City of St. Pete Beach

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 St. Pete Beach is the AHJ for residential rooftop PV within its municipal limits. Its own Community Development Department, Building & Permitting Division, reviews plans and issues permits, with an in-house Building Official (Luke Curtis) and Deputy Building Official. The City's Building Codes page states plainly: 'The City of St. Pete Beach reviews plans and issues permits under the following codes...'. Nothing is delegated to Pinellas County except contractor licensing/competency (PCCLB) and the countywide Board of Adjustments and Appeals for code-interpretation appeals (Code Sec. 98-30, added Sec. 103.8). 96% · department page + adopting ordinance
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both, and more: the City itself permits and inspects building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, gas and fire for residential work. The FY2026 adopted budget's Building Fund carries 16.00 FTE in-house - Building Official, Deputy Building Official, 2 Building Inspectors, an Inspector Intern, Permitting Administrator, Permitting Coordinator, Building and Permitting Clerk, 6.5 Permit Technicians and an Administrative Assistant - up from 13.00 FTE in FY2025. Contractor licensing is Pinellas County's (Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board). Fire inspection and permit services are the City's own Fire Department (Code Sec. 98-160). 93% · adopted budget (personnel schedule + expenditure detail)
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. Two independent instruments prove it. (1) The City's published 'Submittal Requirements by Permit Type' carries a dedicated category 'Solar Electric Panels' listing what must be filed. (2) The iWorQ online permit application offers 'SOLAR PANEL' as a selectable Type of Work. The only permit exemption is Code Sec. 98-30's amended FBC Section 104.1.4, which exempts 'casual, minor or inconsequential' work only where it does 'not affect the electrical system' and the aggregate price for labour and materials does not exceed $1,000.00 - a PV install fails both limbs. 93% · published submittal checklist + permit portal
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined. One building permit covers the job; the electrical contractor signs onto the prime contractor's permit. The City's permitting page states 'All subcontractors must sign onto the prime contractor's permit prior to permit issuance (see page 2 of the application)', and page 2 of the current application form carries a notarised 'SUB-CONTRACTOR SIGN ON' block with a dedicated Electrical Contractor line (signature, printed name, licence number, company, notary). The fee schedule reinforces this: the Building Permit Base fee 'includes building and fire reviews and inspections for the specific category'. A standalone 'ELECTRICAL' work type does exist in the portal but the solar route is the combined one. 80% · permit application form + department page
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No, for an ordinary house. THE ARCHITECTURAL-GATE TEST, WORKED: St. Pete Beach has NO architectural review board and NO design review board. Chapter 22 of the Code (Boards, Committees, Commissions) lists Board of Adjustment, Finance and Budget Review Committee, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, Technical Review Committee, Historic Preservation Board, Planning Board, Special Magistrate and Beach Stewardship Committee - no architectural body. The Land Development Code has no architectural-review division; its design standards sit inside DIVISION 20 (PAG Pass-a-Grille Overlay District), and LDC Sec. 20.24 scopes them to 'any development within the PAG Overlay District USING THE BUILDING TYPES, as provided in this division' - i.e. new construction and additions using the overlay's building types, not a rooftop retrofit. Even there, board review is discretionary: 'The City MAY request review by the Historic Preservation Board.' Private HOA or condominium covenants are a separate matter and are constrained by FS 163.04. NOTE the standing City instruction: 'If any board/agency approval is required, that approval MUST be submitted prior to permit submittal.' 85% · land development code (applicability clause) + codified board roster
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes, but it reaches almost nothing. LDC Sec. 28.8 is unusually tightly drawn: '(a) No new construction, addition, moving or demolition permit shall be issued for a VOLUNTARILY DESIGNATED historic resource until a certificate of appropriateness has been issued. (b) No ADDITIONS to contributing structures within the Pass-a-Grille Overlay THAT WOULD ENCROACH on the underlying zoning district's setbacks or required yards may be issued a building permit until a certificate of appropriateness has been issued.' Three limits stack: the property must be designated, designation is voluntary, and the trigger list is new construction / addition / moving / demolition - a rooftop array is an ALTERATION and is not in it. The locally designated list runs to 135 numbered entries as at 24 April 2026 in a city of ~8,879 people. Criteria for issuance are the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, 36 CFR 67 (1983). COA fee $50.00; filing deadline noon SIX WEEKS before the hearing; board meets the first Thursday monthly. LDC Sec. 28.18(d) is the nearest thing to a rooftop-equipment rule: 'Modern equipment and amenities, such as air conditioning, shall be concealed from sight by placing them as far as possible from the street and to the rear of the original structure' - written for the board's own discretion on designated resources. One operational hook worth knowing: the COA application states 'a Historic Preservation inspection is required as part of the Building Permit process for any work that alters the exterior... A final building inspection will not be conducted until after the Historic Preservation inspection is approved or waived by Historic Preservation staff', and the iWorQ workflow carries HISTORIC REVIEW and HISTORIC BOARD HEARING as step types. 90% · land development code + application form + designated-property list
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification. The City reviews under 'THE FLORIDA BUILDING CODE 2023 8TH EDITION' and 'FLORIDA FLOOD RESISTANT DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION ASCE - 24-14'; wind resistance is handled through the FBC and the statewide Florida Product Approval system. No local wind provision exists: 'wind-borne' and 'windborne' return zero hits in both the Code of Ordinances and the Land Development Code, and 'mph' returns three, all traffic speed limits. St. Pete Beach is a Pinellas County barrier island - it is in the ASCE 7 wind-borne debris region but is NOT HVHZ (HVHZ is Miami-Dade and Broward only). NOTABLE: the Solar Electric Panels submittal entry asks only for 'Specs on PV panels and equipment', whereas the City's window, door, shutter, garage door, roofing and new-construction entries all demand 'Florida Product Approval Information Sheets including specs and installation instructions'. 70% · department page + codified corpus searches (absence)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No. Rooftop PV is not a conditional use anywhere in the Land Development Code and no City Commission approval is triggered. Conditional Use Permits (LDC Division 4) exist and are Commission-decided, at $500 plus mailing costs, but attach to listed uses, not to rooftop equipment. The only discretionary review a PV job can meet is a Historic Preservation Board COA where LDC Sec. 28.8(a) or (b) applies, or - in the PAG Overlay, for development using the Division 20 building types - a design review where 'The City may request review by the Historic Preservation Board.' 70% · land development code (absence) + fee schedule
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? None imposed by the City - the Code and the Land Development Code contain no generation size cap of any kind. The limits are the utility's and the state's: FL PSC Rule 25-6.065 sets Tier 1 at 'a gross power rating of 10 kW or less' (AC nameplate, DC x 0.85 for inverter-based systems), and DEF Tariff rule 8.08 conditions net metering on generation 'where the purpose is to offset a customer's usage, not purposefully create excess energy by installing renewable generation larger than needed to offset usage'. 80% · state PSC rule + utility tariff (local absence)

