Village of Bal Harbour

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. Bal Harbour Village Building Department, 655 96th Street, Bal Harbour FL 33154, is the AHJ for residential solar. Building Official Eliezer Palacio, 305.865.7525 (department line 305.866.4633). It enforces the Florida Building Code, Village ordinances and Miami-Dade County ordinances, issues the permit, performs its own plan review and performs every trade inspection with Village staff. Miami-Dade County is a concurrent, not a substitute, reviewer. 96% · authority department page + adopted budget
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Village keeps: building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, structural plan review, zoning review, floodplain administration, inspections and the Architectural Review Board process. Village does NOT keep: (a) fire plan review - Village Code Sec. 6-121 adopts Miami-Dade County Code Sec. 14-40 et seq. as the Fire Code, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue provides fire service; (b) environmental review - DERM (Miami-Dade RER); (c) planning/zoning and land-use policy advice, which is bought in from Michael Miller Planning (mmiller@michaelmillerplanning.com / epolski@michaelmillerplanning.com). Since 23 Aug 2021 the Village runs CONCURRENT plan review with Miami-Dade County: any application needing a county approval is filed with a Village application, a Miami-Dade County Municipal Permit Application, one paper set and one electronic set in the County's file-naming format. 92% · authority permit page + codified ordinance
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. Village Code Sec. 6-26(a) makes it unlawful to alter or repair any building or to install or alter any equipment regulated by the Florida Building Code without a permit, and requires one for all operations in FBC section 301 'and for any other operation for which the Building Official determines a permit is necessary'. Sec. 6-28 sets the only exemption floor: no permit for general maintenance or repair with no change of occupancy where the whole job is worth less than $500 in labour and materials. The Village's published exemption list ('Do I Need a Permit?', FBC 105.2) contains no solar item. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(a)(vi) separately requires an electrical permit for 'all appurtenances, apparatus, or equipment used in connection therewith, inside of or attached to any building or structure'. 95% · codified ordinance + authority exemption handout
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate. The Village's permit application makes the applicant 'Choose only One' permit type from a closed radio list (Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Fire Sprinklers, Windows/Doors, Shutters, Fence, Pool, Shed, Driveway, Paving, Roofing, Sign, Drainage, Landscaping, Irrigation, