Town of St. Leo

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 St. Leo is the AHJ, but it performs almost none of the work itself: it retains zoning/land-development review (its own Zoning Compliance Application is a condition precedent to any permit) and delegates building permitting, plan review, inspection, permit records and contractor registration to the CITY OF DADE CITY Building Division, and fire permitting/plan review/inspection to PASCO COUNTY (Fire Rescue). Not Pasco County for building — the county prior is wrong here. 97% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Delegated. Building + electrical + mechanical + plumbing + gas permitting, plan review, inspection and contractor registration: City of Dade City Building Division (38020 Meridian Ave, 352-521-1460), which states it services Dade City, San Antonio and Saint Leo. Fire permitting, plan review and inspection: Pasco County Fire Rescue via PascoGateway; fire suppression via the Pasco County municipal fire service unit MSTU. Zoning/land-development compliance: retained by the Town (Zoning Compliance Application, Town Clerk). Contractor LICENSING: Pasco County Contractor Licensing Division (813-847-8009). 95% · department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. Town Code Sec. 14-20(a): no person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, convert or demolish any building or structure without first obtaining a building permit. Dade City's published permit-exemption list (Sec. 22-61(b)(3)) covers only small pre-manufactured sheds, sub-1-metre satellite dishes and small temporary pools — solar is not exempt. 93% · ordinance
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate. Dade City lists 'Electrical Permit' as its own permit type with its own submittal list, and Resolution 2008-0997 prices Electrical Permit Fees (section VIII) separately from Building Permit Fees (section V), each with its own $35 base fee and a 'minimum of $35.00 per category'. The permit application states 'a separate permit may be required for electrical, plumbing, signs, wells, pools, air conditioning, gas, or other installations not specifically included in the application.' 85% · permit requirements page
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No town-level architectural or design review for a rooftop array on an existing single-family dwelling. Zero hits for 'architectural review', 'architectural approval' or 'design review' in the whole Town Code; the visual-corridor and architectural-character standards in LDC Sec. 10.9 apply to planned unit developments and Sec. 8.1 to special-exception uses, and LDC Sec. 10.3.A exempts 'the construction or alteration of a single-family dwelling or duplex on a lot in a valid recorded subdivision plat ... or on a lot of record' from development review altogether. A private HOA may exist on a given parcel; the Town Code only requires HOA covenants for subdivisions with streets/utilities/common open space (LDC Sec. 14.12), and FS 163.04 preempts HOA prohibitions on solar collectors. 80% · ordinance
• Is there a historic-district review? No. The Town has no historic-district or historic-preservation chapter and designates no historic district in its Code; the only occurrences of 'historic district' in 847,323 characters are inside LDC Sec. 8.1.1, the wireless-communication-facility section, which lets the Town deny a tower within 1,000 feet of a designated historic landmark. The Town's aesthetic instrument is instead the Visual Corridor Study (Res. No. 01-03, 11 Aug 2001), which is applied through PUD and special-exception review, not to single-family alterations. 78% · ordinance
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification. Pasco County is not in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (Miami-Dade and Broward only), so compliance runs through Florida Product Approval under the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), adopted by Town Code Sec. 14-19(1) and Dade City Sec. 22-61(a)(1). Dade City does require Florida Product Approval numbers in the description of work for re-roofing permits, which is the nearest published analogue, and an Opening Protection Exception Form (25% rule) exists at county level. 70% · permit requirements page
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No. A rooftop array on an existing single-family dwelling is exempt from development review entirely under LDC Sec. 10.3.A, so no general site plan, special exception or Town Commission approval is triggered — only the Zoning Compliance Application. (Utility-scale 'Solar facilities per F.S. 163.3205' are a Permitted use, and only in the Agricultural district; 'Floating solar facilities' are an accessory use on constructed water storage reservoirs under LDC Sec. 5.13, added by Ord. 26-02 on 10 Nov 2025.) 80% · ordinance
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No local cap. Nothing in the Town Code, the LDC or Dade City ch. 22 limits the size of a residential generating system. The operative limits are the utility's: FAC 25-6.065(4)(a) and TECO's tiers — Tier 1 up to 10 kW AC, Tier 2 over 10 kW to 100 kW, Tier 3 over 100 kW to 2 MW — and in every tier the gross power rating may not exceed 90% of the customer's utility distribution service rating, with the customer paying for any service upgrade needed to stay under that 90% threshold (TECO Tier 1 clause 8). For inverter-based systems the AC nameplate is the DC nameplate multiplied by 0.85 (25-6.065(2)(b)). 82% · utility DG manual