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 Florida state-certified or county-registered electrical contractor, signing onto the prime contractor's permit with a notarised signature and licence number; or the property owner under the FS 489.103(7) owner-builder exemption. The iWorQ application states 'Only contractors with active licenses are eligible to submit this form.' Contractor licensing is the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board's; state-certified contractors do not register with PCCLB but must file proof of state licence and insurance with each building department. 85% · permit application form + portal + county licensing board
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes. The City's 'STATE CERTIFIED CONTRACTORS' notice, effective 24 June 2024, requires: 'You will have to provide proof of state license, general liability and workers' compensation insurance (or exemption) to our building department with the City of St. Pete Beach as Certificate Holder. Workers' compensation insurance written by a company outside of Florida must still say “Valid in Florida.”' The iWorQ application will not accept a contractor who is not already linked in the City's system. 92% · department notice (dated)
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes. The City publishes an 'Owner-Builder Statement/Affidavit' and an 'Owner-Builder Permit Information' sheet, and the live iWorQ permit register shows permits issued with '*HOMEOWNER' as Primary Contractor. NOTE A DIRECT CONFLICT IN THE CITY'S OWN PAPERWORK, AND IT IS SOLAR-SPECIFIC: the Owner-Builder Permit Information sheet reproduces the FS 489.103 carve-out that 'an owner's notarized signature or personal appearance to sign the permit application is not required for a solar project... if the building permit application is submitted electronically to the permitting agency and the owner certifies the application and disclosure statement using the permitting agency's electronic confirmation system', while the Owner-Builder Statement/Affidavit is headed 'OWNERS MUST PERSONALLY APPEAR AT THE BUILDING DIVISION TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT' and the iWorQ form says 'Homeowner notarized signature is required on our permit application.' 88% · department information sheet (OCR of scanned PDF) + affidavit + portal

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 the 'Solar Electric Panels' category the City lists exactly four items: (1) Completed Permit Application, uploaded signed and notarised; (2) 'Digital complete set of sealed structural plans. Must be to scale and legible' comprising (a) Roof layout and (b) Structural plans; (3) 'Specs on PV panels and equipment'. Add, from the general instructions: a recorded Notice of Commencement at permit issuance (required before the first inspection and required to be on the job site); an Agent Authorization Form if an agent applies; the Owner-Builder Statement/Affidavit if applicable; and - per the standing instruction at the head of the residential categories - 'If any board/agency approval is required, that approval MUST be submitted prior to permit submittal (ie: Historic Board, FEMA variance, other variances, etc).' 94% · published submittal checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Digital PDF only, uploaded through the iWorQ portal. The City states 'Digital plans are required and must be uploaded through the permitting portal' and 'PDF EXTENSION UPLOADS ONLY. ALL OTHER EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.' Exception: 'Plans larger than 11x17 should be submitted with two sets of stamped & sealed plans with the application in person.' Mixed submittals are refused outright: 'The Building Department will not accept mixed submittals e.g., submitted online & then documents dropped at our office or in the mailbox outside city hall.' Paper attracts scanning fees of $0.25 per 8.5x11 sheet and $3.50 per larger sheet. 92% · department page + submittal checklist
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Not listed for Solar Electric Panels - that category asks only for roof layout and structural plans. But the master form is titled 'APPLICATION FOR CONSTRUCTION (FLOOD ZONE)' and Code Sec. 98-124.1 requires the site plan or construction documents for ANY development in a flood hazard area to show, as applicable: delineation of flood hazard areas, floodway boundaries and flood zone(s), base flood elevation(s) and ground elevations; location of the proposed activity and proposed structures and existing buildings; and 'Delineation of the coastal construction control line or notation that the site is seaward of the coastal construction control line, if applicable'. The floodplain administrator may waive submissions 'not required to be prepared by a licensed professional' where review is unnecessary. 70% · codified ordinance + submittal checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? No - not required by the City's published Solar Electric Panels submittal list, which asks only for a sealed structural set (roof layout, structural plans) and 'Specs on PV panels and equipment'. No one-line or three-line diagram is named anywhere in the City's 29 published permit forms and checklists. 60% · published submittal checklist (absence)
• Are string and conductor calculations required? No - string and conductor calculations are not required by the published Solar Electric Panels submittal list. Code Sec. 98-30's added FBC Section 104.2.1.2 does, however, give the building official standing authority to 'require details, computations, stress diagrams, and other data necessary to describe the construction or installation and the basis of calculations.' 58% · published submittal checklist (absence) + codified ordinance
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, and with NO threshold - a sealed structural set is required for every solar permit. The Solar Electric Panels entry reads 'Digital complete set of sealed structural plans. Must be to scale and legible' with roof layout and structural plans beneath it. Unlike the City's residential alteration and addition categories, which qualify the sealing requirement by scope, the solar entry carries no valuation or size trigger at all. 88% · published submittal checklist
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Not required by any City instrument. The state exemption governs: FS 471.003(2)(h) exempts electrical work below the $125,000 / 600A thresholds from the PE-stamp requirement. No St. Pete Beach document sets a local electrical PE trigger, and no older $50,000 figure appears in the City's material. 65% · published submittal checklist (absence) + state statute

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. Applications are filed at portal.iworq.net/STPETEBEACH; inspection requests and permit status run through the same system. A City-issued 'contractor web code' (access code) is needed to request inspections - obtained by emailing permits@stpetebeach.org. 96% · permit portal
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes in substance, with three practical exceptions. Digital submittal is mandatory ('Digital plans are required and must be uploaded through the permitting portal'), but: (a) the permit application itself must be printed, signed and NOTARISED, then scanned and uploaded - 'Please upload Notarized Permit Application with Sub-Contractor, Contractor and/or Authorized Agent signatures'; (b) an access code must first be requested from the City by email; (c) plans larger than 11x17 must be delivered in person as two stamped and sealed sets. 'INCOMPLETE PERMIT APPLICATION SUBMITTALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AND YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL THAT THE APPLICATION HAS NOT BEEN ACCEPTED AND WILL BE DELETED DUE TO INSUFFICIENT DOCUMENTATION.' 85% · permit portal + department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? No solar-specific fee line exists. The general rule applies: Building Permit Base fee = $50.00 plus $16.00 per $1,000.00 of project valuation, PLUS a separate Plan Review fee of one half of the building permit fee. Worked example on a $25,000 residential PV system: $50 + (25 x $16) = $450 permit, plus $225 plan review = $675 total. Re-inspection $150. Permit extension $50. Commencement of work without a permit = 3 times the permit fee. 85% · published fee schedule (codified Appendix A)
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation. '$50.00 plus $16.00 per $1,000.00 of project valuation unless the specific category is listed below.' The iWorQ application makes Valuation a required field. Code Sec. 98-30's added Section 104.6.5 requires permit valuations to 'include total cost, such as electrical, gas, mechanical, plumbing equipment and other systems, including materials and labor', and allows the building official to deny a permit on an underestimated valuation unless the applicant produces detailed estimates. 92% · published fee schedule (codified Appendix A)
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes. The fee schedule carries 'Plan Review - 1/2 of Building Permit Fee' as its own line, separate from the Building Permit Base fee. Plan Revisions are charged additionally at $25.00 per sheet. Code Sec. 98-30's amended Section 104.4.2 adds a punitive multiplier: where design documents must be rejected three or more times for the same continuously-noted code violation, 'a fee of four times the amount of the proportion of the permit fee attributed to plans review shall be imposed each time after the third such review'. 88% · published fee schedule (codified Appendix A)

