Town of Belleair

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 Town of Belleair is the AHJ for residential solar in its own limits. It employs its own Certified Building Official (Kathleen Croteau, buildingofficial@townofbelleair.net), its own Permitting Technician/CRS Coordinator, its own permit portal, its own fee schedule and its own inspectors' schedule. This is NOT the Pinellas County interlocal shape: the county is not the Building Official here. Two independent confirmations on the EXPENDITURE side of the FY2025-26 adopted budget: (a) a Building Fund (430), new this fiscal year and created under FS 553.80, carries REAL SALARY LINES - Salary And Wages $83,197, FICA $6,475, Life And Health $12,006, Workers' Comp $2,354, plus part-time salary $27,581 - which a delegated town does not have; and (b) building permit revenue is RISING, $615,000 adopted FY25 to $650,000 proposed FY26, the exact inverse of the revenue-falls-to-zero delegation tell. The town's own budget narrative also states it provides 'permitting and building services'. Fire service and fire inspections are contracted to Largo Fire Rescue (727-587-6740). 95% · authority department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? The Town permits and inspects building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and gas itself - the Building Department page lists 'electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and gas systems' among its own responsibilities and says it does 'review of applications and plans for code compliance, permit issuance and inspection of work'. WHAT IS DELEGATED, and it is delegated as LABOUR not as jurisdiction: the FY2025-26 budget message states 'Given the number of damaged dwellings, the part-time permitting operation necessarily gave way to a full-time operation staffed by our contractor, SafeBuilt.' The Building Fund's 'Other Services' line jumps $52,500 (FY25) to $229,300 (FY26), a 4.4x increase, which is that contract. So Belleair is a HYBRID: an in-house Building Official on the town payroll plus contract plan-review/inspection staff - not the Kenneth City interlocal shape (county as Building Official) and not the Fellsmere shape (0.98 city FTE against 5 contract FTE). FIRE is genuinely delegated: Largo Fire Rescue does fire inspections and results must be handed back to the Building Department. Contractor licensing is NOT delegated to PCCLB any more - 'EFFECTIVE JUNE 24, 2024, state certified contractors no longer have to register with PCCLB to perform work in Pinellas County'; registration is with the Town. 85% · adopted budget
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? YES. Sec. 66-207(e)(1) requires a permit for any construction, repair or maintenance activity unless it has a direct cost of $500.00 or less AND is 'not otherwise subject to a building department field inspection for verification of structural, electrical, mechanical or plumbing adequacy'. A rooftop PV system fails both limbs. Note the second limb bites even on cheap work: if the work needs an inspection but is under $500, 'a permit will be issued with the fee waived but there shall be a charge as provided in appendix B' ($25 inspection fee). There is no over-the-counter or exempt route for solar; the Post-Disaster 'Disaster Repair Permit' route expressly excludes new construction, reconstruction, additions and 'remodels or renovations', so a PV job cannot use it even after a declared storm. 92% · adopted ordinance
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? SEPARATE, and the code says how the money is split. Sec. 66-207(e)(6): 'Where a project involves multiple disciplines and more than one type permit is required, it shall be the applicant's responsibility to break down the total costs into an acceptable cost distribution. The cost associated with the work included on each specialized permit shall be used for determining the fee associated with that permit. THE ADMINISTRATION FEE SHALL BE CHARGED ONLY FOR THE PRINCIPAL PERMIT.' So a PV job is a building permit plus an electrical permit, each priced on its own share of the contract value, with the administrative fee charged once. The Town's published per-type checklists follow the same pattern - the Pool/Spa checklist names both a 'Pool contractor and electrical contractor' and lists rough electrical and final electrical inspections separately. 85% · adopted ordinance
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? NO HOA OR ASSOCIATION CO-SIGNATURE IS CODIFIED, BUT A HISTORIC CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS IS A REAL FIRST GATE ON ROUGHLY THIRTY ADDRESSES. On the association limb I searched the zoning chapter and the whole code for 'association' near 'approv', 'consent', 'sign' and 'letter': 'homeowners association' is 0 hits and every 'association' + approval pairing is either the small-wireless-facility rule (which does require HOA authorisation for a small cell in an HOA-restricted location), a sign-maintenance provision, or a definition of 'person'. No building permit in Belleair requires an association signature. ON THE HISTORIC LIMB, WHICH DOES BITE: Sec. 74-332(e) - 'No significant structure or historic district WHICH IS DESIGNATED under this section shall be ALTERED, restored, rehabilitated, renovated, excavated, relocated or demolished until an application for a CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS regarding any ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES, landscape features or site improvements has been reviewed and approved' - and 'A certificate of appropriateness shall be, IN ADDITION TO any other building permits, required by law.' The iWorq portal restates it on the application panel itself: 'If located with[in] the Historic District, the Historic District Commission must approve prior to beginning of any work'. See q25 for who decides, the dollar ladder, and why designation is the limb that saves most jobs. 88% · adopted ordinance
• Is there a historic-district review? YES, IT IS LIVE, AND THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST EXPENSIVE THING ABOUT DOING SOLAR IN BELLEAIR. THE THREE LIMBS, CLOSED SEPARATELY. (1) DESIGNATION IS REQUIRED - Sec. 74-332(e) applies only to a structure or district 'which is designated under this section'. (2) DESIGNATION IS VOLUNTARY - Sec. 74-332(d)(11): 'Designation of a property, building, or structure as historic by the town commission pursuant to this section SHALL REQUIRE THE CONSENT OF THE OWNER'. So an unconsenting owner cannot be swept in. (3) BUT 'ALTERATION' IS IN THE TRIGGER LIST AND IT IS DEFINED BROADLY ENOUGH TO CATCH AN ARRAY - 'Alteration means any act or process that changes one or more of the EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES of a building or structure'. AND THE GATE IS NOT LATENT: the Town publishes its local Historic Registry and it holds 'more than 30 properties and structures', almost all of them single-family houses, listed by address - 1570 Alexander Rd, 701 Bayview Dr, 440 Country Club Rd, 1311 and 1574 Druid Rd S, 437 and 456 Gardenia St, 24 Hibiscus Rd, 705/1330/1336 Indian Rocks Rd, 1466 Orange Ave, 1106 Palmview Ave, 561 Palmetto Rd, 251 Pine Rd, 400 and 647 Ponce de Leon Blvd, 208 Ricker Rd, 322 and 330 Roebling Rd S, 324/326/416/426 Wildwood Way, plus Town Hall, the Old Town Hall/Garden Club and the Belleview Biltmore. THE DOLLAR LADDER IS THE PART THAT DECIDES A SOLAR JOB: a STANDARD certificate of appropriateness is issued administratively by the TOWN MANAGER OR DESIGNEE within ten days of a complete application, with findings mailed within five days, and it covers 'Exterior alterations and forms of new exterior construction WHEN THE TOTAL COST IS LESS THAN $25,000.00'. At or above $25,000 it becomes a SPECIAL certificate of appropriateness - full plans, specifications, site plan and MATERIAL SAMPLES 'to fully describe the proposed appearance, color, texture or materials', a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Board with certified-mail and ten-day newspaper notice, a RECOMMENDATION only, and then a SECOND public hearing before the Town Commission with the same notice, whose decision must be in writing. A typical residential PV system straddles that line. WHAT THE BODY CAN DO: the measure is the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, adopted by the Town Commission; the Commission may approve, deny, or approve with conditions; certificates expire after 365 days, extendable by up to 180 days by the town manager 'for restoration or rehabilitation work only'. WHICH BODY: Ordinance 547, adopted 19 Jul 2022, transferred the Historic Preservation Board's duties to the PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD, which now serves as Belleair's Local Historic Preservation Office; Sec. 66-94(a) says that board's duties 'are ADVISORY ONLY'. THE PROCEDURE SECTION DOES NOT READ 'RESERVED' - Sec. 74-332 runs to about 55,000 characters covering designation, COA, demolition, economic hardship, demolition by neglect and the ad valorem tax exemption. TWO LIVE DEFECTS: the iWorq portal tells every applicant that 'the HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION must approve', and 'Historic District Commission' is ZERO hits in the entire code and the entire website - no such body exists; and no historic DISTRICT appears to have been designated, only individual significant structures, so the portal's district framing would under-warn an owner of a listed house on an undesignated street. Fees: Appendix B sets no COA fee. 92% · authority board page
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? NO SEPARATE WIND OR WINDSTORM CERTIFICATE, BUT TWO REAL WIND OBLIGATIONS. (1) FLORIDA PRODUCT APPROVAL - the Town publishes a Florida Product Approval Form and requires 'Florida Product Approvals' on the Roofing checklist and on the New Single Family Home checklist '(exterior doors, windows, roofing, shutters, etc)'. A racking system and its attachments are exterior products in the same class. (2) THE DESIGN WIND SPEED IS A COUNTY-WIDE LOCAL AMENDMENT, NOT THE FBC MAP - PCCLB Local Technical Amendment to FBC 8th Edition (2023) Building Sec. 1609.3 Ultimate design wind speed: 'The exact location of wind speeds are approved and adopted as follows: ALL INCORPORATED AND UNINCORPORATED PINELLAS COUNTY, Risk Category I - 135 MPH... Risk Category II - 145 MPH... Risk Category III - 155 MPH... Risk Category IV - 157 MPH', each 'with interpolation permitted as allowed in the Code and ASCE 7-16'. A one- or two-family dwelling is Risk Category II, so a Belleair rooftop array is designed to Vult 145 mph, ASCE 7-16. WHAT DOES NOT APPLY: the PCCLB's other 2023 amendment, Sec. 3109.1 PINELLAS GULF BEACHES COASTAL CONSTRUCTION CODE, reaches only construction inside the Coastal Building Zone defined by the 1978 Coastal Construction Control Line on the Gulf beaches. Belleair fronts Clearwater Harbour and the Intracoastal, has no Gulf shoreline and no CCCL, so the Coastal Code and its glass-area mandate do not bite here - Sec. 75-56 of the Town's own flood chapter is a conditional CCCL clause with nothing in town to condition on. 80% · local technical amendment
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? NO. A rooftop PV installation needs no council approval, special exception or specific use permit. Sec. 66-202 makes a development ORDER a prerequisite to a development permit 'Except as provided in section 66-203', and Sec. 66-203(3) exempts 'The ALTERATION OF AN EXISTING BUILDING OR STRUCTURE so long as no change is made to its gross floor area, its use or the amount of impervious surface on the site' - a roof-mounted array changes none of the three. (Sec. 66-203 was last touched by Ord. No. 588 on 23 Sep 2025, so the exception list is current.) THE ONE CAVEAT WORTH KNOWING: Sec. 66-201(a) says a development approval is required 'prior to the issuance of a building permit... REGARDLESS OF ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS CODE', which reads against Sec. 66-203's whole purpose; the exception governs because Sec. 66-202 opens by deferring to it, but the two clauses are in tension on the page. Council DOES enter on a designated historic property at or above $25,000 (q25) and on a variance ($2,150 fee, Appendix B), neither of which a compliant rooftop array needs. 85% · adopted ordinance
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? NO LOCAL CAP. 'kW' and 'kilowatt' are zero hits in the 1.85 MB code corpus (anchored search, so the letters inside other words do not count) and zero across the 236-page website corpus; 'net meter' and 'inverter' are zero in both. The binding caps are the PSC's and they are TWO, not one - FPSC Rule 25-6.065(4)(a) requires that the gross power rating '1. Does not exceed 90% OF THE CUSTOMER'S UTILITY DISTRIBUTION SERVICE RATING; AND 2. Falls within one of the following ranges: Tier 1 - 10 kW or less; Tier 2 - greater than 10 kW and less than or equal to 100 kW...'. Both limbs must be satisfied, and on a 200 A / 240 V residential service the 90% limb is usually the binding one, not the 10 kW. 85% · adopted regulation