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

• Who is allowed to pull the electrical permit? A licensed contractor. Dade City Code Sec. 22-31 recognises 'Solar contractor' as a primary classification and 'Solar energy installation contractor' as a specialty classification, both to the minimum licensing requirements of the county construction licensing entity; electrical work is by an electrical contractor (subcontractor block on the application). Town Code Sec. 14-28(a) requires all construction to be performed by a contractor qualified under FS ch. 489. A homeowner may pull the permit on a primary residence with a notarised Owner Disclosure Statement. 85% · ordinance
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes — twice over. Contractors must be registered with the Dade City Building Department before permit release ('General & Sub contractors must be signed & registered with us prior to release'), using a joint form headed 'TOWN OF SAINT LEO / CITY OF DADE CITY BUILDING DEPARTMENT' that requires workers' comp and liability insurance naming BOTH the Town of Saint Leo and the City of Dade City as certificate holder, the state licence, a tax receipt/competency card and a notarised authorisation letter. Separately, Town Code Sec. 14-28(b) requires every construction company operating in the Town to keep its qualified business licence on file with the town clerk or building official, plus any annual registration fee set by the commission. 95% · form
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes. Dade City requires a NOTARIZED permit application from homeowners as well as contractors, plus a notarised homeowner disclosure statement if the homeowner is pulling the permit. Pasco County's Building Construction page states the Florida Building Code owner-builder exemption applies to an owner's primary residence and not to a rental. 88% · department page