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? The City does not publish a local service standard; it points at the statute. Its permitting page states twice: 'Permit review is regulated by Florida Statutes 553.792, Building permit application to local government.' Under FS 553.792(1)(a) as currently amended, for an EXISTING single-family residential dwelling where the value of the work is less than $15,000, an electrical permit must be approved, approved with conditions or denied within 5 BUSINESS DAYS. Otherwise, for a structure under 7,500 sq ft, 30 BUSINESS DAYS. The local government must give written notice of any insufficiency within 5 business days or the application is automatically deemed complete. Missing a deadline costs the City 10 percent of the permit fee per business day. 85% · state statute expressly cited by the authority's own page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Code Sec. 98-30, amended Section 104.5.1: a permit becomes invalid unless work is commenced within SIX MONTHS of issuance; it is void if work is suspended or abandoned for 90 days after commencement; and work must be completed within 14 MONTHS for one- and two-family dwellings after approval of the building plans. 'Failure to obtain an approved inspection within 90 days of the previous approved inspection shall constitute suspension or abandonment.' One or more extensions of not more than 90 days each may be granted on written request with justifiable cause, at $50.00 each. Reinstatement of an expired permit costs 50 percent of the original permit fee applied to the remaining work. Separately, a permit APPLICATION is deemed abandoned 180 days after filing. 93% · codified ordinance (local amendment to FBC administrative chapter)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Duke Energy Florida, LLC. Proved from the DISCRIMINATING instrument as instructed, not from an ACFR taxpayer schedule. The FY2025/2026 Adopted Budget's revenue narrative states: 'Franchise Fee: The City of St. Pete Beach has a franchise agreement with Duke Energy Florida, LLC. This agreement grants the company the right to operate within the city's public rights-of-way.' The same document's Utility Taxes narrative discusses 'Duke Energy bills' and FPSC storm cost recovery. Corroborated independently by the City's own 'Other Utilities Providers' page, which lists Duke Energy as the 'Power and Electrical Utility Provider'. Water is Pinellas County Utilities; wastewater and reclaimed water are the City's own. 95% · adopted budget (franchise fee revenue narrative naming the company)
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel, with a hard utility gate before energisation. The City permit and the Duke interconnection run on separate tracks; nothing in the City's material conditions the permit on utility approval. On Duke's side, DEF Tariff Section IV rule 8.08 applies only to 'customers with renewable generation that have executed an interconnection agreement with the Company', and the General Rules state 'Parallel interconnected operation of customer-owned generation equipment is permissible only if the customer has executed a standard interconnection agreement with the Company in accordance with the Company's filed contract forms.' IMPORTANT CURRENT CHANGE: Duke's own page states 'Effective February 9th, 2026, PowerClerk® will serve as the new application portal for Duke Energy Florida Net Metering Interconnection Requests.' 78% · utility tariff (DEF General Rules and Regulations, effective 1 Jan 2025)

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. The City's own Building Codes page states 'NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE NEC 2020' among the codes it reviews and issues permits under. FLAG A FLOATING LOCAL ADOPTION THAT OUTRUNS THIS ON ITS FACE: Code Sec. 98-26 adopts 'The most current edition of the following building and fire codes... (4) National Electrical Code (ANSI/NFPA 70), as published by the National Fire Protection Association AND AS ADOPTED BY THE FLORIDA BUILDING COMMISSION'. The trailing qualifier ties it back to the state adoption, so unlike some floating local NEC adoptions this one does not in fact run ahead of NEC 2020. 94% · department page + adopting ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), effective 31 December 2023. The City states: 'Effective December 31, 2023: All plans submitted must be in compliance with the 2023 8th Edition Florida Building Code' and 'All plans must comply with the 2023 8th Edition Florida Building Code.' 96% · department page
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023). Listed on the City's Building Codes page. Code Sec. 98-26(5) adopts the FFPC 'as adopted by the State Fire Marshal, including by reference the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101) and the Fire Prevention Code (NFPA 1) and publications added to NFPA 1 and NFPA 101'. The City has its own Fire Department and Fire Marshal (Kelly Intzes); Code Sec. 98-160 keeps fire inspection and permit services in-house. 94% · department page + adopting ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, several, and two of them reach PV equipment. Codified local amendments: Sec. 98-30 (extensive amendments to the FBC administrative chapter - permitting, valuation, expiry, inspections, unsafe structures, appeals); Sec. 98-31 (plumbing); Sec. 98-33 (FBC Residential - R322.2.2, R322.3.5, R322.3.6); Sec. 98-34 (FBC Building administrative); Sec. 98-35 (FBC Existing). Plus Chapter 98 Article V, the City's full Flood Hazard Mitigation Regulations. The City additionally reviews under 'PINELLAS COUNTY LOCAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS' and 'FLORIDA FLOOD RESISTANT DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION ASCE - 24-14'. 90% · codified ordinance + department page
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) including Residential R322 as locally amended by Code Sec. 98-33; NEC 2020; Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023); ASCE 24-14; the Pinellas County Local Technical Amendments; and - because the City says 'nearly all properties in St. Pete Beach are located in the special flood hazard area' - Chapter 98 Article V, the Flood Hazard Mitigation Regulations, in full. 90% · department page + codified 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 roof-access-pathway amendment. Neither the Code of Ordinances nor the Land Development Code contains any roof access, pathway or setback provision for solar; the Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023) governs unamended, as do the FBC provisions. The City's Fire Department does not conduct residential plan review of this kind - its annual inspection programme is commercial-only. 55% · codified corpus searches (absence) + department page

