Town of Dundee

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 Dundee Development Services Department (also styled the Building Department / 'Building & Business Services'), 124 Dundee Road, Dundee FL 33838, is the AHJ for residential rooftop PV. It is NOT delegated to Polk County. The department's own page states it 'permits and inspects new construction, remodeling, additions, repairs, mobile home setups, signs, and other structures' and that it provides Building Permits, Electrical Permits, Plumbing Permits, Mechanical Permits and 'Inspections for all permitted work'. 95% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both, and more. The Town issues and inspects Building, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical permits itself, and also holds zoning, floodplain administration (LDC 5.01.03.01 designates the development director as floodplain administrator), code enforcement, and fire plan review through its own Fire Department. Polk County is NOT the building AHJ inside the town limits. The only county-side dependency published is the driveway standard: the permit application binds the applicant to 'the Polk County Land Development Code (LDC) Driveway requirements' and requires a driveway inspection by the Dundee Building and Codes Division before a power release. 92% · department page + codified ordinance
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. Two independent instruments. (a) Development Services page: 'A permit is required for all new construction, alterations, repairs, demolition, or additions to a structure.' (b) Code Sec. 14-139(a): 'An electrical permit shall be required to: (1) Do any electrical construction of any character; (2) Install any electrical wiring, apparatus or equipment; or (3) Make any extensions or changes to existing systems of wiring for light, heat or power.' A rooftop PV array is all three. 95% · codified ordinance
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate - a single-trade electrical permit. The Town's Building/Structure/Trade Application has eight work-type boxes - Residential/New Construction, Residential/Misc., Residential/Homeowner, Re-Roof, Single Trade Electrical, Single Trade Mechanical, Single Trade Plumbing, Commercial - and NO solar or PV box; rooftop PV falls to 'Single Trade Electrical'. The fee schedule Section V ('Single Permit Fees for Sub (Single)-Trades') lists Electrical first among the sub-trades. Chapter 14 Article IV requires an electrical permit in its own right. 85% · permit application form (OCR - the PDF has no text layer)
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No town-imposed architectural or HOA approval, and the Town expressly disclaims the HOA question. The permit application's Notice to Owners and Applicants says: 'if you are in a Home Owner's Association (HOA), this application does not exclude you from meeting and/or adhering to HOA deed restrictions.' There is no architectural review board, no design-review committee and no design guidelines for residential property anywhere in the Land Development Code. The only aesthetic gate in the town is LDC 3.08.08 for individually designated historic sites (see Q25). 85% · permit application form (OCR) + codified ordinance
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes, but only for an individually DESIGNATED historic site, and then it is a hard gate to the Town Commission. There is no historic DISTRICT. LDC 3.08.08(A) lets the town commission designate sites on four criteria and presumes designation for anything on the National Register or the Florida Master Site File. 3.08.08(B) then provides: 'No demolition, alteration, or relocation of a historic structure shall be permitted except as provided below: 1. Work which does not require a construction permit...; 2. Activity approved by the development director which restores the structure's original appearance, or a reasonable approximation; 3. Activity approved by the town commission which will not preserve or re-create the structure's original appearance.' A rooftop PV array requires a construction permit and does not restore original appearance, so on a designated site it needs TOWN COMMISSION approval. 3.08.08(D) adds a discretionary gate for property ADJACENT to a historic site: 'Prior to approval of a site development plan or building permit, the development director may require building plans, architectural renderings, or other information as to the final appearance of the site.' 88% · codified ordinance
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification is required, and Dundee is not in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone. The HVHZ is Miami-Dade and Broward only; Dundee is inland central Polk County, so no Miami-Dade NOA or HVHZ product approval applies - ordinary Florida Product Approval under FBC 8th Edition governs. The Town's own codified wind standards are pre-FBC fossils with no operative effect: Sec. 14-91 still adopts 'Standard for Hurricane Resistant Residential Construction SSTD 10-97' and 'Standard for Determining Impact Resistance from Windborne Debris SSTD 12-97'. WATCH THIS: the Town's small-wireless chapter (Sec. 55-9) states that 'Wireless facilities shall be considered to be structures under the Florida Building Code, Building Risk Category IV, Structures, Chapter 16 section 1620-1621, High velocity hurricane zone area' - that HVHZ reference is a drafting error for an inland Polk town and must not be read across to PV. 75% · codified ordinance (fossil) + state code scope
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No. A rooftop array on an existing house is an accessory use to a permitted principal residential use and needs no special exception, special approval, PUD amendment or Town Commission action - unless the property is a designated historic site (Q25). LDC 7.05.00 (special exceptions), 7.08.00 (special approvals) and 7.06.00 (variances) are not engaged. Note that LDC 7.08.00's 'special approval' route for uses not otherwise listed 'shall be granted only within CC, CH, CS and IL districts', i.e. commercial and light industrial - so the catch-all cannot bite a residential rooftop install. Commercial-SCALE solar is a different matter: the Comprehensive Plan's Future Land Use Element records that 'Subject to applicable law, a solar power generation facility is an allowed use on and/or for the 152.0 +/- acres generally located in the southern edge of the town limits' (Ordinance 10-03 area, Site 17). 80% · codified ordinance
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No system-size cap on residential generation anywhere in Town law. The word solar appears exactly twice in the 1.7 MB codified corpus and neither is PV (a small-cell definition mentioning 'smart solar-powered charging stations', and a cross-connection-control backflow table listing 'Solar Energy Systems', which is solar THERMAL - the same false friend found at Lake Alfred). 'Photovoltaic', 'kW', 'kilowatt', 'renewable energy', 'energy storage' and 'net metering' are all zero. The only size limits that bite are the utility's: Duke Energy Florida's PSC-approved tiers under Rule 25-6.065(2) - Tier 1 up to 10 kW, Tier 2 above 10 kW to 100 kW, Tier 3 above 100 kW to 2 MW - and Rule 25-6.065(9)'s 'not to exceed 2 MW' ceiling. 85% · codified ordinance (complete-corpus search)