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? Two-stage, and no PV-specific checklist exists anywhere. STAGE 1, Town of St. Leo: Zoning Compliance Application (rev. 4/10/2023) with (i) three sets of site plans showing clear setbacks for proposed and existing structures (four if in a PUD), (ii) a Certificate of Liability and Workers Compensation Insurance listing the Town of St. Leo as an additional insured, (iii) a front-elevation drawing for new structures, (iv) an Affidavit of Authorization/Ownership if the applicant is a representative. Requires both a 'St. Leo Signature for Approval' and a 'Fire Inspector Signature for Approval'. STAGE 2, City of Dade City (uploaded to iWorQ with the Town approval attached): notarised Building Permit Application, site plan, Notice of Commencement (required where valuation exceeds $5,000 for electrical work), contractor registration, and for electrical work a description listing type of work, number of fixtures, TECO layout number where applicable and number of amps. 82% · form
• How many copies, and in what format? Three sets of site plans to the Town (four if the project is in a PUD). To Dade City: digital submission is preferred and online application is 'the preferred method', but the application itself must be uploaded NOTARIZED; the Town's zoning approval must be obtained first and uploaded with the request. 88% · form
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes, and two different specifications apply. Town Code Sec. 14-20(e): a dimensional scaled plan indicating the roof and surface shape, size, lot size, area, and height and location of all buildings to be erected, altered or moved and of any building already on the lot, plus a written statement of existing and intended use. Dade City Code Sec. 22-61(b)(1): drawings must show the location of the proposed and every existing building or structure, all impervious area existing and proposed, all roads and rights-of-way, septic/drainfield/well locations where applicable, all man-made and natural surface waters, proposed and existing water lines and meters, proposed final grade, a north arrow, and a stated scale; the building official may require a boundary line survey or a flood elevation survey if the site is in FIRM zone A or V. 92% · ordinance
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Not required by any published document — an absence with a denominator, not an unchecked box. Dade City's Electrical Permit submittal list names only the application, a description of work (type, number of fixtures, TECO layout number where applicable, number of amps) and an NOC over $5,000. Searched: the Dade City building permit requirements page, all 17 linked Dade City building forms, the 8-page fee resolution, Town Code ch. 14 and the whole 847k-character Town Code, and the Town's four building forms. The NEC (2020) is adopted by reference, so NEC 705.10/690 documentation obligations still bite at inspection. 65% · permit requirements page
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not required by any published document. Same denominator as q11. The one 'plans, calculations and specs on site' requirement found in St. Leo's documents is on the Zoning Compliance Application OVER THE COUNTER FIRE form and is expressly tied to FS 553.7932, which by its own definitions covers only fire alarm system projects (<=20 devices) and fire sprinkler system projects (<=20 sprinklers) — it does not reach solar. 60% · form
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No published threshold for solar. Dade City requires 'a set of engineered plans (signed & sealed)' by permit TYPE — new single-family homes, sheds, carports/aluminium structures, signs and pools — and solar is not a listed type. Nothing in the Town Code or the operator's code sets a structural PE trigger for a roof-mounted array; FBC 107 leaves it to the building official. 55% · permit requirements page
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local threshold published. The state exemption governs: FS 471.003(2)(h) exempts electrical work below the statutory value/ampacity trigger from the PE-seal requirement. Dade City Sec. 22-61(d) makes the building official the authority having jurisdiction for enforcing the National Electrical Code, so the seal decision sits with him under the FBC. 60% · 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? Two portals for one job, plus a paper step. BUILDING: iWorQ Citizen Portal at https://dadepermit.portal.iworq.net/portalhome/dadepermit (inspection requests and results at http://www.portal.iworq.net/DADE/permits/600). FIRE: PascoGateway, which is an Accela Citizen Access tenant at https://aca-prod.accela.com/PASCO/. TOWN ZONING COMPLIANCE: no portal — a paper/PDF application to the Town Clerk (TownClerk@TownofStLeo.org). 93% · portal
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. Three reasons, all published: the Town's Zoning Compliance approval must be obtained FIRST and uploaded with the Dade City application ('If applying for a permit with City of San Antonio or St Leo, be sure to obtain their approval first. This must be uploaded with your application request.'); the Dade City application must be uploaded NOTARIZED (physical presence or online notarization); and the Town's own zoning-compliance step is a paper form requiring wet signatures from both the Town and the Fire Inspector. Payment is online after the permit number is issued. 88% · portal