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 to NEC 2020 Article 690.12, by operation of the adopted NEC edition. There is no local amendment: 'rapid shutdown' returns zero hits in the Code of Ordinances and zero in the Land Development Code. 80% · adopted code edition + codified corpus search (absence)

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 City specifies no placards of its own. The utility does, and it installs them itself. Duke's current White Book (rev. 1 April 2026) sets out, under 'Duke Energy labeling on all distributive generator sites shall be applied by Duke Energy personnel': item 1505316, Label, 'Electric Generator Warning' (3" x 2"), applied to the Meter Base/Primary Meter, lower left; and item 1505328, Label, 'Generator Isolation Device' (3" x 2"), applied to the Small Disconnect Switch, near the OFF position. Beyond those, the installer's placards are the NEC 2020 Article 690/705 set as adopted. 85% · utility service requirements manual (Duke White Book, rev. 1 Apr 2026)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. Neither the Code of Ordinances nor the Land Development Code specifies any placard wording, and no City form, checklist or department page does either. The wording comes from NEC 2020 as adopted and from Duke's own pre-printed stock labels. 70% · codified corpus searches + forms library (absence)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? The City specifies nothing. Duke specifies size and placement precisely for its own labels, which its personnel install: Electric Generator Warning - 3"x2" label on the Meter Base/Primary Meter (lower left), 6"x4" label on a Pad-Mounted Transformer (above the lock), 9"x6" sign on an Overhead Transformer Pole (5 to 6 feet above the ground); Generator Isolation Device - 3"x2" label on a Small Disconnect Switch (near the OFF position), 6"x4" label on a Large Disconnect Switch (near the OFF position), 9"x6" sign on a Recloser/Pole Disconnect Switch (5 to 6 feet above the ground). The instruction 'Install signs and labels on all KW sizes of Distributed Generation sites' means this applies to a domestic rooftop array, not just to utility-scale. SEPARATELY, and NOT applicable to residential PV: White Book Section VII.B requires customer labels on THREE-PHASE modular meter centres to be 'non-ferrous metal or plastic, 5 inches by 8 inches with 1/2-inch-high letters, embossed or engraved, affixed by rivet'. 80% · utility service requirements manual (Duke White Book, rev. 1 Apr 2026)
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? No local site-plan or facility-map placard requirement. Nothing in the Code, the Land Development Code or any City form calls for one. NEC 2020 Article 690.56 and 705.10 apply as adopted. 55% · adopted code edition + codified corpus search (absence)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes - and this is the substantive signage finding for this authority. Duke Energy installs its own warning labels at every distributed generation site regardless of size, and does so itself. From the White Book's labelling notes: '1. Signs and labels are installed by Duke Energy. 2. Install signs and labels on all KW sizes of Distributed Generation sites. 3. Clean the surface before installing labels.' Six catalogued items across Electric Generator Warning and Generator Isolation Device families, in 3"x2", 6"x4" and 9"x6" sizes, each with a named application and a named mounting position (see Q40). This is a utility placard regime operating entirely above and beyond anything the AHJ requires - the AHJ requires nothing. 90% · utility service requirements manual (Duke White Book, rev. 1 Apr 2026)
• Where must the labels be placed? Duke's own labels: Electric Generator Warning on the meter base/primary meter at the LOWER LEFT; Generator Isolation Device NEAR THE OFF POSITION of the disconnect switch; pole-mounted signs 5 to 6 feet above the ground; pad-mounted transformer labels above the lock. Duke fits all of these. The installer's NEC 2020 labels go where Articles 690 and 705 put them, since the City adds nothing. The disconnect those labels attach to must, per Duke Figure 48A, be 'WITHIN SITE [sight] OF METERBASE AND READILY ACCESSIBLE'. 85% · utility service requirements manual (Duke White Book, rev. 1 Apr 2026)

Where the AC disconnect must sit relative to the meter is usually the utility's rule, not the building department's. Battery storage frequently carries its own permit, its own inspection and its own fire conditions.