Several authorities require the electrical permit to be pulled by a licensed electrician, or require the contractor to be registered with them BEFORE applying. Registration is not same-day. This is second on the list rather than fourth because it is the step most likely to stop the job before the drawings matter.

• Who is allowed to pull the electrical permit? A licensed electrical contractor, registered with the Town. Code Sec. 14-138(a): 'all industrial, commercial and residential buildings will be wired by an electrical contractor under the supervision of such contractor or a master electrician. There must be at least one journeyman electrician on the job at all times.' The exception is the resident homeowner route at Sec. 14-138(b) (see Q7). 90% · codified ordinance
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes. The Town operates its own Contractor Registration. The Contractor Registration Application requires the business details, state licence/certification number and a documented set: 'Contractors State Certification (No Town bond required)'; 'Contractors State Registration ($5,000 bond required)'; '$5,000 Bond to the Town of Dundee'; Signature Authorization form; Certificate of Competency; Liability Insurance; Worker's Compensation Insurance or Exemption Certificate; Occupational License. Code Sec. 14-26 and Sec. 14-57 carry the registration fee and performance-bond requirement. Registrations and renewals go to permits@townofdundee.com. 90% · contractor registration form (OCR)
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes, but narrowly and at the inspector's discretion. Code Sec. 14-138(b): 'When an owner who resides or intends to reside in a single-family dwelling wants to do the electrical work in such a building himself, he may purchase a permit after proving to the electrical inspector his ability to do electrical work of the scope involved. Such a permit shall not be issued to an owner unless approved by the electrical inspector. Only one such permit, except for repairs, alterations or extension for the same residence, shall be issued in any three-year period, without special approval of the administrator.' The Development Services page adds: 'Homeowners are allowed to permit work being done only on homes in which they reside.' The application form has a 'Residential/Homeowner' box and states that owner builders 'per Florida Statutes 489.103, must personally appear and sign the building permit application'. 90% · codified ordinance