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-licensed electrical contractor who has first registered with the Town of Belleair Building Department, or the property owner under an Owner Builder permit. The town requires 'that all contractors be licensed with the State of Florida, and must register with the Town of Belleair Building Department'. Sec. 66-207(c)(1)-(3): a permit issues only to the owner or the owner's authorised representative, an acceptable written designation being 'a signed contract for the work if issued to a general or specialty contractor qualified and licensed to perform work in the town', and 'the named applicant on a permit issued by the town shall be the permittee and party responsible for all work'. The iWorq portal enforces it: a contractor access code is needed, and 'It is required to connect your Contractor Name to the permit via the lookup field... If you do not find that your contractor information is found in the lookup field, please get in touch with the Belleair Building Department... to register and allow for application submittal.' 88% · authority department page
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? YES, and it is a hard precondition, not a formality. All contractors must register with the Town through a dedicated iWorq contractor portal BEFORE applying, uploading: Florida DBPR or PCCLB contractor licence (wall certificate or wallet card), Certificate of Liability Insurance naming 'Town of Belleair, 901 Ponce De Leon Blvd, Belleair, Florida 33756' as certificate holder, Certificate of Workers' Compensation Insurance or a WC exemption (or both), a federal or state-issued picture ID, and optionally an Authorized Agent Form. Registrations must be kept current - 'If the license or insurance we have on file has expired, you must update your documents.' The COUNTY limb is gone: 'EFFECTIVE JUNE 24, 2024, state certified contractors no longer have to register with PCCLB to perform work in Pinellas County.' The portal blocks submittal until the contractor appears in its lookup field. 95% · authority department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? YES. 'Residential Homeowners of One or Two-Family homes can apply for an Owner Builder permit. An owner's affidavit must be submitted with your permit application.' The Owner Builder Affidavit is on the Forms and Applications page and the iWorq portal offers 'General Contractor or Home Owner' as the contractor selection. BUT THERE IS A COMPETENCY GATE THAT IS EASY TO MISS AND IT NAMES ELECTRICAL WORK BY NAME - Sec. 66-207(c)(1): 'A property owner may personally apply for and be granted a permit for construction activities involved on single-family residential property. However, if the activities proposed to be undertaken are activities which normally require special trade skills or licensing, as, for example, ELECTRICAL WORK, plumbing work, elevator installation, structural framing, etc., the town building official SHALL REQUIRE A DEMONSTRATION OR OTHER SHOWING OF COMPETENCY to perform the activity prior to issuing the requested permit.' And a second trap for self-build pricing: Sec. 66-207(e)(4) lets the building official, where the work is done by the owner and not by contract, 'apply appropriate valuation tables published by the Southern Building Code Congress or other similar nationally recognized organization to determine project value for permit fee calculation' - a valuation override that applies only to owner-builders. (The Southern Building Code Congress ceased to exist in 2003 when it folded into the ICC; the clause is a fossil but it is live text.) 92% · adopted ordinance