• What does a residential solar permit cost? NOT PUBLISHABLE AS A SINGLE NUMBER — and that is the finding, not a gap. Two authorities charge, and only one of them publishes rates. (A) CITY OF DADE CITY, Resolution 2008-0997 (adopted 26 Aug 2008, effective 1 Oct 2008 — still the live schedule, re-uploaded March 2026 under a second filename): Electrical Permit base fee $35.00, plus 'see fees in valuation table'. Valuation table: $1,000 and less no fee unless an inspection is needed ($35 per inspection); $1,000-$50,000 = $35.00 for the first $1,000 plus $7.00 per additional thousand or fraction; $50,000-$100,000 = $378.00 for the first $50,000 plus $6.00 per additional thousand; $100,000-$500,000 = $678 plus $5.00 per thousand; over $500,000 = $2,678 plus $4.00 per thousand. Valuation may not be less than the current ICC Building Valuation Data. Plans Examination fee: minimum $30.00, and equal to ONE-HALF the building permit fee where the valuation table is used. Site Examination fee $35.00 where a site plan is required. Minimum $35 per category. So a $25,000 declared-valuation PV job computes to $203 of valuation fee plus the $35 base, and a plan-examination charge of half the permit fee on top — but the resolution does not say unambiguously which figure 'the Building Permit fee' means, so the total is a range not a point. (B) TOWN OF ST. LEO: an UNCAPPED ACTUAL-COST PASS-THROUGH with no published rate of any kind — 'the applicant will be billed for expenses related to the Town of St. Leo's Attorney, Planning Consultant, Fire Inspector and other Town of St. Leo staff review of the application ... assessed monthly', and the Commission may demand an advance payment. No hourly rate, no cap, no schedule is published anywhere on the Town site. (C) Credit-card payments to Dade City carry a 3.5% convenience fee, minimum $2.50. (D) NO SURCHARGE IS DISCLOSED ANYWHERE — the FS 553.721 (1%) and FS 468.631 (1.5%) surcharges appear nowhere in the 8-page fee resolution, on the permit application, or in either code; zero hits for 'surcharge' in 847k characters of Town Code, 129k of Dade City ch. 22/fire/franchises, and the OCR'd fee schedule. (E) Development impact fees do not apply to a PV retrofit: LDC Art. XVIII charges $1,000 only per NEW dwelling unit or new business. 78% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation, tiered (a declining marginal rate by valuation band), plus a flat $35 base per permit and per category. Not flat, not per-kW, not per-panel. Dade City Resolution 2008-0997 sections I, V.C and VIII. 92% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes. A separate 'Plans Examination' fee: minimum $30.00, and equal to one-half of the building permit fee where the fee is computed on the valuation table. A deposit toward permitting fees of $0.02 per square foot (minimum $35) is payable at plan submittal and credited against the permit fee. A separate $35 Site Examination fee applies where site plans are required. Plan-examination and site-examination fees are expressly NON-REFUNDABLE. 88% · 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? The operator publishes TWO DIFFERENT review clocks in two places, and both sit against a statutory cap. The Building Permit Requirements page: 'Be advised our review time is anywhere from 4-6 weeks. We do not offer expedite services and are processed in the order they are received.' The iWorQ citizen portal landing page: 'If your permit request require a review, our review time is 2-6 weeks.' Against those, FS 553.792(1)(a) requires approval/denial within 30 BUSINESS days for a residential permit on a structure under 7,500 sq ft, and within 5 BUSINESS days for structural/electrical work on an existing single-family dwelling valued under $15,000. Six weeks is exactly 30 business days, so the published ceiling is at the statutory limit; the '4-6 weeks, no expedite' statement is flatly inconsistent with the 5-business-day limb for a sub-$15,000 job. 90% · department page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? FOUR DIFFERENT PUBLISHED ANSWERS IN ONE JURISDICTION, three of them below the statutory floor. (1) Town Code Sec. 14-20(h): 'A building permit shall become void FOUR MONTHS from the date of issuance unless substantial progress has been made by that date ... as determined by the building official.' (2) Dade City Code Sec. 22-62(1): void if work is not commenced within 180 DAYS of issuance, or if suspended/abandoned for 60 DAYS after commencement; extensions of up to 90 days each. (3) The Dade City Building Permit Application: invalid unless commenced within SIX MONTHS, or suspended/abandoned for six months; failure to obtain an approved inspection within 180 days of the previous approved inspection constitutes abandonment — citing 'FBC 2001, Chapter 1, section 104.5.1', a code edition twenty-five years out of date. (4) FS 553.79(1)(c): a building permit issued by a local government FOR A SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING expires ONE YEAR after issuance, or on the effective date of the next edition of the Florida Building Code, whichever is later. The statute governs a residential PV permit. 92% · statute
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Tampa Electric Company (TECO). Settled two ways without a parcel map: the Town Code's APPENDIX A - FRANCHISES lists exactly two franchises in force, Peoples Gas System (Ord. 01-001, 2000, 30 years) and TAMPA ELECTRIC CO. (Ord. No. 18-04, 3 May 2018, 30 years) — one electric franchise only, and a town cannot grant itself one; and the operator's own permit paperwork requires a 'Tampa Electric Company (TECO) power approval Letter', a 'TECO layout #' on electrical permits and a 'Teco Letter that power has been disconnected' for demolition. Dade City's own Appendix A carries the same grantee (Ord. No. 439, 8 Jan 1980). NOTE: EIA-861 Service_Territory_2024 shows FOUR retail sellers in Pasco County — Duke Energy Florida, Sumter Electric Coop (SECO), Tampa Electric Co and Withlacoochee River Electric Coop — so 'Pasco is Duke/WREC/TECO' undercounts; the franchise table is what pins St. Leo to TECO. TECO reported 28,828 residential net-metered PV installations and 337.6 MW residential DC capacity in Florida for 2024. 93% · ordinance
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit, and after the AHJ's final inspection. FAC 25-6.065(5)(a) requires every IOU 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'. TECO's own Tier 1 step list requires 'Proof of inspection and approval by local code authority' with the application, and TECO then performs its own inspection including verification of an acceptable disconnect switch. TECO executes the agreement within 30 CALENDAR days of a completed application (Tier 1 clause 9), and the customer must return the executed agreement at least 30 calendar days before beginning parallel operations (25-6.065(7)(d)). 92% · utility DG manual