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

• What documents make up a complete submittal? No PV-specific checklist exists. For a single-trade electrical permit the published package is: the completed Building/Structure/Trade Application (Single Trade Electrical box) with parcel ID, property address, job description, material/labour/total value of work, electric service existing-or-new plus 'Electric Provider', contractor and sub contact details, the flood-zone declaration, and a notarised owner/agent certification; a current Town contractor registration; and a recorded Notice of Commencement for any job over $5,000. Critically, Code Sec. 14-140(a) states that 'An applicant for a single-family or two-family (duplex) structure will not be required to submit full plans and specifications, except where, due to special circumstances, the inspector deems them to be necessary.' The eight-item 'complete submittal' list in Sec. 14-238 (construction plans, site/plot plans, sealed truss calculations, energy calculations, landscaping plans, window and door specifications, application, filed NOC) is the impact-fee article's definition and is written for new construction, not for a retrofit. 78% · permit application form (OCR) + codified ordinance
• How many copies, and in what format? Paper or emailed PDF; no copy count is published for a trade permit. The Development Services page directs that 'ALL PERMIT APPLICANTS MUST DOWNLOAD AND RETURN THE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION FORM' and that 'All permit submissions, permitting questions, contractor registrations, and renewals must be directed to permits@townofdundee.com'. There is no permit portal. The only copy count anywhere in the Code is six copies of a site development plan (LDC 7.02.03.01), which does not apply to a single-family retrofit. 70% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? No separate site plan is required for a rooftop retrofit. LDC 7.02.02 requires site development plan approval only for nonresidential parcels, multifamily/mobile home parks, clubhouses on common property, divisions of an existing development site and expansions of those - single-family is not in the list. The application form instead captures parcel ID, section/township/range, subdivision and lot, property address and job description. A GROUND-MOUNTED array is different: as an accessory structure LDC 2.01.02(E) says 'All accessory structures shall be shown on a site development plan required under section 7.02.00 of this Code.' 75% · codified ordinance
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Not required as a matter of published rule, and the Code affirmatively waives plans for this class of work. Code Sec. 14-140(a): 'An applicant for a single-family or two-family (duplex) structure will not be required to submit full plans and specifications, except where, due to special circumstances, the inspector deems them to be necessary.' Sec. 14-140(b) lets the electrical inspector waive plans and specifications on rewiring jobs entirely. No one-line or three-line diagram is named anywhere in the codified corpus, on the Development Services page, or on the application form. 80% · codified ordinance
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not required as a matter of published rule - same clause. Sec. 14-140(a) exempts single-family and duplex applicants from 'full plans and specifications' unless the inspector calls for them; string, conductor and ampacity calculations appear nowhere in the codified corpus, the application form or the fee schedule. 75% · codified ordinance

Most authorities now take the whole application through a portal, and several states cap or constrain what a residential solar permit may cost. Check whether plan check is billed separately before you quote the job.

• Which permit portal does this authority use? None. There is no permit portal of any kind. Permits are applied for on a downloaded PDF form returned to the Development Services office or emailed to permits@townofdundee.com; inspections are booked by email to inspections@townofdundee.com; certificates are requested at co-info@townofdundee.com. The only online systems the Town runs are Edmunds GovTech WIPP (wipp.edmundsgovtech.cloud, wippId=DUND) and Point & Pay for WATER utility billing, and Municode Meetings for agendas - none of them touch permitting. 92% · department page + site-wide enumeration
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. The application must be downloaded, completed, signed before a notary and returned; there is no online application, no online payment of permit fees, no online status and no online plan upload. Email is the delivery channel, not a portal: 'All permit submissions, permitting questions, contractor registrations, and renewals must be directed to permits@townofdundee.com.' The application also requires a notarised signature ('Subscribed and sworn to before me this __ day of __'), which forecloses a purely electronic route. 92% · department page + permit application form
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $162.50 is the realistic floor for a residential rooftop PV electrical permit: the $128.28 minimum electrical permit fee plus the $34.22 Administration Fee. Fee schedule Section V.H: 'All Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, and Roofing permits shall have a minimum fee of $128.28. (**Anything over $10,000.00 compute per item C above.)'; Section V.F: 'All permits shall be charged an Administration Fee of $34.22.' Above $10,000 of contract value the fee becomes $34.22 + $11.98 per additional $1,000 (Section V.C) plus the $34.22 administration fee - a $25,000 system therefore costs about $355.98. Section V.G adds '$0.16 per square foot' as the state surcharge on 'all new construction or alterations', which the office would have to rule on for a rooftop array. There is no PV-specific fee line. 85% · published fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Tiered on valuation, with a flat minimum and a flat administration fee on top. Sub-trade electrical: $34.22 minimum up to $1,000 of value; above $1,000, $34.22 base plus $11.98 per additional $1,000 or part; but a floor of $128.28 for any electrical, plumbing, mechanical or roofing permit up to $10,000. Plus $34.22 Administration Fee on every permit and a $0.16/sq ft State Licensing Board / DCA surcharge on new construction or alterations. The whole schedule escalates automatically: 'All Permit Fees set forth shall automatically be increased by 5% every two (2) years, beginning October 1st, 2003' - which is why every figure is an odd cent amount derived from Resolution No. 01-07 of 13 March 2001. 90% · published fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No, not for a residential permit. Fee schedule Section VII 'Plans Review Fee (non-refundable)' has exactly three lines: '1. All, except residential, requiring Tech. Review Board review: 50% of building permit fee. 2. Commercial: 50% of building permit fee. 3. Any review requiring Technical Review Board review: 50% of building permit fee.' Residential is expressly carved out of line 1. Separately, plan RESUBMITTALS are charged at '$42.77 per page, plan or set'. 88% · published 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.

• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 180 days to commence for a building permit; 6 months for an electrical permit. The application's notarised certification states 'The permit issued under this application will expire if work is not commenced within a 180 days of issuance.' Code Sec. 14-139(c): 'The electrical permit shall be valid for six months, unless extended by the administrator.' 88% · permit application form (OCR) + codified ordinance
• Which utility handles interconnection here? DUKE ENERGY FLORIDA, LLC. Proved from the Town's own accounting, against BOTH diagnostic accounts by name. The 24 May 2022 Town Commission agenda packet contains the auditor's 'Schedule of Corrected Material Misstatements' for the year ended 30 September 2021, and one of the adjusting entries reads, verbatim: '001-101.249 001 General Fund Citizens 3701 70,755.79 / 001-313.100 001 Electric-Utility (39,960.63) / 001-314.100 001 Electric-Franchise (30,795.16) -- To record DUKE ENERGY revenue that was not recorded.' That single journal entry attributes the electric utility service tax account AND the electric franchise fee account to Duke Energy by name. The Town of Dundee is NOT its own electric utility. 92% · Town Commission agenda packet - auditor's Schedule of Corrected Material Misstatements, FY ended 30 Sep 2021
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel, with the utility gating energisation at the end AND the Town gating the utility. Two rules stack. (a) PSC Rule 25-6.065(5)(a) 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'. (b) Town Code Sec. 14-137(b) is the mirror image and is unusually explicit: 'It shall be unlawful for any person furnishing electrical current for light, heat or power to connect the distribution system with any installation of wiring apparatus or fixtures within the town without having first received a release from the electrical inspector... The electrical inspector may give verbal release for expedience and shall immediately attach a proper indication of approval on the job site and issue a written release to the power company.' 92% · codified ordinance + PSC rule

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 (NFPA 70-2020), as referenced by the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023). The Town's own adoption is a FLOATING one and cannot itself fix a year: Code Sec. 14-136(a) 'The town adopts by reference... National Electrical Code, latest edition, together with all revisions, amendments, supplements, changes and additional national electrical codes that may be adopted.' Since FS 553.73 makes the Florida Building Code the operative code statewide and the FBC adopts NFPA 70-2020 by reference, the enforceable edition is NEC 2020. BEWARE THE FOSSIL: Sec. 14-147 (swimming pools) still cites 'article 450-3(b) of the 1990 National Electrical Code' - the oldest NEC reference found in this survey after Hialeah Gardens. 82% · codified ordinance + state code
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), in force by operation of FS 553.73 - not by anything Dundee has enacted. The Town's codified adoption at Sec. 14-91 is a complete pre-FBC fossil set: 'Life Safety Code NFPA101-1997 Edition. (2) National Electrical Code-Latest Edition. (3) Florida State Building Code-Effective January 1, 2002. (4) Standard Gas Code-1997 Edition. (5) Standard Mechanical Code-1997 Edition. (6) Standard Plumbing Code-1994 Edition. (7) Standard Fire Prevention Code-1997 Edition', plus fifteen SBCCI standards from 1986-1997. The last amending ordinance is Ord. No. 01-11 of 9 October 2001. The Land Development Code compounds it: LDC 2.01.02(B) requires accessory structures to 'comply with the Standard Building Code' and LDC 8.01.02 requires the building director to have 'a working knowledge of the Standard Building Code' - a code body that ceased to exist in 2002. 90% · codified ordinance (fossil) + state code
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023) - NFPA 1 (2021) and NFPA 101 (2021) as adopted by the State Fire Marshal under FS 633.202 - in force by operation of state law. The Town's own codified fire code is a deep fossil: Sec. 22-1 adopts 'the Standard Fire Prevention Code, 1991 edition' and 'National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101, Life Safety Code, 1991 edition', last touched by Ord. No. 94-08 of 11 October 1994. Dundee has its own Fire Department (Chief Joe Carbone; two full-time firefighters on duty 24/7 plus volunteers) which states that it performs 'technical site review, plan review and fire safety code inspections'. Residential is exempt from the annual compliance inspection: Sec. 22-2(4) creates Section 403.1 'All occupancies EXCEPT one- and two-family dwellings... shall be required to have an annual fire compliance inspection'. 85% · codified ordinance (fossil) + state code
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? No local technical amendment to the Florida Building Code or to the NEC, and none is possible without the FS 553.73(4) local-amendment process, which Dundee has not used. What exists is administrative rather than technical: Chapter 14 Article IV writes its own electrical administration (inspector, permit, rough-in, final, certificate of approval, power release) and Sec. 14-136(b) provides 'Should there be any conflict between this article and the electrical code, the provisions of this article shall prevail' - a clause that on its face purports to override the NEC and is preempted to the extent it does. The fire chapter carries real amendments (Sec. 22-2) but only to permit terms, reinspection, penalties and annual compliance inspections, none of them technical. 80% · codified ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and the NEC edition it references (NFPA 70-2020), administered through Chapter 14 Article IV of the Town Code. Sec. 14-136(c) sets the baseline: the electrical code 'is established as the minimum requirement for all electrical construction and all materials and appliances used in connection with the installation, maintenance and operation of electrical wiring, equipment or apparatus for light, heat or power.' In practice a Dundee PV job is judged against NEC Article 690 and Article 705, the FBC Residential/Building volumes for the roof attachment, and - separately and by contract, not by the AHJ - the serving utility's interconnection standard. 82% · codified ordinance + state code