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

• What documents make up a complete submittal? THERE IS NO SOLAR SUBMITTAL CHECKLIST. Belleair publishes ELEVEN per-type permit checklists - Demolition, Driveway/Paver, Residential Exterior Doors/Windows, Commercial Exterior Doors/Windows, Fences, Mechanical, New Single Family Home, Certificate of Occupancy, Pool/Spa, Roofing, Tree Removal - and none is for solar, PV or electrical work. What a PV applicant must assemble is therefore the general package: (1) application through the iWorq portal, submitted by a Town-registered contractor or an owner-builder with the Owner Builder Affidavit; (2) Subcontractor Form - 'All licensed contractors must register with the building department'; (3) recorded Notice of Commencement; (4) plans - 'Permits requiring technical review shall include a complete set of plans', and the New Single Family Home checklist's standard is 'One hard copy (for the job site) and a PDF of signed and sealed plans'; (5) Florida Product Approvals for exterior products; (6) a site plan based on a current survey; (7) AND A REQUIREMENT ALMOST NOBODY EXPECTS - Sec. 66-205(b) says that for ALL buildings, structures or alterations requiring a building permit the applicant 'shall provide the town with the following information BEFORE A PERMIT SHALL BE ISSUED': cubic yards of material delivered or removed, its ultimate disposition, the load capacity and empty/loaded weight of the trucks, and the named public roads that will be used to move both spoil and building materials - with a 24-hour duty to notify of any change on pain of permit revocation. IN A FLOOD ZONE ADD: the Substantial Improvement/Damage Packet, an Elevation Certificate, and for equipment the Mechanical checklist's engineered mounting specifications above BFE+1'. FLOOD, WHICH IS WHERE THE REAL SUBMITTAL WEIGHT IS AND WHICH REACHES PV EQUIPMENT DIRECTLY. Belleair is NOT a whole-town SFHA and should not be treated as one: a live FEMA NFHL query (MapServer layer 28, envelope -82.827,27.928 to -82.793,27.952, about two seconds, no key, no browser) returned 38 features - AE 'COASTAL FLOODPLAIN' with static BFEs of 8, 9 and 10 ft, VE 'COASTAL FLOODPLAIN' at 11, 12, 13 and 19 ft along Clearwater Harbour, and Zone X (both 0.2% annual chance and 'AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD') across the bluff. FIRM panels 12103C0104H, 0108J, 0112H and 0116J, all effective 24 Aug 2021. A wider Belleair-area envelope returned one approximate Zone A polygon with STATIC_BFE -9999, so Sec. 75-32's default - 'the base flood elevation is TWO FEET ABOVE THE HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE at the location of the development, provided there is no evidence indicating flood depths have been or may be greater than two feet' - is codified and real but effectively latent inside the town. IN AN SFHA THE PACKAGE GAINS: (a) an Elevation Certificate, and a Coastal A Zone or V Zone Certificate where applicable; (b) engineered mounting specifications for equipment (see q10); and (c) potentially the SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT/DAMAGE PACKET, because Sec. 75-17 requires the floodplain administrator, in coordination with the building official, to make an SI/SD determination 'For applications for building permits to improve buildings and structures, INCLUDING ALTERATIONS, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, change of occupancy, additions, rehabilitations, renovations, substantial improvements, repairs of substantial damage, and ANY OTHER IMPROVEMENT OF OR WORK ON such buildings and structures' - THERE IS NO DOLLAR FLOOR AT ALL, so a PV permit is within the class on which the determination is owed. Market value is taken from 'the tax assessment value, adjusted to approximate market value by a factor provided by the PINELLAS COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER'. The test is 50 percent, SINGLE EVENT - and the cumulative limb was REPEALED EIGHT MONTHS AGO: the superseded Ord. No. 513 recited a requirement 'to require ACCUMULATION OF COSTS of improvements and repairs of buildings based on issued building permits OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD', and the current Chapter 75 (Ord. No. 593, 20 Jan 2026) has no five-year limb at all ('five year', 'five-year' and '5-year' are 0 hits in Chapter 75; the whole-code hits are police pension and subdivision-agreement text). TWO RIDERS LIVE INSIDE THE SI PACKET AND NEITHER IS IN ANY FEE SCHEDULE: '(THE 10% CONTINGENCY IS REQUIRED)' is added to the applicant's own cost of reconstruction, pushing borderline jobs toward the 50% line; and on market value, 'These appraisals are subject to review by OUTSIDE APPRAISAL FIRMS OF THE TOWN'S SELECTION. COST FOR SUCH INDEPENDENT REVIEW WILL BE BORNE BY THE APPLICANT' - an open-ended professional-review obligation one instrument away from the schedule. A WARNING ABOUT THE OBVIOUS SOURCE: the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board publishes what looks like Belleair's floodplain ordinance at pcclb.com/pdf/amendment/floodplain/belleair.pdf, and IT IS SUPERSEDED - a 23.3 MB scan (PDF created 26 Jul 2017) of ORDINANCE NO. 513, whereas the codified Chapter 75 is Ord. No. 593 of 20 Jan 2026. That list carries nineteen municipalities plus the county; check each PDF's ordinance number against the codified chapter's adopting ordinance before relying on it. Belleair is a CRS participant (class not published), and the Town's floodplain administrator is the TOWN MANAGER (Sec. 75-14), who may delegate. Do NOT import Pinellas County's BFE+1 freeboard - that is County LDC Chapter 158 for UNINCORPORATED Pinellas and Belleair runs its own ordinance. 74% · authority forms page
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic upload through the iWorq Citizen Portal is the route - 'Upload any related plans or documents' - and the Building Department page lists 'Upload plans and supporting documents' as a portal function. The only published copy count is on the New Single Family Home checklist: 'One hard copy (for the job site) and a PDF of signed and sealed plans.' Sec. 66-207 also requires the approved site and building plans to be posted on site, which is what the hard copy is for. There is no separate paper-set requirement for a small permit. 70% · authority permit checklist
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? YES. A site plan 'based on current survey depicting all proposed improvements or improvements that are existing and to remain' is the Town's standard (New Single Family Home checklist), and the Pool/Spa checklist requires a 'Survey with location of project with setbacks - clearly marked'. For any PV equipment on the ground or on a flood platform the Mechanical checklist's standard governs: 'Location of condenser unit and air handler on a site plan or survey', and in an SFHA 'the engineered mounting specifications and materials that show the unit above BFE +1' freeboard and Elevation Certificate'. The Building Department page adds that setbacks front, sides and rear must be indicated along with existing impervious surfaces, and that a FINAL SURVEY, original with signature and seal, is required at or prior to the final inspection showing 'structure, pool, MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT, driveways, sidewalks, etc.' with setbacks shown. THE FLOOD LIMB IS THE ONE THAT ACTUALLY CATCHES PV EQUIPMENT, AND BELLEAIR HAS THE NUMBER WITHOUT THE WORD - EXCEPT ON ONE FORM. 