review of Chapters 14 and 30 was not completed given the volume of the code. 65% · Municode (Key West Code of Ordinances, Ch. 14 & 30, browsed directly)
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code (8th Ed., 2023) and NFPA 70/NEC (2020 ed., statewide baseline), both adopted by floating reference; plus, for the historic district, HARC's Solar Collectors guidelines; plus Keys Energy Services' own interconnection standards (IEEE 1547, IEEE 1547.1, UL 1741, and NFPA 70 Sec. 225.31 for the manual disconnect) as a condition of utility interconnection. 78% · combination: Municode + utility's own interconnection agreement

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 Key West on this step yet — 1 question checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

Which rapid-shutdown rule applies follows directly from the NEC edition in force, and the initiation device has to be at a location the fire service can reach and identify. This is inspected, and it is labelled.

• Is rapid shutdown required, and to which NEC edition? Not stated by the City itself. Inferred: since Key West's own Code floats to the state-adopted NEC (2020 edition, statewide baseline per this survey), and NEC 2020 Art. 690.12 mandates PV rapid shutdown, rapid shutdown should be required to the 2020 NEC. No City document uses the words 'rapid shutdown' or '690.12.' 55% · inference from state-adopted NEC edition; no City-specific statement found

The NEC sets a baseline for permanent markings at the service equipment and the disconnecting means. On top of that, an authority may specify its own wording, and the utility may specify more again. Where any of them writes its own text, a generic off-the-shelf label set will not pass — this is the detail most often fixed on a return visit.

• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes -- Keys Energy Services reserves the right to require its own signage at the manual disconnect switch, beyond whatever the AHJ requires. 75% · utility's own Standard Interconnection Agreement (first-party)
• Where must the labels be placed? On or near the manual (AC) disconnect switch, per Keys Energy Services -- see Q42 and Q48. No AHJ-specified label-placement rule beyond this utility requirement was found. 65% · utility's own Standard Interconnection Agreement (first-party)

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? Relative to the meter, no explicit City rule was found; at the utility level, Keys Energy Services requires an NFPA 70 (NEC) Sec. 225.31-compliant manual disconnecting means on every interconnected Renewable Generation System, with NO stated Tier-1/size exemption -- if a compliant disconnect is not already present, it 'shall be added prior to KEYS installing the bi-directional meter and commencing parallel operation.' 85% · utility's own Standard Interconnection Agreement (first-party)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No engineering attachment-spacing spec was found from the Building Department. Within the Historic District, HARC's Solar Collectors guidelines impose de facto placement/mounting constraints: arrays on pitched roofs must run parallel to the original roofline and not rise above the ridge; on flat roofs, arrays must be set back from the parapet edge; single installations on a single roof plane are preferred over multiple/disjointed arrays; and 'all energy collection equipment shall not be mounted to project from walls or other parts of the building.' 60% · City's own current Historic Architectural Design Guidelines

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? Not explicitly stated for solar/electrical specifically; the general practice implied by the City's Quick Links is via the eTRAKiT online permit portal and/or by phone to the Building Department (305-809-3956). 45% · inference from department contact info + portal (no explicit statement found)

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's own Building Department inspectors perform final inspections in-house; this is not delegated. 85% · City FAQ page + FS 553.80(7)(b) utilization report
• If delegated, to whom? N/A -- not delegated; the City's own Building Department performs the inspection (see Q52). 80% · City FAQ 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? General (not solar-specific) sequences published by the City: Building -- Foundation, Framing, Sheathing, Roofing (in that order, per the City's own Building inspections page). Electrical -- Underground, Rough-In, Final (per the Electrical inspections page). For a rooftop PV retrofit on an existing structure, Rough-In and Final electrical inspections, and possibly a Roofing inspection if mounting affects roof covering, would be the applicable stages; the City publishes no PV-specific sequence. 60% · City department pages (general, not solar-specific)

The approved plan set, the permit, and the equipment listings should be on site and reachable. Inspectors routinely verify that installed equipment matches what was approved, and that the labels are the ones the plan set promised.

• What must be on site at inspection? Not stated specifically for solar. General City rule: 'This permit must be displayed on the job site' -- applies to all permitted work including solar. 55% · City FAQ page (general, not solar-specific)

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 Occupancy (for new construction, additions, or a change of use) or a Certificate of Completion (for specified permit types not requiring occupancy, e.g. sheds, fences, window replacements, additions). Neither the CO nor the CoC list on the City's FAQ names 'solar' as one of its own line items, so which document (if any) is issued for a rooftop PV retrofit on an already-occupied home was not confirmed -- likely neither is required and the final electrical/building sign-off alone closes the permit, but the City did not state this directly. 50% · City FAQ page (general; solar not named on either document's applicability list)
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The RGS Owner (installer/customer), not the City -- the owner/installer must provide Keys Energy Services with a copy of the City's own building-code-official inspection and certification in writing; KEYS then installs the bi-directional meter that enables parallel operation (functionally, PTO). 85% · utility's own net metering checklist (first-party)