• Where must the AC disconnect be, relative to the meter? Duke's own current document REQUIRES a generation disconnect for residential net metering - do not record this authority as 'Tier 1 exempt'. White Book Figure 48A ('NET' GENERATION METERING SINGLE OR THREE-PHASE, SELF-CONTAINED METERED SERVICE, RESIDENTIAL/SMALL COMMERCIAL, revision 3 dated 31 March 2024, DEF column ticked) notes: '1. GENERATION DISCONNECT REQUIRED AT ALL CONNECTION POINTS A, B, C, OR D. 2. GENERATION DISCONNECT REQUIREMENTS: MUST BE LOAD-BREAK RATED, INCORPORATE A LOCKABLE OPEN POSITION, AND PROVIDE A VISIBLE OPEN. 3. GENERATOR DISCONNECT LOCATION: MUST BE WITHIN SITE [sight] OF METERBASE AND READILY ACCESSIBLE.' SET AGAINST THE RULE, WHICH CUTS THE OTHER WAY ON COST: FL PSC Rule 25-6.065(6)(a) provides that a utility's Standard Interconnection Agreement 'may require customers to install, AT THE CUSTOMER'S EXPENSE, a manual disconnect switch of the visible load break type... Inverter-based Tier 1 customer-owned renewable generation systems shall be EXEMPT from this requirement, UNLESS the manual disconnect switch is installed AT THE INVESTOR-OWNED UTILITY'S EXPENSE. The manual disconnect switch shall be mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the meter socket and shall be readily accessible to the investor-owned utility and capable of being locked in the open position with a single investor-owned utility padlock.' So: the switch is required by Duke's spec, and if Duke requires it on an inverter-based Tier 1 system the rule puts the cost on Duke, not the customer. The City itself specifies nothing about disconnect location. 85% · utility service requirements manual + state PSC rule
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Not for solar specifically. The City's Solar Electric Panels entry asks only for 'Specs on PV panels and equipment' - conspicuously NOT the 'Florida Product Approval Information Sheets including specs and installation instructions' it demands for windows, doors, shutters, garage doors, roofing and all exterior components on new construction and additions. The statewide product evaluation and approval system therefore reaches PV only so far as the FBC itself does, and Code Sec. 98-30's added Section 107.1 supplies the residual power: 'For products not covered under the statewide product evaluation and approval system, the building official may require tests or test reports as proof of compliance. Required tests are to be made at the expense of the owner.' 70% · published submittal checklist + codified ordinance
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? No local provision at all. 'battery' returns 5 hits in the Code (all contaminated - the criminal offence, adult-use definitions, and battery-operated equipment in the wireless chapter) and 1 in the Land Development Code (battery-operated equipment); 'energy storage' returns 0. Batteries are governed by the Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023) and the FBC as adopted. TWO LOCAL RULES DO REACH A GROUND-LEVEL ESS, though neither names one: Code Sec. 98-133.1(5) requires all development to 'Have mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems above the design flood elevation or meet the requirements of ASCE-24, except that minimum electric service required to address life safety and electric code requirements is permitted below the design flood elevation provided it conforms to the provisions of the electrical part of Florida Building Code for wet locations'; and Sec. 98-33's local amendment to FBC-R R322.3.6 requires that 'All utilities such as electrical, heating, plumbing, and air conditioning equipment and other services facilities (including ductwork) must be elevated or floodproofed to the required elevation.' Siting in a yard is then governed by LDC Sec. 6.14 (see Q47). 70% · codified ordinance (flood hazard mitigation + FBC-R local amendment)
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No. The iWorQ Type of Work list - which is the City's own operative enumeration of permit categories - carries SOLAR PANEL, ELECTRICAL and GENERATOR but no energy storage or battery category. An ESS would be permitted as ELECTRICAL, or folded into the SOLAR PANEL permit. No separate ESS inspection type exists in the portal's inspection-type list either. 60% · permit portal (enumerated permit types, absence)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? In effect yes, and the governing rule is LDC Sec. 6.14, 'Encroachment of certain specified ancillary residential equipment into required yards' - a provision amended four times in 2024 and again by Ord. 2026-01 on 27 January 2026, i.e. post-hurricane and current. Its list is open-ended: 'ancillary equipment shall include but not be limited to generators, air conditioning compressors, and swimming pool and spa filters and pumps.' The operative rules: (b) equipment installed MORE THAN TWO FEET ABOVE GRADE 'shall meet all required yard setbacks for the district in which it is located'; (c) equipment eligible to be installed at or near grade 'may encroach into any required yard setback up to four feet provided that any equipment located in front of the residence is adequately shielded through a solid enclosure, fence or wall, and no remaining setback distance is less than three feet from any property line', and must then be elevated no more than two feet above grade; (d) where equipment is elevated as part of a substantial improvement, the bottom must be 'no higher than one foot above the top of the structure's lowest floor used for a purpose other than parking, storage and access, or the required design flood elevation plus one foot, whichever is higher', must sit at least three feet from the property line on a column or pedestal, and 'The top of the equipment shall not exceed the height of the ridge of the roof of the structure'. There is no ground-mounted PV array provision anywhere; a ground array would also engage LDC Sec. 6.13 (residential accessory structures) and Code Sec. 98-133.1's anchoring and flood-resistant-materials requirements. 58% · land development code (ancillary residential equipment)
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing - neither corpus contains one. The binding constraints on the service side are Duke's, in its own current 'Requirements for Electric Service and Meter Installations, Florida Service Area, Revised April 1, 2026' (the White Book), Figure 48A ('NET' GENERATION METERING SINGLE OR THREE-PHASE, SELF-CONTAINED METERED SERVICE, RESIDENTIAL/SMALL COMMERCIAL, marked applicable to DEF): 'CONNECTION AT POINT A: METERBASE MUST BE RATED/DESIGNED FOR DUAL LUG CONNECTORS AND MUST NOT BE MODIFIED TO ACCEPT DUAL LUG CONNECTORS'; 'THE METERBASE MUST NOT BE USED AS A CABLE TROUGH OR USE ADDITIONAL CABLE CONNECTORS OTHER THAN WHAT IS ALREADY INCLUDED WITH THE METERBASE'; 'LINE SIDE TAP ALLOWED PER NEC'; 'CABLE TROUGH "D" MUST BE LOCKABLE'. Figure 48B: 'CUSTOMER OWNED DEVICES OF ANY KIND ARE NOT ALLOWED BETWEEN THE COMPANY'S METER AND THE METER SOCKET.' 75% · utility service requirements manual (Duke White Book, rev. 1 Apr 2026)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No local mounting or attachment-spacing rule. The City handles this by demanding engineering instead: a 'Digital complete set of sealed structural plans' with roof layout and structural plans for every Solar Electric Panels permit, and Code Sec. 98-30's Section 104.2.1.2 authority to require 'details, computations, stress diagrams, and other data'. Attachment performance is judged against the FBC 8th Edition (2023) and Florida Product Approval. 72% · published submittal checklist + codified ordinance (local absence)