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? Nothing local. Ridge setbacks and roof access pathways are governed by the Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (NFPA 1, 2021 ed., Section 11.12 Solar Photovoltaic Systems) applying by operation of FS 633.202, and by FBC Residential R324 - not by any Dundee instrument. The Town's codified fire code is the 1991 Standard Fire Prevention Code and the 1991 Life Safety Code, neither of which contains a PV provision, and 'solar' and 'photovoltaic' return zero PV hits across the whole codified corpus. The Fire Department publishes no PV guidance, no setback figure and no fee for residential PV review, and Sec. 22-2(4) exempts one- and two-family dwellings from the annual compliance inspection regime. 70% · codified ordinance (fossil) + state code

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? Required, but not by anything Dundee has written. Rapid shutdown comes in through NEC 690.12 of the edition referenced by the FBC 8th Edition (NEC 2020), which requires conductors outside the array boundary to be limited to 30 V within 30 seconds and, for the 2020 edition, controlled conductors inside the array boundary to be limited per 690.12(B)(2) with the required label. 'Rapid shutdown' appears ZERO times in the Town's codified corpus, on the Development Services page, on the permit application and in the fee schedule. The Town's own adopted electrical text is 'National Electrical Code, latest edition' plus a 1990 NEC reference at Sec. 14-147, and no edition-specific rapid-shutdown rule is restated locally. 78% · codified ordinance + state code