'freeboard' is ZERO hits in the entire 1.85 MB code corpus including all 104 nodes of Chapter 75, and a concept search across the whole code for 'one foot above', 'plus one foot', 'two feet above' and 'elevated at least' finds no general dwelling freeboard either. It appears exactly ONCE in the Town's whole 236-page website corpus, and it is on the MECHANICAL PERMIT CHECKLIST, governing precisely the equipment class an inverter, a rapid-shutdown enclosure, an AC disconnect or a battery cabinet belongs to: 'For SFHA areas and pre-post FEMA HOMES (original home built with flood regulation), you will need to provide THE ENGINEERED MOUNTING SPECIFICATIONS AND MATERIALS THAT SHOW THE UNIT ABOVE BFE +1' FREEBOARD AND ELEVATION CERTIFICATE.' AND IT DISAGREES WITH THE CODE ON THE SAME BOX. The codified 'other development' clause - found by phrase, in Chapter 75 Article III Division 7 OTHER DEVELOPMENT - says all development for which no specific provision is made shall '(5) 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 building code for wet locations' (Ord. No. 593, 20 Jan 2026). Design flood elevation in the code against BFE + 1 ft on the form, for the same equipment - and Sec. 75-12 resolves it the harder way: 'In the event of a conflict between this chapter and any other ordinance, THE MORE RESTRICTIVE SHALL GOVERN', adding that the chapter 'shall not impair any deed restriction, covenant or easement, but any land that is subject to such interests shall ALSO be governed by this chapter.' Practical consequence: on an SFHA lot, budget for an engineer's mounting specification and an elevation certificate for any ground-level or wall-mounted PV equipment, and show it on the site plan. 78% · authority permit 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? iWORQ (belleairfl_permit.portal.iworq.net), with a SEPARATE iWorq portal for contractor registration (belleairfl_contractor.portal.iworq.net). Two ARCHIVED predecessor portals are still linked from the Building page - belleairfl_archivedblackmountain and belleairfl_opengovarchivedata - so Belleair has migrated Black Mountain -> OpenGov -> iWorq and the historical permit record is split across three systems. The current portal offers five application types: Building Permit, Fire Protection, Tree, Temporary Use, and Variance (the last flagged 'Under Construction - DO NOT USE', with the instruction to phone and submit the PDF instead). THERE IS NO SOLAR OR PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATION TYPE - 'solar' and 'photovoltaic' are zero hits in the portal HTML. The FY2026 Building Fund budgets $10,000 for 'Software Subscriptions', which is this. 95% · permit portal
• Can the whole application be completed online? SUBSTANTIALLY YES. The Building Department page lists the portal functions as: 'Apply and manage permits online; Upload plans and supporting documents; Pay permit fees; View permit status; Schedule inspections; View notes from the building department; Send messages to the building department.' Fees can be paid in the portal by credit or debit card with A 3% SURCHARGE (in person by cheque, debit or credit). TWO THINGS BREAK THE ALL-ONLINE CLAIM: a contractor cannot submit at all until the Building Department has manually registered them into the lookup field, and Appendix B charges an administrative fee of '$89.00 plus $89.00 service fee' where the building department has to do 'manual entry on behalf of a[n] applicant' - so falling out of the online route costs $178. Variances are off-portal altogether. 92% · authority department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? NO SOLAR LINE - the fee is pure valuation percentage, and TWO OF THE TOWN'S OWN CURRENT SCHEDULES DISAGREE WITH EACH OTHER. (A) CODIFIED - Appendix B to the Code, Subpart B, last amended Ord. No. 587 of 23 Sep 2025: permit fee 'Two percent of the total project value not exceeding $1,000,000.00, plus $5.00 for each $1,000.00 of project value exceeding $1,000,000.00'; administrative fee for nonfloodplain building projects $89.00; plans review '$20.00 or 25% of the building permit fee, whichever is greater; maximum $200.00'; DBPR surcharges 1.5% (BCAIB, min $2) AND 1.0% (Florida Building Commission / Compliance and Mitigation, min $2) - CHARGEABLE TWICE UNDER TWO NAMES. (B) WEB PAGE /403/Permit-Fees, undated: under $500 no fee; $500-$1,000 $25 + 2%; $1,000-$1M '$50 plus 2% of total project cost'; over $1M $50 + 2% of the first $1M + $3.30 per additional $1,000; admin fee $25 under $1,000 / $50 over $1,000 NON-FLOODPLAIN and $250 FLOODPLAIN; and it states 'Inspection fees are generally included with permit fees at no additional cost', mentioning neither the plan review fee nor either surcharge. WORKED EXAMPLE, $25,000 residential PV system: on the codified schedule $500 permit + $125 plan review + $89 admin + ~$12.50 surcharges = ABOUT $727; on the web schedule $550 permit + $250 floodplain admin = ABOUT $800, and if both documents are applied together (plan review and surcharges from Appendix B, the $250 floodplain admin from the web page) ABOUT $890. Add 3% if paid by card. Add $50 per reinspection and $25 per extra inspection. ONE MORE FLOOD RIDER AND IT IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE LINE ON A SMALL JOB: the web page's administrative fee for FLOODPLAIN PROJECTS is $250, against $25-$50 for non-floodplain - a ten-fold step - and APPENDIX B DOES NOT CONTAIN A FLOODPLAIN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE AT ALL, only the $89.00 line 'for all permits for NONFLOODPLAIN area building projects'. Since much of Belleair west of the bluff is AE or VE, most waterfront PV jobs will meet it. Also chargeable and easy to miss: $89.00 plus an $89.00 service fee where the building department has to do 'manual entry on behalf of a[n] applicant'; a $50.00 revision fee; and 3% on any card payment. 78% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Percentage of valuation, with the valuation defined and with two levers on it. Sec. 66-207(e)(4): 'valuation shall be based on the ACTUAL CONTRACT AMOUNT for all new construction, maintenance and repair activities... Each permit application form shall include a space for certification by the owner or the authorized representative of the owner as to the cost of the work proposed. IF THE BUILDING OFFICIAL FINDS THE AMOUNT CERTIFIED TO BE OUT OF LINE WITH COMPARABLE CONSTRUCTION, A COPY OF THE SIGNED CONTRACT FOR THE WORK MAY BE REQUIRED.' Second lever, owner-builders only: 'the building official may apply appropriate valuation tables published by the Southern Building Code Congress or other similar nationally recognized organization'. Third: mid-job change orders are chargeable - 'if there are any deviations... and the deviations add value to the structure, then the fee shall also be charged in connection with the additional value', payable before the CO, with change orders producible on demand. Where a project spans disciplines the applicant must break the total cost down between the permits (Sec. 66-207(e)(6)) and the administrative fee attaches only to the principal permit. After-the-fact work: Sec. 66-207(g)(1) doubles the permit fee, and Appendix B adds a separate $180.00 after-the-fact administrative fee on top. 85% · adopted ordinance
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? YES IN THE FEE SCHEDULE AND NO IN THE SECTION THAT AUTHORISES IT - a live internal conflict worth pricing for. Appendix B charges 'Plans review (other than a major development plans review) - residential or commercial: $20.00 or 25% of the building permit fee, whichever is greater; maximum $200.00', and Appendix B cites Sec. 66-207 as its authority. But Sec. 66-207(e)(7) says: 'THE PERMIT FEE PAID IS FULL PAYMENT FOR ALL TOWN BUILDING DEPARTMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PRE-APPLICATION ASSISTANCE, PLAN REVIEWS, TECHNICAL MATTERS CONFERENCES, PERMIT PROCESSING, PERFORMANCE OF REQUIRED STANDARD PERIODIC AND FINAL INSPECTIONS, AND ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY' - reserving charges only for reinspections, extra inspections, special inspections and contractor-requested scheduling. The cited authority does not say what the rider claims. The web fee page sides with the section ('Inspection fees are generally included with permit fees at no additional cost') and omits the plan review fee entirely. On a $25,000 system the disputed amount is $125. 70% · fee schedule

Interconnection is a separate process from the permit and usually the longer pole. Where the utility does not depend on the permit being issued, running both at once is the single biggest saving available on a residential job.