Booking is a portal, a phone call or an email depending on the authority, and the notice required is rarely zero. Book before the work is finished rather than after — the lead time, not the work, is usually what sets the date.

• How is an inspection booked? Portal. Inspections are requested through iWorQ: 'To request an inspection, use the link below. Building Inspection requests require a contractor web code provided by the City. Please email us at permits@stpetebeach.org to obtain your web code.' CANCELLATIONS are the exception and must go by email, not through the system: 'Please DO NOT enter inspection cancellations through the inspection request system. To cancel an inspection, please email permits@stpetebeach.org and write "CANCEL INSPECTION" in the subject line.' 95% · department page + permit portal
• How much notice is required? One business day, with a hard 2:00 pm cut-off: 'The cut off for a next business day inspection is 2:00pm on the previous business day. If you enter a next day inspection after 2:00pm, it will not be rolled over. You will need to enter it again with a valid date.' Holidays push the cut-off back: 'if a holiday falls on a Friday, all inspections must be scheduled before 2:00 PM on the Thursday prior in order to be valid for the following Monday.' Late cancellation costs money: 'Requests received after 9:00am on the day of inspection may incur a $50 fee if the inspector goes to the property without prior notice.' 95% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? AM/PM requests can be entered but are not honoured as commitments. The City states twice: 'Due to our heavy inspection volume, we are not able to guarantee inspections will occur at specified time requests (am/pm).' One iWorQ inspection portal does offer five-minute time slots from 07:00 and another offers an AM/PM toggle with a 'View Calendar Openings' availability check, so the mechanism exists. No same-day inspections: the earliest is next business day. Inspections are not performed on Saturday, Sunday or holidays; the portal notes 'Inspections scheduled on the weekend will be performed on Tuesday. If a holiday falls on a Monday the inspection will be performed on Wednesday.' 88% · department page + permit portal

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 inspectors perform it, and there is a dedicated inspection type for it: 'B Solar Final' appears in the live iWorQ inspection-type list. The Building Fund carries 2 Building Inspectors plus an Inspector Intern, a Building Official and a Deputy Building Official in FY2026. PRIVATE PROVIDERS ARE ALLOWED BUT EFFECTIVELY NEUTERED HERE - the City's Private Provider Procedures (rev. May 2025) state: 'The City of St Pete Beach does not prohibit Private Providers from conducting plans review and/or inspections for projects that are in a SFHA (Special Flood Hazard Area) or citizens from hiring Private Providers for such projects. However, THE BENEFIT OF BYPASSING THE CITY PLAN REVIEW AND/OR INSPECTION PROCESS FOR SUCH PROJECTS IS UNAVAILABLE.' Read against the City's own statement that 'nearly all properties in St. Pete Beach are located in the special flood hazard area', the FS 553.791 private-provider route buys almost nothing in this city. 88% · permit portal (inspection types) + private provider procedures + budget
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated. The City holds plan review and inspection itself. The only third-party route is the owner-elected private provider under FS 553.791, and the City has written that the bypass benefit is unavailable for projects in a Special Flood Hazard Area - which is nearly the whole city. Contractor licensing, separately, sits with the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board, and code-interpretation appeals go to 'the Countywide Boards of Adjustments and Appeals as assigned to the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board (PCCLB)' under Code Sec. 98-30's added Section 103.8. 85% · private provider procedures + codified ordinance + county licensing board