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

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? THE AHJ REQUIRES NO PLACARDS OF ITS OWN. What applies at the service equipment is (a) the NEC labelling of the edition in force via the FBC - 690.13(B), 690.56(C), 705.10, 705.12(B)(3) and the 690.12 rapid-shutdown label - and (b) the serving utility's own labels, which for Duke Energy Florida are fitted by Duke, not by the installer. The only labelling rule Dundee itself has written is unrelated to PV and dates from the 1976 Code: Sec. 14-144(c) 'Every electrical contractor shall stencil or provide a decal with the contractor's name, address and phone number on the main switch or panel' and 14-144(e) 'On multimeter installations, the location served by each meter shall be stenciled on each meter base or panel in letters at least two inches high.' 14-144(d) adds 'No job of wiring for light, heat or power will be accepted on a final inspection unless the proper protective devices have been installed and ALL CIRCUITS HAVE BEEN PROPERLY IDENTIFIED.' 85% · codified ordinance (complete-corpus search)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. The Town specifies no placard wording of its own for PV. The only wording Dundee has ever prescribed for an electrical installation is the condemnation notice at Sec. 14-146(a) - 'NOTICE: WIRING CONDEMNED / The use of electric current is prohibited through this wiring or equipment until proper repairs have been made and approved by the Electrical Inspector' - which the INSPECTOR posts, not the installer. 88% · codified ordinance (complete-corpus search)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? The Town specifies nothing - no letter height, no colour, no material - for PV labels. The only letter-height rule anywhere in the Town Code is Sec. 14-144(e)'s two-inch stencilling on multimeter installations, and the only colour rule is the red lettering of the inspector's condemnation notice. The utility does specify: if the serving utility is Duke Energy Florida, Duke's White Book Section VI-E sets out six catalogued items with sizes - Electric Generator Warning labels at 3x2 in and 6x4 in, an Electric Generator Warning sign at 9x6 in, Generator Isolation Device labels at 3x2 in and 6x4 in, and a Generator Isolation Device sign at 9x6 in - and states 'Signs and labels are installed by Duke Energy' and 'Install signs and labels on all KW sizes of Distributed Generation sites.' 85% · utility standard (Duke White Book, rev. 1 Apr 2026)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes - decisively. The AHJ specifies none and the utility specifies all of them. For Duke Energy Florida the White Book Section VI-E table is: 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. 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.' Figure 48A note 4 points the installer back to this section: 'WARNING LABEL REQUIREMENTS - PLEASE REFER TO SECTION 6.' The commercial consequence is that on a Duke job the installer does NOT supply or fit these - Duke does. 88% · utility standard (Duke White Book, rev. 1 Apr 2026)
• Where must the labels be placed? Town: nothing specified. Utility (Duke Energy Florida): specified per item in the White Book Section VI-E table - meter base/primary meter, LOWER LEFT; pad-mounted transformer, ABOVE THE LOCK; overhead transformer pole, 5' TO 6' ABOVE THE GROUND; small and large disconnect switches, NEAR THE OFF POSITION; recloser/pole disconnect switch, 5' TO 6' ABOVE THE GROUND. NEC placement (690.13(B) on the PV disconnect, 705.10 at the service equipment or at each service disconnect location, 690.12's label on the rapid-shutdown initiation device) applies through the FBC. 86% · utility standard (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? The Town specifies nothing. The utility does. For Duke Energy Florida, White Book Figure 48A ('"NET" GENERATION METERING SINGLE OR THREE-PHASE, SELF-CONTAINED METERED SERVICE, RESIDENTIAL/SMALL COMMERCIAL', revision 3 dated 3/31/24, ticked in the DEF column) states 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 [sight] OF METERBASE AND READILY ACCESSIBLE.' Figure 48B adds 'CUSTOMER OWNED DEVICES OF ANY KIND ARE NOT ALLOWED BETWEEN THE COMPANY'S METER AND THE METER SOCKET.' SET THIS AGAINST THE RULE, WHICH MOVES THE COST BUT NOT THE REQUIREMENT: PSC Rule 25-6.065(6)(a) permits a utility to require a visible-load-break manual disconnect 'at the customer's expense', then provides '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', and requires it to be 'mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the meter socket... 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 own current published spec; the Tier 1 exemption is an exemption from PAYING for it, not from having it. 86% · utility standard + PSC rule
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes, by incorporation rather than by a local list. Code Sec. 14-136(c) makes the adopted electrical code 'the minimum requirement for ALL ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION AND ALL MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES used in connection with the installation, maintenance and operation of electrical wiring, equipment or apparatus for light, heat or power', which pulls in NEC 110.3(B) listing and labelling. Florida Product Approval applies to the roof attachment through the FBC. There is NO local approved-products list, no Town equipment schedule, and - Dundee being inland Polk and outside the HVHZ - no Miami-Dade NOA requirement. 72% · codified ordinance
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted, and the Town says nothing at all about them - a complete local silence. 'Battery' returns seven hits in the whole codified corpus and every one is unrelated (hazardous-materials collection of vehicle batteries; a business-tax line for 'Battery service and repair'; the definition of a gasoline service station including 'battery recharging and replacement'). 'Energy storage', 'ESS' (searched anchored, to avoid matching inside longer words) and 'lithium' return zero. There is no local siting rule, no separation distance, no garage restriction and no fire-department review requirement for a residential ESS. What governs is the Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (NFPA 1 ch. 52 / NFPA 855 as referenced) and FBC Residential R328, both by state law, plus the serving utility's own ESS terms. 82% · codified ordinance (complete-corpus search)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes - a ground-mounted array is an accessory structure and LDC 2.01.02 bites in full. The operative constraints on a residential lot: '(A) Accessory structures shall not be constructed prior to the principal structure. (B) All accessory structures shall comply with the Standard Building Code and all standards of this Code pertaining to the principal use. (C) Accessory structures shall not be located in a required landscape buffer or minimum building setback area... (D) Accessory structures shall be included in all calculations of impervious surface and storm water runoff. (E) All accessory structures shall be shown on a site development plan required under section 7.02.00... (F) In residential districts, accessory structures shall not be located forward of the front building line or, on a corner lot, within the required side street setback area... (G) Accessory structures shall not be served by an electrical meter separate from that of the principal use. (H) Except where otherwise provided, accessory structures shall be separated from each other and from the principal structure by no less than five feet.' (F) is the one that shapes the job: no front-yard ground mount. (D) is the one that surprises people: the array area counts toward impervious surface. 85% · codified ordinance

