City of LaBelle

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 LaBelle Building Department is the AHJ for residential solar inside the city limits, with its own Building Official (Mark Lynch) and Permit Technician at the Land Development Office, 80 Euclid Pl. Hendry County's Land Development Code applies only to the unincorporated area. 94% · staff directory + county LDC jurisdiction clause
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both, in-house. The City issues and inspects building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits. Planning and zoning review is performed by a CONTRACTED consultant planner (Alexis Crespo, acrespo@rviplanning.com). Fire plan review/inspection is the City's own LaBelle Fire Department. Contractor competency certificates come from Hendry County or the State, not the City. 88% · adopted budget expenditure detail + staff directory
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. LDC Sec. 4.85.1.1(4)(B)(a): 'Building permits are required for installation of all SES structures.' Level 1 solar energy systems are a permitted use ('P') in every zoning district with no planning permit required, so the building permit is the only approval for a house. 93% · codified land development code
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate. The residential application states: 'I understand that a separate permit must be secured for electrical work, plumbing, signs, wells, pools...'. The fee schedule prices a named 'Solar, Wind and Water Energy Generating Devices' line and, separately, electrical work on an amperage formula with a $65 minimum. 85% · permit application + fee schedule
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No. Nothing in the City Code, the LDC or any permit document requires HOA or architectural approval before a permit, and the City has no architectural review board for single-family solar. Fla. Stat. 163.04 separately voids HOA prohibitions on solar. Note the separate historic-district route at Q25 and the State Road 80 Overlay, which applies only to property with frontage on SR 80 and sets corridor/commercial site-design standards, not rooftop rules. 75% · codified land development code, whole-corpus search
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes, if the property is a designated historic site or inside a designated historic district. Code Ch. 8.7 creates a Historic Preservation Board and a Certificate of Appropriateness regime (a 'regular COA' issued by staff without board approval under published guidelines; a 'special COA' issued by the board for demolition, removal, reconstruction or new construction). The solar ordinance itself anticipates this: Sec. 4.85.1.1(3)(E) - 'Additional permitting (certificates of appropriateness) to install solar in historic districts may be required.' 88% · codified historic preservation ordinance
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification. Wind resistance is handled through the Florida Building Code and Florida Product Approval: the permit checklist requires a 'Florida product approvals list' for roof material, exterior doors, windows and exterior fixtures, and the plan-review guidelines require wind speed, importance factor, exposure, internal pressure coefficient and design pressure for all openings, sealed by an engineer/architect or certified by the contractor. LaBelle is NOT in the HVHZ (Miami-Dade and Broward only). The solar checklist makes wind resistance an explicit item the Building Official weighs. 85% · permit checklist + codified Sec. 5-18
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Not for a house. LDC Table 1 of Sec. 4.85.1.1(4) makes a Level 1 solar energy system 'P' (Permitted, no planning permit required) in every zoning district, including all residential districts. Special Exception is required only for larger systems: Level 2 over 1/2 acre in residential/agricultural districts, Level 2 over 10 acres in most districts, and Level 3 everywhere. Special Exception fee is $1,500 ($2,500 in the SR 80 Overlay). 88% · codified land development code
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No numeric cap, and a real gap in the codified text. The permit table, the setback table and the height table are all keyed to 'Level 1 SES', 'Level 2 SES' and 'Level 3 SES' - and those three terms are NEVER DEFINED anywhere in the Code. Sec. 4.85.1.1(2) says 'Defined terms contained in this section are provided in section 2-4 of this Code'; Sec. 2-4 defines Solar Energy System, Solar collector, Solar energy, Ground mounted SES and Roof Mounted SES, and says only that 'A system fits into one (1) of three (3) system types: Level 1 SES, Level 2 SES, and Level 3 SES'. It never says what they are. 88% · codified definitions article