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? The Building Official controls it. Code Sec. 98-30's amended Section 105.6: 'The building official upon notification from the permit holder or his agent shall make the following inspections... The building official shall determine the timing and sequencing of when inspections occur and what elements are inspected at each inspection.' For a rooftop PV job the relevant types available in the live portal are 'Electrical Rough', 'Electrical Final' / 'Electric Final', 'B Solar Final' and 'Pre-Power'; where a historic property is involved, HISTORIC REVIEW / HISTORIC BOARD HEARING appear as workflow steps and the COA form states the final building inspection will not be conducted until the Historic Preservation inspection is approved or waived. A recorded Notice of Commencement must be in place and posted on site before the first inspection. 62% · codified ordinance + permit portal (inspection types)
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Not published for solar. The iWorQ inspection-type list contains both 'Electrical Rough' and 'B Solar Final', and Code Sec. 98-30's amended Section 105.6 leaves 'the timing and sequencing of when inspections occur and what elements are inspected at each inspection' entirely to the Building Official. No City document states whether a rough is required on a PV permit. 45% · permit portal (inspection types) + codified 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. The City publishes no inspection checklist of any kind, for solar or generally. Looked in: the Permits, Applications, Forms page (all 29 listed forms enumerated and checked by name); the Inspections page; the Building & Permitting Information page; the Building Codes page; the Hurricane Recovery Permitting page; and the site search. What exists instead is a SUBMITTAL checklist ('Submittal Requirements by Permit Type'), which is a plan-intake document, not an inspection one. 78% · department pages + full forms library (absence)
• What must be on site at inspection? The permit placard, posted - 'Be sure to have the permit placard and the approved set of plans available in a conspicuous place for the inspector', and the fee schedule carries a '$50.00 Penalty fee for failure to post permit card'. The APPROVED set of plans, and where plans have been revised, 'The approved revised plans must be on site for inspection.' The recorded Notice of Commencement - 'The recorded Notice of Commencement is required prior to scheduling the first inspection and will be required to be on the job site.' Plus safe access, which is the contractor's responsibility: 'It is the contractor's responsibility to provide SAFE access to perform the inspection (set up ladders or scaffolding, operate lifts, etc). We do not carry ladders.' That last one matters for a roof job - a $50 penalty fee applies 'if the inspector arrives and you are not ready for the inspection, or there is no access to perform the inspection'. 93% · department page + published fee schedule
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Probably, but nothing published says so. The City's Inspections page describes the scope generically: inspectors 'confirm that actual job site conditions are in accordance with approved plans and verify that the construction materials are installed in a proper manner and in accordance with the approved plans and with the applicable codes.' Since NEC 2020 is an applicable code, its Article 690/705 labelling is within that scope. No City document mentions labels or listings specifically, and there is no published inspection checklist to test it against. 55% · department page (inference)

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 passed final inspection - for solar, the 'B Solar Final' result recorded against the permit; the portal also carries a 'FINAL CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY REQUEST FORM FOR IWORQ WORKFLOW'. A Certificate of Occupancy is NOT issued for a PV retrofit: the City's rule is that 'No building shall be used or occupied and no change in the existing occupancy classification or structure or portion thereof shall be made until the Building Official has issued a Certificate of Occupancy', which is a new-building and change-of-use instrument. Where a closing document is needed for work that does not require a CO, the fee schedule's 'Certificate of Completion 100.00' is the instrument. 78% · department page + permit portal + published fee schedule
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer or applicant, through Duke - not the City. Nothing in any St. Pete Beach document mentions notifying the utility, and the City does not appear anywhere in Duke's process. Duke requires an executed standard interconnection agreement before parallel operation ('Parallel interconnected operation of customer-owned generation equipment is permissible only if the customer has executed a standard interconnection agreement with the Company in accordance with the Company's filed contract forms'), and the application is filed by the customer or their installer through Duke's portal - 'Effective February 9th, 2026, PowerClerk® will serve as the new application portal for Duke Energy Florida Net Metering Interconnection Requests.' 70% · utility page + utility tariff
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $150.00. Stated on the Inspections page - 'a re-inspection fee of $150 will be charged' where the inspector is called to incomplete work - and carried in the codified fee schedule as 'Re-inspection fee 150.00'. Two further charges sit alongside it: a $50 penalty fee 'If the approved plans are not onsite or the inspector arrives and you are not ready for the inspection, or there is no access to perform the inspection', and a $50 fee for cancelling after 9:00 am on the day if the inspector attends. Code Sec. 98-30's amended Section 105.6 adds a statutory multiplier for persistent same-violation failures: after an initial inspection and one reinspection for the same continuously-noted violation, 'a fee of four times the amount of the fee imposed for the initial inspection or first reinspection, whichever is greater, shall be imposed for each such subsequent reinspection.' 93% · published fee schedule + department page
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Results are recorded against the permit in iWorQ and notified by email; the City warns 'Please make sure the email address on file is correct, so you may receive important notices from our department.' Failures attract a red tag, and an outstanding red tag will block a further inspection request: 'If you request an inspection and there are outstanding issues with the permit such as: expired permit, missing or expired NOC, unpaid fees (or red tags) and/or required subcontractors are not signed on, your inspection will NOT be scheduled.' Where a correction changes the approved drawings, 'revised drawings showing the changes must be prepared and approved by the plan reviewer PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION of the change' - revisions are filed with a Resubmittal Cover Sheet and charged at $25.00 per sheet. Work done without a permit draws a stop work order plus triple the permit fee. 75% · department page + published fee schedule + forms library