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

• How is an inspection booked? Email. 'All inspection requests must be submitted via email to inspections@townofdundee.com... Please ensure the following information is included in the email: Permit Number / Job Site Address / Type of Inspection / Desired Inspection Date.' There is no portal and no online booking. NOTE A CONTRADICTION ON THE TOWN'S OWN PAGE: the same Development Services page also says, higher up, 'Upon completion of work, please call the Development Services Department to schedule an inspection.' The email instruction is the later block (headed 'Town of Dundee Development Services Update... Effective Immediately') and should be treated as governing; the phone sentence is a survival from the earlier text. 88% · department page
• How much notice is required? By 4:00 PM the day before. 'All inspection requests must be received by 4:00 pm the day prior to scheduled inspection. Requests made after 4:00 pm will be scheduled for the next business day.' THE CODE SAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND OLDER: Sec. 14-142(a) requires the notice to be 'received at the town hall not later than 5:00 p.m. on the day prior to the day inspection is desired', and 14-142(b) promises inspections 'will be performed on the day desired if at all possible and shall be completed by the end of the second working day after proper notice has been received'. The live page's 4:00 PM cut-off is the operative one and is the tighter of the two. 88% · department page + codified ordinance
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No same-day inspections and no AM/PM windows are published. The rule is next-business-day: a request received after 4:00 PM 'will be scheduled for the next business day'. The Code's outer bound is two working days: inspections 'shall be completed by the end of the second working day after proper notice has been received'. Office hours are Monday-Friday 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM, closed weekends and holidays. 82% · 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 Town's own Building Official and inspector perform the inspections - 'Inspections for all permitted work' and 'Safety inspections - needed for utilities to be turned on' are listed as Development Services functions. The FS 553.80 utilization report for FY2022-2023 records 1,353 building inspections and reinspections conducted, of which 56 were conducted by a private provider - so about 96% were performed by the Town. Code Sec. 14-121 establishes the electrical inspector and Sec. 14-122 his duties. 90% · FS 553.80(7)(b) utilization report + department page
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated. Where the APPLICANT elects it, a licensed private provider under FS 553.791 may perform plan review and inspections, and Dundee prices that route explicitly: fee schedule Section VI.11 'Town Administrative Results Fee (applicable to permits utilizing a Private Provider firm for inspections): $5.80 per inspection' and VI.12 'Audit Inspection Fee (applicable to permits utilizing a Private Provider firm for inspections): Flat fee of $231.53'. The FY2022-2023 utilization report records 56 private-provider inspections and - note - '0' audits conducted by the Town of those inspections. No firm is named anywhere; a sweep of the Town's whole 523 KB site corpus and a 5.1 MB corpus of 62 Town PDFs for SAFEbuilt, CAP Government, PDCS, JPI, M.T. Causley, Bureau Veritas, CGA Solutions, Universal Engineering Sciences and NOVA Engineering returned zero hits for every one. 85% · published fee schedule + FS 553.80(7)(b) report