• What is the stated plan-review turnaround? NO ROUTINE TURNAROUND IS PUBLISHED. The only review-time commitment Belleair publishes is in its Post-Disaster Permitting Plan and it does not reach solar: after a declared emergency, Disaster Repair Permits are 'routed to an expedited review queue, with a target review timeframe of 48-72 hours where feasible', with parallel reviews across departments - but that permit type expressly excludes 'New construction, Reconstruction, Additions, Remodels or renovations', so a PV installation follows the standard process and, worse, 'Permits not related to the declared disaster may experience delays in review and processing to prioritize disaster-related permits.' The governing clock is therefore the state one, FS 553.79, which the Town's own Appendix of state law references cites at Sec. 19-23. 60% · authority policy document
• Which utility handles interconnection here? DUKE ENERGY FLORIDA, LLC - one retail seller, an investor-owned utility. Established on THREE independent rungs rather than assumed: (1) THE CODIFIED FRANCHISE - Appendix A, Article II of the Land Development Code is Ordinance No. 437, adopted 11 Jun 2006, 'GRANTING TO FLORIDA POWER CORPORATION dba PROGRESS ENERGY FLORIDA, INC. A NON-EXCLUSIVE ELECTRIC UTILITY FRANCHISE', repealing Ord. No. 119 of 1971; Section 3(F) defines 'Grantee' as 'Florida Power Corporation dba Progress Energy Florida, Inc., ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS', which is how it reaches Duke Energy Florida after the 2012 merger and 2016 renaming. The franchise appendix works here as a POSITIVE index, not a negative one - it carries five articles (I Cable/Bright House, II Electric, III Gas, IV Telephone/General Telephone of Florida, V Electric Distribution Franchise, Ord. No. 401). (2) AN OPERATIONAL RUNG, WHICH IS THE STRONGEST - the Town's own Demolition Permit Checklist requires a 'DUKE ENERGY DISCONNECT LETTER' as a submittal item. A permit counter that names one company as the source of a required letter is naming the only company that can write it. (3) THE WHO-TO-CALL RUNG - the Town FAQ: 'Duke Energy is responsible for restoration of power, not the Town of Belleair.' THE BUDGET RUNG FAILED AND IS RECORDED SO NOBODY RE-DERIVES IT: the FY2025-26 budget carries account 300.0500.314100 'Utility Service Tax - Electricity' at $530,000 and a 'Street Light Improvements' capital line at $22,500, and NEITHER NAMES A UTILITY - 'Duke', 'Progress Energy', 'Florida Power' and 'TECO' are all zero hits across the 70-page budget. The expenditure-side street-light rung that settled Kenneth City does not exist here. 92% · adopted ordinance
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? THE TOWN GOES FIRST, AND THE RULE THAT SAYS SO IS THE PSC'S, NOT THE TARIFF'S. FPSC Rule 25-6.065(5)(a), read as adopted text from flrules.org, requires every investor-owned utility's Standard Interconnection Agreement to contain 'A requirement that customer-owned renewable generation must be INSPECTED AND APPROVED BY LOCAL CODE OFFICIALS PRIOR TO ITS OPERATION IN PARALLEL with the investor-owned utility to ensure compliance with applicable local codes.' The rest of the rule's clock: the utility must acknowledge or identify deficiencies on receipt, give written verification within 10 business days of a completed application including dates for any physical inspection, and execute the Standard Interconnection Agreement within 30 calendar days for Tier 1; the customer must return the executed agreement at least 30 calendar days before beginning parallel operation and within one year of the utility executing it; all physical inspections must be completed by the utility within 30 calendar days of receiving the executed agreement, and a customer-requested delay must be rescheduled within 10 business days. The customer must also notify Duke at least 10 days before the utility's inspection. So: Town permit -> install -> Town electrical final -> Duke inspection -> parallel operation. 90% · adopted regulation