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. Two independent adoptions, and the operator prints the year correctly: Dade City Code Sec. 22-61(a)(2) adopts 'NFPA National Electric Code (2020) Edition, as amended from time to time'; Town Code Sec. 14-19(1)f adopts 'the provisions of the National Electrical Code, as adopted by the Florida Building Commissioner, and all subsequent amendments' — a floating adoption that tracks the FBC, which currently carries the 2020 NEC effective 31 Dec 2023. Do not read the '2023' in 'Florida Building Code Eighth Edition (2023)' as an NEC year. 94% · ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, Eighth Edition (2023), including the Residential, Existing Building, Mechanical, Plumbing and Fuel Gas volumes. Dade City Sec. 22-61(a)(1) names the edition; Town Code Sec. 14-19(1) adopts the FBC and its volumes by reference 'and all subsequent amendments', so the Town's adoption floats. Town Ordinance 24-06 (adopted 13 May 2024) separately adopts 'The Florida Building Code, as now and subsequently amended'. Dade City also adopts the International Property Maintenance Code (2021). 94% · ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, Eighth Edition — plus, in St. Leo specifically, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code and NFPA 1 Fire Prevention Code adopted BY NAME. This comes from Town Ordinance 24-06, adopted 13 May 2024, which is NOT in the codified Code (the Supplement History Table marks it 'Omit', Supp. 16) and whose full text is recoverable only from the FS 166.041(4) business-impact-statement PDF on the Town's website: the Town adopts NFPA 101, NFPA 1, the Florida Fire Prevention Code and the Florida Building Code 'as now and subsequently amended'; 'Copies of all codes are on file in the Office of the Pasco County Emergency Services Department'; and 'If any conflict occurs between this section and any other applicable state, law ordinance, rule or regulation, the more stringent requirement shall apply.' Dade City Sec. 22-61(a)(4) adopts the FFPC Eighth Edition for its own limits. 90% · ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, on both sides of the delegation. TOWN OF ST. LEO, Code Sec. 14-19.1 (Ord. 15-01, 9 Feb 2015) adds two sections to the Florida Building Code: new 107.6.1, which bars the building official from relying on affidavits and plans submitted under FBC 105.14/107.6 for the flood load and flood-resistant construction requirements; and new 117, applying the local floodplain variance procedure to FBC 1612.4 and FBC-R R322. CITY OF DADE CITY, Sec. 22-61(b) adopts ten local building regulations including a prescriptive site-drawing content list, a permit-exemption list, required first-floor framing inspections in flood zones, a mandatory approved heat source, a 300 sq ft minimum net usable floor area, and a MINIMUM FIRST-FLOOR ELEVATION OF 78 FEET ASL for all residences — but that last one is expressly scoped to 'the incorporated areas of the city', so it does not travel to St. Leo. 92% · ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The 2020 National Electrical Code as adopted through the Florida Building Code, enforced by the CITY OF DADE CITY building official, who is expressly named the authority having jurisdiction for the NEC: Dade City Sec. 22-61(d) — 'the building official ... shall be included as the authority having jurisdiction for enforcing the National Electrical Code and all other codes adopted in subsection (a) of this section.' There are no local electrical amendments in either code. 90% · ordinance