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

• Which inspections are required, and in what order? Two, in order: ROUGH-IN then FINAL. Code Sec. 14-143(a) 'A rough-in inspection will be required for all electrical wiring installations'; Sec. 14-144(a) the electrical inspector issues a 'final certificate of approval' on passing final inspection. A third may be triggered separately: the Town's 'Safety Inspection' is 'required when power has been turned off at a particular location for more than 90 consecutive days' ($35.00 residential), which catches a job on a vacant property. No PV-specific sequence is published and no PV inspection type exists. 78% · codified ordinance
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Yes, on the face of the Code, and unconditionally: Sec. 14-143(a) 'A rough-in inspection will be required for ALL electrical wiring installations.' The supporting subsections show the purpose is concealment: '(b) All concealed plumbing and other piping or duct work shall be in place before the wiring inspection is requested. (c) No wiring or equipment shall be sealed or in any manner concealed until after the wiring or equipment has been inspected and notice of approval has been posted on the job by the electrical inspector. (d) All wiring in conduit shall be inspected before switches, panel fronts, receptacles or covers are installed, unless approved by the electrical inspector.' This is one of the few authorities in this survey with a codified, unqualified rough-in duty for every electrical permit. 75% · 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. There is no published inspection checklist - and the Development Services page says why the forms are thin: 'Please Note: Due to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements, some documents have been removed from this page. If you are in need of any information, fee sheets, or forms, please contact the Development Services office.' The page links only four documents: the Building Permit Fee Schedule, the Building Permit Application, the Contractor Registration Form and (by name only) a Signature Authority Form and Notice of Commencement. A sweep of the Town's entire WordPress media library - 1,331 items, 392 of them PDFs, enumerated through the site's own REST API - found no inspection checklist of any kind. 88% · department page + site-wide media enumeration
• What must be on site at inspection? The one document the Town names is the recorded NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT, 'required for all jobs over $5,000'. The permit application reinforces it: 'Your failure to record a Notice of Commencement (NOC) may result in your paying twice for improvements to your property.' Nothing in the Code or on the department page requires the permit card, approved plans or the certificate of approval to be posted or kept on site - the only posting duty in the electrical article runs the other way, Sec. 14-143(c) requiring the INSPECTOR to post his notice of approval on the job. 68% · department page + permit application form (OCR)
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Partly, and it is codified rather than a matter of practice. Sec. 14-144(d): 'No job of wiring for light, heat or power will be accepted on a final inspection unless the proper protective devices have been installed and ALL CIRCUITS HAVE BEEN PROPERLY IDENTIFIED.' That is a circuit-identification check at final. Sec. 14-144(c) requires the contractor's own decal on the main switch or panel. Listing is checked only indirectly, through Sec. 14-136(c) making the NEC the minimum for 'all materials and appliances'. There is no published checklist and no PV label list. 70% · codified ordinance

Passing gives you a final or an equivalent sign-off. That is not the same as permission to operate: PTO comes from the utility, and who tells the utility the inspection passed varies. A system left switched off for weeks is usually waiting on this handover.

• What is issued on pass? A FINAL CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL for the electrical work, and it is the instrument that unlocks power. Sec. 14-144(a): 'When any electrical construction covered by a permit shall be found on final inspection by the electrical inspector to conform to this article, the electrical inspector shall issue a final certificate of approval certifying that the installation has been inspected and found to comply... However, release for power shall not be given on any job known to be in violation.' For work that also needs a building close-out there is a Certificate of Occupancy at a flat $42.77, and 'Requests for Certificates of Occupancy, Temporary Certificates of Occupancy, and Certificates of Completion must be sent to co-info@townofdundee.com.' 85% · codified ordinance
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? BOTH, and the AHJ's half is codified in unusually strong terms - this is a power-release town. The installer or customer files the interconnection application with the utility (for an investor-owned utility, under its PSC-approved Standard Interconnection Agreement; Rule 25-6.065(5)(b) requires the customer to notify the utility at least 10 days before placing equipment in service). But the Town gates the connection itself. Sec. 14-137(b): 'It shall be unlawful for any person furnishing electrical current... to connect the distribution system with any installation of wiring apparatus or fixtures within the town without having first received a RELEASE FROM THE ELECTRICAL INSPECTOR. Such release shall be given by the electrical inspector immediately after the certificate provided for in this division has been issued. The electrical inspector may give verbal release for expedience and shall immediately attach a proper indication of approval on the job site and ISSUE A WRITTEN RELEASE TO THE POWER COMPANY.' The permit application ties a separate condition to the same act: 'I understand that I must have the driveway inspected and approved before I can receive an electric power release of my residence.' 90% · codified ordinance
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $42.77. Fee schedule Section VII: 'Re-Inspection (due to failure or non-preparedness) Fee: Flat Fee of $42.77.' The Code backs it generically at Sec. 14-145(b): 'There shall be a fee for reinspection of work not complying with this article, not ready for inspection or otherwise requiring reinspection.' The fire chapter has its own separate reinspection fee for failure to give access (Sec. 22-2(2), amount on file with the town clerk). Working without a permit is charged at 'Double permit fee or $128.28, whichever is greater' on a first offence. 90% · published fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? No corrections process is published. What the Code provides is the enforcement end of it: the inspector may refuse to accept a job at final (Sec. 14-144(a) and (d)), may revoke a permit at any stage on five listed grounds (Sec. 14-141(c)), and in a hazard case posts a red-lettered 'NOTICE: WIRING CONDEMNED' at the panel and notifies the power company by phone with written follow-up (Sec. 14-146). In practice a failed inspection is cleared by paying the $42.77 re-inspection fee and re-requesting by email to inspections@townofdundee.com before 4:00 PM the day prior. No written correction notice, no correction list format and no re-review clock is published anywhere. 60% · codified ordinance + fee schedule