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, by operation of the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), which adopts NFPA 70 as its electrical provisions. NO BELLEAIR OR PINELLAS INSTRUMENT NAMES THE EDITION YEAR: 'NEC 2020', '2020 NEC', 'NFPA 70-2020', '2023 NEC' and '690.' are all zero hits in the code corpus and the website corpus, and the PCCLB's own electrical amendment PDF names no edition either. WHAT BELLEAIR'S CODE DOES SAY IS A FOSSIL AND SHOULD NOT BE QUOTED AS THE ANSWER: Sec. 66-10's definition of 'Standard building code' still reads 'all volumes (building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas and the National Electric Code (NFPA 70-1999)) of the Florida Building Code as amended', and Sec. 66-8(a) still calls the Florida Building Code 'Standard Building Code' - a name that has not existed in Florida since 2002 - in a subsection amended as recently as Ord. No. 594 on 20 Jan 2026. 70% · adopted ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), adopted statewide, with the PCCLB's county-wide local technical amendments layered on top - both current PCCLB amendment PDFs carry the banner 'FLORIDA BUILDING CODE 8th EDITION (2023)'. Belleair adopts it by reference at Sec. 66-8(a): 'the Florida Building Code, and all revisions and amendments thereof as adopted by the State of Florida, referred to in this land development code as "Standard Building Code", of which three copies are now and shall remain on file in the office of the town clerk... is hereby adopted as fully as if incorporated and set forth at length in this section.' The Building Department page confirms the department 'is responsible for the local administration and enforcement of the Florida Building Code and the Town's Land Development Code.' 85% · adopted ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? The Florida Fire Prevention Code, by state adoption under FS 633.202 - and BELLEAIR'S OWN FIRE CHAPTER IS A DEAD LETTER THAT SHOULD NOT BE CITED. Sec. 30-36 still reads: 'There is hereby adopted by reference the National Fire Prevention Codes and Standards, the edition which is on file in the office of the fire chief, PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN INSURANCE ASSOCIATION' (Code 1980, Sec. 9-2), and Sec. 30-38 says it 'shall be enforced by the chief of the fire department of the town' who 'shall appoint a member of the fire department as inspector in charge of fire prevention'. BELLEAIR HAS NO FIRE DEPARTMENT AND NO FIRE CHIEF: the Building Department page says 'For Fire inspections, call Largo Fire Department 727-587-6740. Please provide a copy of the fire inspection results to the building department', and Largo Fire Rescue is one of the Town's four standing 'Helpful Links'. The American Insurance Association ceased to exist in 2019. Belleair's own Business Impact Estimate template names 'Section 633.202, Florida Statutes, relating to the Florida Fire Prevention Code' as the live instrument. 65% · adopted ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? YES - TWO COUNTY-WIDE LOCAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS THAT REACH BELLEAIR, AND ONE OF THEM CHANGES HOW A PV RACEWAY MUST BE WIRED. (1) NEC 250.96(A), PCCLB Local Technical Amendment to FBC 8th Edition (2023): 'Article 250.96 Bonding Other Enclosures. (A) General... ALL RACEWAYS SHALL CONTAIN AN EQUIPMENT-GROUNDING CONDUCTOR SIZED IN ACCORDANCE WITH TABLE 250.122.' Its own Fiscal Impact Statement: 'this requirement has been in effect in PINELLAS COUNTY SINCE 1987.' THE RETRIEVAL TRAP THAT HIDES IT IS REAL AND I HIT IT: under the current cycle this amendment is indexed on pcclb.com/amendments.htm as 'Building Chapter 27 Section 2701.1 - NFPA 70 National Electric Code' at pcclb.com/pdf/lta/2023/NFPA70.pdf, and the number 250.96 appears NOWHERE in the link text - only in the PDF's own footer, 'PCCLB Local Technical Amendment FBC 8th Edition (2023) - Building Sec 2701 - NEC Article 250.96.doc'. Match on the filename and read the footer. (2) FBC Sec. 1609.3, ultimate design wind speed, Risk Category II 145 MPH, ASCE 7-16, 'All incorporated and unincorporated Pinellas County' (see q26). The 2023 cycle has seven amendments in total; the other five are mechanical, plumbing and the Gulf Beaches Coastal Code, none of which reaches a Belleair PV job. TOWN-LEVEL AMENDMENTS TO THE FBC: none found - Belleair adopts the FBC by dynamic reference at Sec. 66-8(a) and makes no technical amendment of its own. 92% · local technical amendment
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and NFPA 70 as incorporated by it, AS AMENDED BY THE PCCLB's county-wide 250.96(A) requirement that every raceway carry an equipment-grounding conductor sized to Table 250.122 - which is the one genuinely local electrical rule a PV installer must build to in Belleair. Wind design to Vult 145 mph Risk Category II, ASCE 7-16, per PCCLB 1609.3. Enforcement is by the Town's Certified Building Official under Sec. 66-8(a) and the Building Department page. Beyond those, the installation is judged against the state code unmodified: Belleair has no electrical chapter of its own, no solar provision anywhere, and no FBC amendment of its own. 85% · local technical amendment

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 Town of Belleair on this step yet — 1 question checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

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

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

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

• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? YES - DUKE SPECIFIES SIX, AND DUKE INSTALLS THEM ITSELF. From the Florida White Book (Revised April 1, 2026), Section VI: 'Duke Energy labeling on all distributive generator sites shall be applied by Duke Energy person[nel]', with 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.' The catalogue: 1505316 Label, Electric Generator Warning 3"x2", Meter Base/Primary Meter, lower left; 1505322 Label, Electric Generator Warning 6"x4", Pad-Mounted Transformer, above the lock; 1505691 Sign, Electric Generator Warning 9"x6", Overhead Transformers Pole, 5' to 6' above the ground; 1505328 Label, Generator Isolation Device 3"x2", Small Disconnect Switch, near the OFF position; 1505332 Label, Generator Isolation Device 6"x4", Large Disconnect Switch, near the OFF position; 4205529 Sign, Generator Isolation Device 9"x6", Recloser/Pole Disconnect Switch, 5' to 6' above the ground. Figure 48A Note 4 points to this section: 'WARNING LABEL REQUIREMENTS - PLEASE REFER TO SECTION 6.' Because Duke applies them, they are a scheduling dependency rather than an installer material cost. I checked for image-only drawing pages before recording this: the White Book has a clean text layer throughout (5.56 MB PDF, 330,860 characters extracted), so the placard count is real and not an extraction artefact. 92% · utility standard
• Where must the labels be placed? Placement is Duke's, and it is per-device rather than per-panel: 1505316 on the meter base or primary meter, LOWER LEFT; 1505322 on a pad-mounted transformer, ABOVE THE LOCK; 1505691 on an overhead transformer pole, 5' TO 6' ABOVE THE GROUND; 1505328 on a small disconnect switch, NEAR THE OFF POSITION; 1505332 on a large disconnect switch, NEAR THE OFF POSITION; 4205529 on a recloser or pole disconnect switch, 5' TO 6' ABOVE THE GROUND. The generation disconnect they mark must itself be 'WITHIN SITE [sic] OF METERBASE AND READILY ACCESSIBLE' (Fig. 48A Note 3). The AHJ adds nothing - Belleair specifies no label locations of its own (q38). 90% · utility standard