Ridge setbacks and roof access pathways are fire-service requirements and they constrain the array layout. They are the most common cause of a redesign after the fire department comments on a plan set.

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

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

• Is rapid shutdown required, and to which NEC edition? Required, to the 2020 NEC (Article 690.12), by adoption rather than by any local rule. Both the adopting instruments were read first-hand — Dade City Sec. 22-61(a)(2) names the 2020 NEC, Town Sec. 14-19(1)f floats to the FBC's NEC — but neither authority publishes any rapid-shutdown guidance, labelling specification or inspection item of its own, and the NEC article text itself sits behind a subscription viewer and was not read in this run. 80% · ordinance

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? One placard, and it comes from the utility, not the AHJ. TAMPA ELECTRIC requires a placard at the meter reading 'ON-SITE GENERATION UTILITY DISCONNECT SWITCH', engraved or stamped, identifying the location of the isolation means; a photograph of the disconnect switch showing the approved placard must be submitted with the interconnection application. Neither the Town of St. Leo nor the City of Dade City specifies any placard of its own — NEC 690/705 marking requirements apply by adoption only. 90% · utility DG manual
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. Neither the Town of St. Leo nor the City of Dade City specifies placard wording. The only prescribed wording in force here is Tampa Electric's 'ON-SITE GENERATION UTILITY DISCONNECT SWITCH'. 85% · ordinance
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Specified by the utility, in detail, and by neither AHJ. TECO SESR 2025: 'The placard shall be non-ferrous metal or poly-plastic with engraved or stamped lettering a minimum of 1/4 inch high, epoxy glued or riveted to the mounting surface. Peel and stick labels, paint, or marking pens are not acceptable.' No colour is specified. The same material and lettering standard is applied elsewhere in SESR to meter identification tags. 92% · utility DG manual
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Not specified locally. Neither authority requires a site plan or facility-map placard, and TECO's requirement is a location placard for the isolation means, not a site map. NEC 705.10 applies by adoption of the 2020 NEC, so the plant-identification documentation it requires is enforceable at inspection even though nobody here publishes a form for it. 60% · utility DG manual
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes — and here the utility is the ONLY source of a placard requirement. TECO requires the 'ON-SITE GENERATION UTILITY DISCONNECT SWITCH' placard at the meter, to the SESR material spec (non-ferrous metal or poly-plastic, engraved or stamped, >=1/4 inch lettering, epoxy glued or riveted; no peel-and-stick, paint or marker), and requires a PHOTOGRAPH of the disconnect switch showing the placard to be submitted with the Tier 1 application. TECO publishes a sample photograph. This is verified twice: by TECO's own inspection before the agreement is executed, and by the photo in the application file. 93% · utility DG manual
• Where must the labels be placed? At the meter. TECO SESR: 'The Customer shall provide a placard AT THE METER identifying the location of the isolation means.' The disconnect switch it identifies must itself be 'mounted separate from the meter socket on an exterior surface adjacent to the meter' (Tier 1 agreement clause 11), readily accessible to TECO and lockable in the open position with a TECO padlock. 92% · utility DG manual