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 electrical contractor (or the appropriate specialty contractor), or the homeowner under the owner-builder exemption. The application's sub-contractor sheet requires a named, licensed Electrical Contractor with licence number; contractors must be 'state certified, state registered with City of LaBelle, or hold a City of LaBelle Certificate of Competency as a Specialty Contractor'. 88% · permit application
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? No - registration is optional, but a full contractor information packet is mandatory. The City's State Certified Contractor's Application says '**REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED** but we would need this same form + all the attachments minus the fee for EACH INDIVIDUAL PERMIT applied for'. Optional registration is $20.00 for two years. '***We will not be scheduling inspections if we do not have your complete Contractor information packet with updated information.' 93% · contractor registration form
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes. The residential permit application includes a full Owner-Builder Statement/Affidavit and the permit checklist offers 'Owner-Builder Affidavit (if applicable)' against every trade including Electrical. 90% · permit application checklist

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? For a PV job: (a) completed building permit application (notarised); (b) the City's PV Solar System Installation Checklist, signed under penalty of perjury by a trade professional or NABCEP-certified professional; (c) plan view of the PV system layout on the roof; (d) solar system documentation; (e) construction plans; (f) professional structural engineer's report where triggered; (g) documentation supporting 'the certificate of public good (where applicable)'; plus contractor/sub licensing and insurance, signed contract with scope and price, detailed description of work, amps and phases, riser diagram, site plan showing all existing structures and distances to all property lines, and Florida Product Approval list. 85% · published solar checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Contradictory in the City's own two live documents. The Permit Application Information Check List says single-family residential needs '1 hard copy & 1 PDF, CD, or thumb drive' (commercial: 2 hard copies + 1 digital). The residential application, item 9, says 'Have you provide 2 complete sets of plans and specifications, as well as a digital copy?' and its plan-review guidelines call for two sets of site plan, building plan, electrical plan, plumbing plan and mechanical plan. 80% · permit checklist vs permit application
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes. Site plan showing ALL existing structures and the distance from ALL property lines to the proposed location; proposed/existing ponds, drainage or retention; points of the compass; fire hydrants, standpipe connections, mains and valve locations; names and locations of adjacent county/city/state road systems and connections; septic or sewer connections, utilities, demolition; setbacks from structures and property lines; parking. For flood-hazard sites the FBC amendment Sec. 5-24 (adding FBC 107.2.5.1) adds delineation of flood hazard areas, floodway boundaries, flood zones and the design flood elevation, plus a surveyed ground elevation sealed by a Florida licensed surveyor. 90% · permit application + codified FBC amendment
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Not required by the solar checklist. For new residential electrical work generally, the plan-review guidelines require 'one-line diagram and load calculations' only at '3,000 sq. ft. and above'. FPL separately requires an electrical one-line diagram and inverter spec sheet for its own interconnection application at every tier. 78% · permit application plan-review guidelines
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, on a threshold ladder set out in the City's own PV checklist. A Florida-registered professional structural engineer's evaluation is required if: the roof slope is less than 3:12; there is more than one layer of roof cover; the roof is flat; the panels are raised or angled at any level; or the structure is not a one-to-three-storey building of 29 ft or less. Otherwise a trade professional recognised by the State of Florida, or a NABCEP-certified professional, may sign sections A and B under penalty of perjury. 88% · published solar checklist

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? None. There is no permitting portal. The City's own Application and Permitting Guide says 'Apply in person or via email'. The only online system the City runs is Edmunds WIPP (wipp.edmundsassoc.com/Wipp/?wippid=LABL) for UTILITY bill payment, and NextRequest for public records - neither touches permits. 88% · published permitting guide
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. Application can be submitted by email, but the process ends at a counter: 'ISSUANCE - Pay your fee(s) and receive your permit', and inspections are requested 'Via email or phone call'. There is no online status, no online payment of permit fees and no online inspection scheduling. 85% · published permitting guide
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $65.00 flat, on a named line: 'Solar, Wind and Water Energy Generating Devices (Ground, Wall, or Roof Mounted) $65.00'. Add the Florida Building Commission surcharge (1% of permit fee, min $2.00) and the Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board training surcharge (1.5% of permit fee, min $2.00) - so roughly $69 minimum. A separate electrical permit is likely (minimum $65.00, or $0.90/amp for the first 100 amps and $0.60/amp thereafter). Plan review is 30% of the base building permit fee. Re-inspection $60.00. Work started before permit: fees DOUBLED. 88% · published fee schedule + adopting resolution
• How is the fee calculated? Flat, for the named solar line. The wider schedule is valuation-based (Exhibit C converts contract price to fee in $1,000 steps: $1,000 -> $60, $10,000 -> $96, $50,000 -> $256, then $664 for the first $150,000 plus $5 per additional $1,000), and the Building Official may reject an under-estimated contract price. But solar is one of the fixed-fee items, so a residential PV job is a flat $65 regardless of system cost. 88% · published fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes. 'Building Plan Review Fee - 30% of Base Bldg. Permit Fee'. The adopted worksheet still shows the superseded figure struck through alongside it ('Plan Review (25% 30% of Base Fee)'), so both numbers are visible in the live document. Energy Code Review is a further $45.00. Fire plan review is a separate schedule ($0.0115/sq ft, min $135 for construction plan review) but single-family fire sprinkler and fire alarm inspections are 'No Charge'. 82% · adopting resolution exhibits

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.

• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Code Sec. 5-20(d): a building permit 'shall automatically expire if construction is not commenced within six (6) months from the original date of issue of the permit and construction is not at least one-third completed within twelve (12) months'. Permits are not assignable or transferable (Sec. 5-20(e)). Renewal of an expired permit costs 50% of the original fee; an extension is $65.00. A separate floodplain development permit expires if work is not commenced within 180 days (flood ordinance Sec. 104.5). 92% · codified ordinance
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), investor-owned, sole electric utility in the city. The City is NOT a municipal electric and is not an FMPA member. 96% · codified electric franchise ordinance
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel - FPL is in the sequence twice. Tier 1 (<=10 kW AC): apply online for pre-approval BEFORE installing; install; have the system inspected by the AHJ; upload the approved permit; FPL orders a bi-directional meter; do not begin parallel operation until it is installed; FPL then emails permission to operate. So FPL pre-approval precedes the City's inspection and FPL's PTO follows it. 92% · utility interconnection process page

The NEC edition a jurisdiction enforces is often a cycle behind the newest one published, and local amendments sit on top of it. Rapid shutdown, conductor sizing and labelling all change between editions, so the edition in force is the first thing to establish, not the last.

• Which NEC edition is in force? 2020 NEC in force, statewide, as part of the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), effective 31 Dec 2023. The City's own codified adoption is nine cycles out of date and must not be used: Code Sec. 5-36(a) still adopts 'the National Electrical Code, 1996 edition', last touched by Ord. No. 96-11 on 9 Jan 1997. 88% · codified adopting ordinance + current permit application
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), printed on the City's current residential permit application. Codified Sec. 5-18 is badly stale: it adopts 'the Standard Housing Code, 1994 edition, and the Standard Building Code, 1994 edition' and incorporates 'the 2007 Florida Building Code, existing buildings, fuel gas, plumbing, mechanical, and residential with the 2009 revisions' - last amended by Ord. No. 2009-02 on 10 Sep 2009. 90% · permit application masthead + codified ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023) statewide. The City's codified adoption names the 2004 edition: Sec. 6-12(a), 'This Code adopts the Florida Fire Prevention Code 2004 which includes current edition of the NFPA 1', per Ord. No. 2006-13 (9 Mar 2006). Sec. 6-13 adopts ALL appendices of the FFPC. Enforcement is the LaBelle Fire Department's fire chief and a designated fire marshal. 82% · codified adopting ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, and two of them bite an electrical job. Code Sec. 5-36(a) amends the electrical code so that: all structures and dwellings including mobile and manufactured homes 'shall be wired with copper wiring'; 'All residential units shall be a minimum 150-amp service with a main disconnect' (mobile home 100-amp minimum); and conduit/raceway is required for non-residential occupancies. Sec. 5-18(c) adds masonry tie-beam, footing and pier-foundation amendments and a 110 mph wind figure. Sec. 5-24 adds the state model FBC flood amendments. Sec. 5-23: where this chapter is more stringent than the adopted building code, this chapter controls. 90% · codified local amendments
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) family including the Florida Residential Code, the 2020 NEC as incorporated, the Florida Fire Prevention Code, plus the City's Ch. 5 local amendments, and - by the City's own solar checklist - 'the manufactures installation instructions requirements and... the minimum codes and standards as adopted in the City of LaBelle', certified under penalty of perjury by the installer. LDC Sec. 4.85.1.1(8)(A): 'All SES installations must be performed by a qualified solar installer and will meet the applicable Florida Building and Fire Code standards.' 88% · published solar checklist + codified solar 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. The requirement is whatever the Florida Fire Prevention Code as adopted imposes (NFPA 1 / FBC-R R324 access and pathway provisions). The City adopts the FFPC and ALL of its appendices by reference (Sec. 6-13) but writes nothing of its own about roof access, ridge setbacks or pathways. 60% · codified fire code adoption, whole-corpus search