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 FIGURE 48A GOVERNS AND IT REQUIRES THE DISCONNECT - the PSC exemption does not remove it. Fig. 48A ('"NET" GENERATION METERING SINGLE OR THREE-PHASE SELF-CONTAINED METERED SERVICE RESIDENTIAL/SMALL COMMERCIAL', revision 3 dated 3/31/24, with the DEF column ticked for Duke Energy Florida), Notes verbatim: '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 [sic] OF METERBASE AND READILY ACCESSIBLE. 4. WARNING LABEL REQUIREMENTS - PLEASE REFER TO SECTION 6. 5. CONNECTION AT POINT A: METERBASE MUST BE RATED/DESIGNED FOR DUAL LUG CONNECTORS AND MUST NOT BE MODIFIED TO ACCEPT DUAL LUG CONNECTORS. 6. THE METERBASE MUST NOT BE USED AS A CABLE TROUGH... 7. CABLE TROUGH "D" MUST BE LOCKABLE.' Fig. 48C adds 'CUSTOMER OWNED DEVICES OF ANY KIND ARE NOT ALLOWED BETWEEN THE COMPANY'S METER AND THE METER SOCKET.' READ FPSC 25-6.065(6) CAREFULLY ALONGSIDE IT: the rule requires a manual disconnect 'mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the meter socket and... readily accessible', then says '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' - an exemption from bearing the cost, not from having the device, and Duke requires one regardless. ZONING PERMITS THE PLACEMENT: Sec. 74-114(f)(3) allows mechanical equipment of this class in the rear and side yard setbacks immediately adjacent to the structure it serves, without a variance. 90% · utility standard
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? TWO SEPARATE LISTING REGIMES, NEITHER OF THEM A TOWN-MAINTAINED LIST. (1) FLORIDA PRODUCT APPROVAL for exterior products - the Town publishes a Florida Product Approval Form and requires 'Florida Product Approvals' on the Roofing checklist, the Residential and Commercial Exterior Doors/Windows checklists and the New Single Family Home checklist, and the Post-Disaster plan names 'product approvals' among required supporting documents. Racking and roof attachments fall in that class. (2) INVERTER CERTIFICATION, by rule rather than by the Town - FPSC Rule 25-6.065(4)(b): generation 'shall be considered certified for interconnected operation if it has been submitted by a manufacturer to a nationally recognized testing and certification laboratory, and has been tested and listed by the laboratory for continuous interactive operation with an electric distribution system in compliance with the applicable codes and standards listed in subsection (3)' - the rule incorporates IEEE 1547 (2003), IEEE 1547.1 (2005) and UL 1741 (2005) by name - and (4)(c) requires 'a utility-interactive inverter, or other device certified pursuant to paragraph (4)(b) that performs the function of automatically isolating the customer-owned generation equipment from the electric grid'. Belleair maintains no approved-equipment list of its own. 75% · authority forms page
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? NOTHING IN BELLEAIR'S CODE TREATS A GROUND-MOUNT PV ARRAY AS ANYTHING, BECAUSE NOTHING IN IT MENTIONS SOLAR - so the question resolves onto two general provisions that pull in opposite directions. AGAINST: Sec. 74-332(c) defines 'Structure' as 'anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent or temporary location on or in the ground, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, buildings, fences, bridges, gazebos, monuments, street markers, signs and light poles' - which a ground-mount array plainly meets, bringing it under the RE/R-1 dimensional table (front 25 ft, side 7.5 ft, rear 25 ft or 20% of lot depth whichever is less; maximum height 32 ft, and in a flood hazard area 'the maximum height standard' is measured 'from the base flood elevation'). IN FAVOUR: Sec. 74-114(f)(3) lets 'Ready-made, mass produced: open air stairwell, air conditioning unit, propane pad, oil tank, pool pumps, STANDBY POWER GENERATOR SYSTEMS and other mechanical equipment necessary and generally accepted for the operations of a modern habitable structure and its appurtenances' extend into the rear and side yard setbacks 'provided they are immediately adjacent to the structure they are designed to serve and extend no farther into the setback than necessary', and Sec. 74-114(g) adds that where those conditions are met for standby generator equipment 'the permitting of such installation SHALL NOT REQUIRE THE GRANT OF A VARIANCE'. Which limb a reviewer picks decides whether a side-yard array needs a $2,150 variance. 60% · adopted 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? Two routes, both published on the Building Department page: telephone (727) 588-1477 during normal business hours, or online through the iWorq permit portal, which lists 'Schedule inspections' among its functions. Results come back the same two ways - 'Inspection results can be viewed on the permit portal, or you can call / email the building department.' Fire inspections are booked separately and directly with Largo Fire Department on (727) 587-6740, and the applicant must hand the result back: 'Please provide a copy of the fire inspection results to the building department.' 92% · authority department page
• How much notice is required? THE TOWN PUBLISHES TWO DIFFERENT CUT-OFFS AND THEY ARE THREE AND A HALF HOURS APART. The Building Department page: 'The cut-off time for next day inspections is 3:30pm.' The codified rule, Sec. 66-207(f)(1): 'A standard inspection shall be requested by the permittee NO LATER THAN 12:00 NOON, on the workday preceding the workday on which the inspection is requested. AN INSPECTION REQUESTED AFTER THE DEADLINE SHALL BE CONSIDERED AN EXPEDITED INSPECTION REQUEST. Expedited requests will be handled by the town whenever possible, BUT THE INSPECTION SHALL BE CONSIDERED A SPECIAL INSPECTION AND SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE SPECIAL INSPECTION CHARGE' - which Appendix B sets at $25.00 in lieu of a normal inspection or $50.00 in addition to one. So on the codified rule a booking made at 2 p.m. is chargeable; on the web page it is free until 3:30. For a route crew this is a real cost, and the safe practice is to book by noon. 80% · adopted ordinance
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? NO AM/PM WINDOWS AND NO SAME-DAY SERVICE ARE OFFERED, AND THE INSPECTION WEEK HAS A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. 'Inspections are performed MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, EXCLUDING WEDNESDAYS, between 9:00am and 3:00pm.' That is four inspection days a week, one six-hour block, with no morning/afternoon choice published and no same-day option - the earliest an inspection can be had is the next inspection day, and a Tuesday-afternoon booking cannot be served on Wednesday at all, so a Tuesday failure costs until Thursday. A specific slot can be bought: Sec. 66-207(f)(2)c defines a special inspection as one 'specifically requested by the permittee, or ... a standard inspection which is requested on an expedited basis or at other than normal working hours', chargeable at $25 or $50 under Appendix B. 80% · authority department page

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 Building Department page states the department's duties 'include review of applications and plans for code compliance, permit issuance and INSPECTION OF WORK', publishes its own inspection hours and phone number, and lists the inspections required on each of its eleven per-type checklists. Sec. 66-207(f)(1) defines standard inspections as 'those inspections WHICH ARE TO BE PERFORMED BY THE TOWN and which are specifically identified on the permit forms applicable to the project', and Sec. 66-207(f)(3) reserves a right of unannounced inspection: 'Unscheduled inspections of work under permit by the town may be performed at any time by town inspection personnel... There shall be no additional charge to the permittee for unscheduled inspections.' No county or third party holds the final. The qualification is staffing, not jurisdiction - see q53. 88% · adopted ordinance
• If delegated, to whom? NOT DELEGATED AS JURISDICTION - CONTRACTED AS LABOUR, TO SAFEBUILT. The FY2025-26 adopted budget message: 'Given the number of damaged dwellings, the part-time permitting operation necessarily gave way to a full-time operation staffed by OUR CONTRACTOR, SAFEBUILT.' The Building Fund (430) shows the shape: real town salary lines ($83,197 plus $27,581 part-time, with FICA, health and workers' compensation) sitting alongside an 'Other Services' line that rises from $52,500 in FY25 to $229,300 in FY26. The Building Official remains a town employee and the permit and the CO remain the Town's. SEPARATELY, a private-provider route exists under FS 553.791 - the Town publishes a 'Notice to Building Official of Use of Private Provider' form, an 'Associated User - Private Provider' form, and a '*NEW* Private Provider Registration' link in the Building Department sidebar - so an applicant may buy plan review and inspection from a licensed private provider instead. FIRE inspections are genuinely elsewhere: Largo Fire Department, (727) 587-6740. 80% · adopted budget

A rough-in or mid-roof inspection, where one is required, has to happen before the work it covers is closed up. Missing a stage means opening something back up, and it is the most expensive kind of correction.