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? REQUIRED — and this is a third Florida disconnect regime, distinct from FPL's. TECO Tier 1 agreement clause 11: the customer shall install, AT THE COMPANY'S EXPENSE and subject to the Company's approval of the cost, a manual disconnect switch of the visible load break type providing a separation point between the AC output and customer wiring, 'mounted separate from the meter socket on an exterior surface adjacent to the meter', readily accessible to TECO and capable of being locked open with a TECO padlock. Reimbursement is capped at $320 single-phase and $395 three-phase. This is lawful because FAC 25-6.065(6)(a) exempts inverter-based Tier 1 systems from a manual disconnect ONLY 'unless the manual disconnect switch is installed at the investor-owned utility's expense' — TECO exercises that exception and pays. Interconnection approval is expressly 'dependent on a successful inspection performed by Tampa Electric, including verification of an acceptable disconnect switch'. 94% · utility DG manual
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes. FAC 25-6.065(4)(b) requires the generation to have been submitted by the manufacturer to a nationally recognised testing and certification laboratory and tested and listed for continuous interactive operation, and 25-6.065(3) names the standards: IEEE 1547 (2003), IEEE 1547.1 (2005) and UL 1741 (2005). 25-6.065(4)(c) additionally requires a utility-interactive inverter or equivalent certified device that automatically isolates the generation if the grid loses power. TECO's Tier 1 agreement clause 1 carries the same certification undertaking, and the manufacturer's installation, operation and maintenance instructions for the inverter must be supplied with the application (a web link is acceptable). 90% · statute
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted, with no local energy-storage ordinance of any kind. Zero hits for 'battery', 'energy storage' or 'ESS' as a regulated use in the Town Code outside the utility-scale solar-facility DEFINITION (which lists 'battery systems' as a component of a FS 163.3205 solar facility). The governing instruments are the adopted codes: FFPC 8th Edition, NFPA 1 and NFPA 101, all adopted by name in Town Ordinance 24-06. On the utility side TECO treats storage separately: a battery interconnection application is required in addition to the solar one, and TECO publishes a Battery Owner Agreement in tariff section 8. 70% · ordinance
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Nothing published locally. Neither authority lists an ESS permit type or an ESS inspection: Dade City's permit-type list runs new single-family home, pool, re-roof, electrical, A/C mechanical, gas, shed, carport/aluminium, fence, demolition, signs and fireworks, and storage is not among them; an ESS would be permitted as electrical work. TECO does require a SEPARATE battery interconnection application alongside the solar one. 65% · permit requirements page
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes. Town Code Sec. 14-20(a) requires a permit for any 'structure', defined to include things 'whether stationary or movable', and LDC Sec. 7.4 then regulates it as an accessory structure: it may not be located in a required buffer or the required front yard setback; if not more than ten feet high it may sit in the side or rear yard setback area with a minimum five-foot side/rear setback; ANY accessory structure more than ten feet in height may only be located in the rear yard and must meet the district's rear and side setback and height requirements; it counts toward both floor area ratio and impervious surface ratio; and a property is limited to TWO accessory structures (fences, walls, pools and stormwater/reclaimed-water ponds excluded). In the Permanently Open Land district accessory structures must also be sited to minimise obstruction of lake-front view corridors. 82% · ordinance
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? One rule, and it is a fee rather than a technical limit: Dade City Resolution 2008-0997 section VIII.B.3 prices 'Service Upgrade' at $0.15 PER AMP on top of the $35 electrical base fee. No busbar-sizing, 120%-rule or service-capacity amendment exists in either code — NEC 705.12 governs unmodified. TECO adds a capacity constraint from the other direction: the system's gross power rating may not exceed 90% of the customer's distribution service rating, and the customer pays for any upgrade needed to stay under it. 82% · fee schedule
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? Nothing published. No mounting system, attachment spacing, uplift or racking requirement appears in the Town Code (847,323 characters), the Land Development Code, Dade City ch. 22, Resolution 2008-0997, or any of the 21 building forms published by the two authorities. The Florida Building Code and Florida Product Approval govern by default. 60% · 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? Portal, phone or email — all three published by the operator. Online: portal.iworq.net/DADE/permits/600 ('Requesting inspections/viewing results online'). Email: buildingpermits@dadecityfl.com. Phone: 352-521-1460. Fax: 352-521-1498. The Town of St. Leo also publishes its own Building Construction Inspection Request form which routes to Dade City ('PLEASE FAX YOUR REQUEST TO 352 521 1498 OR E-MAIL TO jdiaz@dadecityfl.com') and asks for permit number, job site location, type of inspection, date requested, contact name and phone. 92% · department page
• How much notice is required? Next business day, unless the request is received by 8:00 a.m. on the day itself. Dade City: 'Inspection request are done the next business day unless received by 8:00 am the day of or if requested for a future date.' The request must include permit number, job site location, type of inspection, date requested, contact name and phone, and any miscellaneous access information (gate lock number, permit card location, time frame). 92% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? Same-day is available if the request is in by 8:00 a.m.; otherwise next business day, and future dates may be booked. No AM/PM windows and no arrival-time commitment are published. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. After-hours inspections are available only by prepayment 24 hours in advance at actual expenditure (salary plus benefits), two hours minimum, and only if approved by the Building Official or his designee (Resolution 2008-0997, XII.N). 85% · 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? Delegated. The Town of St. Leo performs no building or electrical inspection of its own; the City of Dade City Building Division performs them, and a private provider may perform them instead under FS 553.791. The Town DOES retain a fire-side signature: its Zoning Compliance Application carries a 'Fire Inspector Signature for Approval' line alongside the 'St. Leo Signature for Approval' line, and Town Code Sec. 22-2 creates the office of town fire safety inspector as an ex officio agent of the State Fire Marshal. 92% · utilization report
• If delegated, to whom? City of Dade City Building Division, 38020 Meridian Ave, Dade City FL 33525, 352-521-1460, buildingpermits@dadecityfl.com — for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and gas permitting, plan review, inspection, permit records and contractor registration. Pasco County Fire Rescue — for fire permitting, plan review and inspection, via PascoGateway (Accela). Pasco County Contractor Licensing Division, 813-847-8009 — for contractor licensing. Private providers registered with Dade City may perform plan review and inspection under FS 553.791. 93% · department page