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? Rapid shutdown is required by NEC 2020 Article 690.12 as adopted statewide through the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023). LaBelle publishes no local rapid-shutdown rule and no local amendment to 690.12. 78% · codified adopting ordinance + statewide code

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 itself requires none. The placards that actually go on a LaBelle job are FPL's, from Electric Service Standards Section XIII (rev. 10-30-25): (1) at the INTERCONNECTING METER CAN - 'WARNING / MULTI POWER SOURCES / [sources] / RATED AC OUTPUT CURRENT ** AMPS / NOMINAL OPERATING VOLTAGE ** VOLTS'; (2) at the DER DISCONNECT SWITCH - 'GENERATION SYSTEM AC DISCONNECT / RATED AC OUTPUT CURRENT ** AMPS / NOMINAL OPERATING VOLTAGE ** VOLTS'; (3) where battery storage is present, a placard permanently affixed to the meter enclosure stating 'Battery storage utilized in this facility.' Plus whatever NEC 2020 690/705 requires. 92% · utility electric service standards, section XIII, OCR'd
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. The City of LaBelle specifies no placard wording of its own anywhere - not in the Code, not in the PV Solar System Installation Checklist, not in the residential application, not in the fee schedule. All wording comes from the NEC and from FPL. 88% · codified code, whole-corpus search + all published forms
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No local specification. FPL's is the governing spec and it is precise: 'All labels must be permanent and weatherproof/UV resistant placard with engraved letters. The customer is responsible for all labeling requirements.' No letter height and no colour is given. Note a live contradiction inside the same FPL manual: the identical labelling paragraph reads 'must be permanent' in Section XIII.A.6 (net metering) and 'should be permanent' in Section XIII.B.6 (Small Generation Interconnection Agreement) and again at XIII.D.2(g) for V2G. 90% · utility electric service standards, section XIII, OCR'd
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes, and they are the only placards on the job. See Q38 for the exact wording. FPL also imposes the plan-set requirement that goes with them: 'Plans must show dimensions between the location of the meter socket and the DER disconnect switch', and meter numbers associated with the interconnecting premise must be included in the single-line diagram. 92% · utility electric service standards, section XIII, OCR'd
• Where must the labels be placed? Two locations, both FPL's: at the interconnecting meter can, and at the DER disconnect switch. Where there is battery storage, a third placard goes permanently on the meter enclosure. The DER disconnect itself, where required, must be 'installed separate from, but adjacent to, the FPL meter socket within 10 feet of the meter socket and must always remain unrestricted and accessible to FPL personnel', with 'no locked gates, doors or fences between the meter socket and the DER disconnect switch'. 92% · utility electric service standards, section XIII, OCR'd