• Which inspections are required, and in what order? NO SOLAR SEQUENCE IS PUBLISHED, so the order has to be read off the pattern in the Town's eleven checklists, which do publish per-type inspection lists. The relevant analogues: ROOFING - 'In-progress photos with the permit number clearly visible in each photo, uploaded to the permit record' then 'Final roofing inspection, with the roofing affidavit uploaded to the permit record'. MECHANICAL (new installation) - 'Rough mechanical inspection; 2nd rough mechanical inspection, if applicable; Final mechanical inspection'. POOL/SPA, which is the only checklist that lists electrical stages - 'Rough electrical inspection' then 'Final electrical inspection'. So a PV job should expect a rough electrical, a building/structural final and a final electrical, with photo documentation standing in for a covered-work inspection on the roof. A Certificate of Occupancy is not in play on an existing dwelling: the CO checklist and its 'final zoning inspection' requirement attach to new construction. Fire, if Largo requires it, is booked and cleared separately and the result handed to the Building Department. 62% · authority permit checklist
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? NO ROUGH-IN OR MID-ROOF INSPECTION IS PUBLISHED FOR SOLAR, AND THE TOWN'S SUBSTITUTE FOR ONE IS PHOTOGRAPHIC. On roof work Belleair does not send an inspector to look at the covered work - the Roofing checklist requires 'In-progress photos with the permit number clearly visible in each photo, uploaded to the permit record', and clears the job at 'Final roofing inspection, with the roofing affidavit uploaded to the permit record'. Where the Town does want a rough stage it says so explicitly: the Mechanical checklist lists 'Rough mechanical inspection; 2nd rough mechanical inspection, if applicable; Final mechanical inspection', and the Pool/Spa checklist lists a rough electrical. So the likely PV shape is rough electrical plus in-progress photographs of the attachments, rather than a scheduled mid-roof visit - but no document says so for solar. 60% · authority permit checklist

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? YES - AND THE GAP IN IT IS THE FINDING. Belleair publishes ELEVEN per-type permit checklists, each naming both the required submittals and the required inspections: Demolition, Driveway/Paver, Residential Exterior Doors/Windows, Commercial Exterior Doors/Windows, Fences, Mechanical, New Single Family Home, Certificate of Occupancy, Pool/Spa, Roofing, Tree Removal. For a town of 4,273 that is an unusually complete published set. THERE IS NO SOLAR CHECKLIST AND NO ELECTRICAL CHECKLIST. So the authority that has taken the trouble to tell a fence contractor exactly what to bring has told a PV contractor nothing, and 'solar' and 'photovoltaic' are zero hits across all 236 pages of its website and all 1.85 MB of its code. This is the inverse of the 'code empty, forms full' pattern: here the forms are full for ten other trades and empty for this one. 88% · authority forms page
• What must be on site at inspection? Four things, and the code and the department page agree. From the Building Department page's Construction Standards: 'PERMIT PLACARD, NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT, APPROVED SITE, AND BUILDING PLANS must be posted onsite in a permit box or dry location by the front door.' The New Single Family Home checklist supplies the plans limb - 'One hard copy (for the job site) and a PDF of signed and sealed plans'. In a flood zone add the elevation documentation: 'an elevation certificate / floodproofing certificate' is required 'for new structures or substantial improvements and additions post-FIRM structures located in the Town of Belleair SFHA, prior to receiving a framing inspection'. Note also the Town's daily housekeeping conditions, which are enforceable: 'Clean up and remove construction debris daily or utilize a dumpster', and erosion/runoff control devices on all new development. 92% · authority department page

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? FOR A PV RETROFIT, AN APPROVED FINAL IN THE PORTAL - NOT A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. Belleair's CO regime attaches to new construction and to work that creates occupiable space: the Certificate of Occupancy checklist requires all final inspections complete plus a final survey, final termite certificate, blower door test, insulation certificate, Energy Performance Level display card, and (where applicable) Coastal A Zone or V Zone certificate, driveway agreement, final elevation certificate and recorded non-conversion agreement, with 'Building Officials Approval of CO' last and 'All new construction requires a final zoning inspection for a C/O.' None of that fits a rooftop array on an existing house. What the installer gets is the passed final recorded against the permit in iWorq - 'Inspection results can be viewed on the permit portal' - which is also the document FPSC 25-6.065(5)(a) treats as the local code official's approval for interconnection purposes. A FINAL SURVEY IS A LIVE RISK TO WATCH: the Building Department page says 'FINAL SURVEY REQUIRED AT OR PRIOR TO THE FINAL INSPECTION... Surveys must be original with signature and seal affixed and include the Lowest Floor Elevation (LFE) or structure; front, sides, and rear setbacks... structure, pool, MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT, driveways, sidewalks, etc. must be indicated and setbacks shown' - which on its face would reach ground-level PV equipment. 75% · authority permit checklist
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? THE CUSTOMER OR THE INSTALLER NOTIFIES DUKE, AND THE TOWN'S SIGN-OFF IS THE PRECONDITION - there is no Belleair-to-Duke notification. FPSC Rule 25-6.065(5)(a) requires the Standard Interconnection Agreement to contain 'A requirement that customer-owned renewable generation must be inspected and approved by LOCAL CODE OFFICIALS PRIOR TO ITS OPERATION IN PARALLEL with the investor-owned utility', and (5)(b) obliges the customer to 'notify the investor-owned utility AT LEAST 10 DAYS PRIOR TO' the utility's own inspection. The customer must execute and return the agreement 'at least 30 calendar days prior to beginning parallel operations and within one year after the utility executes the Agreement', and Duke must complete its physical inspection 'within 30 calendar days of receipt of the customer's executed Standard Interconnection Agreement'. So the PTO path is: Town electrical final -> customer sends the approval and the executed SIA to Duke -> Duke inspects -> parallel operation. Belleair publishes nothing about PTO and has no role after its own final. 82% · adopted regulation
• Is there a re-inspection fee? YES - $50.00, and it is one of four inspection-side charges. Both of the Town's schedules agree on this one figure: Appendix B '(5) Reinspection $50.00' and the web fee page 'A $50 re-inspection fee may also be assessed for any re-inspection of work that has to be corrected.' Alongside it: EXTRA INSPECTION $25.00, defined at Sec. 66-207(f)(2)b as 'one which is required because of failure of the contractor or subcontractor [to] have work ready for inspection at the time requested and scheduled' - so a crew that is not finished pays; SPECIAL INSPECTION $25.00 in lieu of a normal inspection or $50.00 in addition to one, which is also what a late booking becomes (q50); and a REVISION FEE of $50.00. Sec. 66-207(f)(4): 'Where additional charges have been incurred because of the performance of reinspections, special inspections or extra inspections, THE FEES THEREFOR SHALL BE PAID TO THE TOWN BY THE PERMITTEE BEFORE ANY FURTHER INSPECTIONS ARE PERFORMED on the project and before the finished work receives town approval.' THERE IS NO ESCALATING LADDER - no 4x third-attempt multiplier of the kind Pinellas County and several Florida cities run; the $50 is flat however many times it is charged. 92% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? By a written deficiency report, with the portal as the channel. Sec. 66-207(f)(2)a: 'A reinspection is an inspection which is necessary to verify that previous inspection deficiency has been corrected. The previous inspection must have resulted in the ISSUANCE OF AN INSPECTION DEFICIENCY AND CORRECTION REPORT or required a special trip by inspecting personnel to the construction site. THE INSPECTION DEFICIENCY REPORT SHALL SPECIFY WHETHER A REINSPECTION IS NECESSARY' - so the report itself decides whether the $50 attaches. Delivery and clearance run through iWorq: the Building Department page lists 'View permit status', 'View notes from the building department' and 'Send messages to the building department' among portal functions, and 'Inspection results can be viewed on the permit portal, or you can call / email the building department.' Money gates the next visit: outstanding reinspection, extra and special inspection fees must be paid 'before any further inspections are performed on the project and before the finished work receives town approval' (Sec. 66-207(f)(4)). A change to the permitted scope is not a correction - Sec. 66-204 makes it 'unlawful to change, modify, alter or otherwise deviate from the terms or conditions of the permit without first obtaining a modification', applied for the same way as the original, at a $50 revision fee. 85% · adopted ordinance