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

• Which inspections are required, and in what order? Not published as a sequence. Dade City Sec. 22-61(b)(6) refers to 'the required inspections section in the building division development handbook' and then adds one item to it — a first-floor framing inspection after the foundation inspection where the floor construction is in a flood zone and/or is wood and more than one storey — but the handbook itself is not published on the site, does not appear in the Document Center, and is not in the Code. The only other sequencing facts published are that all re-inspection fees must be paid before a final inspection and that an occupancy affidavit bearing the notarised signature of the general contractor or owner-builder must be on file before occupancy is sought. 60% · ordinance
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Not published for solar. The only additional inspection Dade City codifies is a FIRST-FLOOR FRAMING inspection after the foundation inspection, and only where the floor construction is in a flood zone and/or of wood construction and more than one storey — flagged by a stamp on the approved plans. Nothing addresses a mid-roof or rough-in stage for a PV array. 55% · 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. No inspection checklist is published by either authority. The 'building division development handbook' cited in Dade City Sec. 22-61(b)(6) is not on the website, not in the Revize Document Center and not in the Code; the Town of St. Leo publishes four building forms (zoning compliance application, inspection request, inspection affidavit, contractor registration) and none is a checklist. Note FS 553.79(1)(b) requires a local enforcement agency to post each type of building permit application with a list of all required attachments and requirements — Dade City does that by permit type, but publishes no solar type at all. 75% · department page
• What must be on site at inspection? The permit card, the approved set of plans, and a recorded and posted Notice of Commencement. This is recoverable only from the re-inspection fee list in Resolution 2008-0997, XII.A, which charges a re-inspection fee when: the address is wrong; repairs or corrections were not made; work is condemned; the work was not ready; THE PERMIT IS NOT POSTED AT THE JOB SITE; THE NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT IS NOT POSTED; the septic stub-out is not Health Department approved; or THE APPROVED SET OF PLANS IS NOT AT THE JOB SITE. The permit application adds that a Notice of Commencement must be recorded and posted on the job site BEFORE THE FIRST INSPECTION. (The 'all plans, calculations and specs shall be on site' sentence on the Town's over-the-counter fire form is scoped by FS 553.7932 to fire alarm and sprinkler projects and does not reach a PV job.) 85% · fee schedule
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Not published. Neither authority publishes an inspection scope, checklist or verification list, so there is no document saying whether labels and listings are checked. What IS documented is that the utility checks: TECO performs its own inspection 'including verification of an acceptable disconnect switch' before executing the interconnection agreement, and requires a photograph showing the engraved placard. Dade City Sec. 22-61(d) makes the building official the AHJ for enforcing the NEC, which carries the label requirements. 60% · utility DG manual

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

• What is issued on pass? A Certificate of Completion, then a Certificate of Occupancy — and the Town, not the operator, issues them. Town Code Sec. 14-20(f): 'Upon completion of construction, provided fire code compliance has been approved by the town fire inspector, AND building code compliance has been approved by the building official, the building official shall issue a certificate of completion to the applicant. Upon issuance of the certificate of completion and determination by the town commission or its designee that conditions of development approval have been met, the town clerk or building official shall issue a certificate of occupancy.' Sec. 14-21 bars any certificate of occupancy until every Land Development Code permit, approval and condition has been obtained. For electrical work the operative event is the POWER RELEASE, which Dade City withholds until impact fees and all re-inspection fees are paid. 88% · ordinance
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer. TECO's published process: 'Once your installers are finished, they'll submit a solar interconnection application (and a battery interconnection application, if applicable), to Tampa Electric. After receiving the application, Tampa Electric will perform an inspection of the system, including the disconnect switch.' The application package must include 'Proof of inspection and approval by local code authority', so the AHJ's final is an input the installer forwards — the AHJ does not notify TECO. TECO then executes the agreement within 30 calendar days of a completed application and installs a bi-directional net meter at no additional cost to the customer. 88% · utility DG manual
• Is there a re-inspection fee? Yes, a three-step ladder on the building side and a four-step one on the fire side. BUILDING (Resolution 2008-0997, XII.A): $40.00 for the first additional inspection, $80.00 for the second, $160.00 for the third on the same infraction; and XII.D sets a $35.00 minimum for all regulated on-site inspections for any trade. FIRE (Pasco County Fire Rescue fee schedule, adopted by St. Leo Resolution 24-05 on 11 March 2024 and by Dade City Amended Resolution 2024-22): initial re-inspection $0, 2nd $85, 3rd $90, 4th $200. NOTE: FS 553.79(7)(a) requires a 10% refund of the permit AND inspection fees when work fails an inspection and no code-based reason is given within 5 business days, with the FS 553.721/468.631 surcharges recalculated — no local document mentions this, and the 2008 resolution's refund section (XII.G) instead retains 30% of the permit fee for administrative processing, refuses any refund under $40 or where an inspection has been conducted, and makes plan- and site-examination fees non-refundable. 85% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Not published as a procedure. Neither authority publishes how corrections are issued or cleared; the inspection request form has 'Special comments by inspector', 'Date Inspected', 'Date Finaled' and 'Inspector' fields and results are viewable through the iWorQ portal, which is the whole of it. The governing rules are statutory: FS 553.79(1)(a) requires a local enforcing agency denying or revoking a permit to identify the specific plan or project features that do not comply and the specific code chapters and sections relied on, with a plans reviewer or building code administrator who fails to do so subject to discipline under FS 468.621(1)(i); and FS 553.79(7)(a) gives the 10% refund where a failed inspection is not explained within 5 business days. 55% · statute