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? FPL's rule, and it has two independent triggers. BY TIER: 'All tier 2 and tier 3 systems require an FPL approved visually open Distributed Energy Resource (DER) disconnect switch' - so a Tier 1 system (<=10 kW AC inverter rating) needs none; FPL's own requirements sheet confirms 'FPL requires a DER Disconnect Switch (on the AC side of the inverter) for all DER installations ranging from 10kW to 2MW'. BY TAP POINT, regardless of tier: 'If the interconnection is performed on the line side of the customers main electrical panel (per NEC) a manual AC disconnect is required between AC generation output and the point of interconnection to FPL facilities.' Where required: mounted separate from but adjacent to the FPL meter socket, WITHIN 10 FEET, always accessible, no locked gates/doors/fences between, load side to the inverter and line side to FPL's grid. Spec: visible open (blades, jaws and air gap visible, not obscured by dead-front or arc shield), lockable open, an FPL 3/8-inch padlock shank must fit the cover hasp, the switch may not be modified to accept the lock, enclosure grounded, not usable as a raceway, listed to UL/ANSI/IEEE, blades de-energised when open per NEC 404.6(C). 93% · utility electric service standards, section XIII, OCR'd
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes, on the utility side and partly on the City side. FPL: 'The customer must utilize a certified UL 1741 SA and IEEE 1547 grid interactive inverter. Inverters that have not been certified to UL Standard will be denied interconnection.' Battery storage must be NRTL-certified to UL 1741, or be DC-coupled behind a UL 1741 listed device. The City requires a Florida Product Approval list for roof material, exterior doors, windows and exterior fixtures - which catches the roof covering a PV array is fixed to, not the modules. 90% · utility standards + city permit checklist
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, with conditions from three directions. LDC Sec. 4.85.1.1(8)(C): 'If solar storage batteries are a part of the SES, they must be placed in a secure container or enclosure meeting the Florida Building Code requirements and when no longer in use. will be disposed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the City of LaBelle and other applicable laws and regulations.' FPL: NRTL certification to UL 1741, a permanent meter-enclosure placard reading 'Battery storage utilized in this facility', and - for a battery paired with renewable generation - 'the customer may not export power from the battery to the grid'. A battery installed as backup only, with no renewable generation, needs no interconnection agreement. Stand-alone storage is not 'renewable energy' under Rule 25-6.065(2)(d) and its output is not net metered. 90% · codified solar ordinance + utility standards
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes. A ground-mounted SES is treated as a structure: LDC Sec. 4.85.1.1(4)(B)(a) requires a building permit for 'all SES structures'; Table 2 sets parcel-line setbacks to ground-mounted SES equipment (in residential districts R-1AA/R-1A/R-1/R-2/R-2T/RNU/R-3/MHP: front 25 ft, side 20 ft, rear 10 ft; AG: per zoning district for Levels 1-2, then 30/20/25 ft); and Table 3 caps height at 20 feet for ground-mounted systems, 'measured from the highest natural grade below each solar panel'. Security fencing, poles and wires needed to connect to the electric utility are excluded from the setback measurement. 90% · codified solar ordinance
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? Yes - a minimum service size rule, codified. Sec. 5-36(a)(4): 'All residential units shall be a minimum 150-amp service with a main disconnect, except that a mobile home may have a minimum 100-amp service.' Sec. 5-36(a)(3) requires copper wiring throughout. There is no local busbar or 120%-rule amendment; NEC 705.12 governs. Separately, the City's voluntary Solar Ready Construction Guidelines recommend 200 A service, a 3'x3' inverter wall area with 3 ft clearance beside the main panel, 2-inch metallic conduit from inverter to array, and a space for the PV breaker at the opposite end of the panel from the main. 88% · codified local electrical amendment
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No specific mounting system or attachment spacing is prescribed. What the City does prescribe, in its PV checklist, is a condition on the roof: the default path assumes the panels are 'flat applied ONLY'; anything raised or angled, any flat roof, any slope under 3:12 and any roof with more than one layer of cover drops out of the checklist and into a professional structural engineer's evaluation. The Building Official must also be satisfied the system presents no unreasonable safety risk as to weight load, wind resistance and emergency ingress or egress (LDC Sec. 4.85.1.1(4)(B)(c)). 82% · published solar checklist + codified solar 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? Email or phone. The City's Application and Permitting Guide: 'INSPECTIONS - *Request the necessary inspection(s) *Via email or phone call'. There is no portal and no online scheduling. Inspections will not be scheduled at all unless the contractor's complete information packet is on file with the City. 88% · published permitting guide
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? Not published as AM/PM windows, but the City sells a priced alternative: 'Personalized Inspections - $45.00 Per Hour Plus $2.50 per mile if unit is outside the City of LaBelle ($120.00 minimum)'. Pre-moving structural inspections are priced the same way. 70% · published 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. Code Sec. 5-20(c): 'The building official or the city engineer operating under his direction or such other person as the official may designate shall inspect all buildings or structures.' The department carries real payroll (FY2025-26 salaries $388,880 plus $76,568 retirement and $78,762 health insurance), which is the signature of an in-house function rather than an outsourced one. 85% · codified ordinance + adopted budget
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated. The City retains inspection. The one qualification is the unnamed $143,000 Contract Services line in the Building & Code Enforcement budget, and the contracted consultant planner (RVi Planning) who holds planning and zoning review - but zoning review is not required for a Level 1 SES, which is permitted outright in every district. 75% · adopted budget expenditure detail

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? Not published as a solar sequence. What the City does publish is an inspection-type catalogue, at the foot of the adopted Permit Fee Worksheet: 'INSPECTION TYPES: FO RP TB RUFS (FR RE SP RA SH) RDF SH IN TE FC STL DKC ENCL TMP RD FOSL SPRE FRRE COKLS CONF NOC'. There is no solar or PV type in it and the codes are nowhere expanded. For a house the process ends at 'CO / CC FINALED - Obtain your Certificate of Completion or Certificate of Occupancy'. 65% · adopted fee schedule permit worksheet

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. The City publishes no inspection checklist. The nearest published instrument is the 'PLANS REVIEW GUIDELINES - SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE' inside the residential permit application, which is a plan-review list for a new house, and the PV Solar System Installation Checklist, which is a pre-permit structural affidavit signed by the installer, not something an inspector works to. 80% · complete enumeration of published building documents
• What must be on site at inspection? 'Approved plans must be on site and available for inspections, all manufactures installation manuals must be on site for inspections' - verbatim from the residential permit application. In addition the contractor's complete information packet (state licence, driver's licence, business tax receipt, liability and workers' comp certificates) must already be on file or the inspection will not be scheduled, and in flood hazard areas a first-floor elevation certificate must be on file in the Building Department before the final inspection or CO. 90% · permit application

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 or a Certificate of Occupancy - 'CO / CC FINALED - Obtain your Certificate of Completion or Certificate of Occupancy'. Certificate of Occupancy is a priced line at $30.00 ($90.00 for a change in use). 85% · published permitting guide + fee schedule
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer or customer, not the AHJ. FPL's Tier 1 process: after the City's inspection, 'upload a copy of the approved permit or a print screen from the local authority's website indicating the permit has been approved' including the electrical and mechanical sign-off, description of work, address, permit number and building department name; FPL then confirms a bi-directional meter has been ordered and, once it is installed, 'FPL will send you an email with permission to operate'. 90% · utility interconnection process page
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $60.00 for a building re-inspection. Fire: the first re-inspection is free, the second and subsequent are $65 per unit, per type, per re-inspection for construction, and $50 for occupancy/use permits; a failed new-construction fire inspection is $65. 90% · published fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? By re-submittal to the same desk. The City's permitting flowchart routes a rejected application to 'CORRECTIONS - *Submit required revisions', which loops back into REVIEW; after a permit is issued, changes go through 'REVISIONS - *If changes are needed submit revision with supporting documents', and outstanding items sit as 'HOLDS - *Submit required final documents if applicable *Pay outstanding fees if applicable' before the CO/CC. No correction-notice format, no clearance timeline and no re-review fee for building permits is published (fire plan review re-submittal is half the initial plan review fee). 72% · published permitting guide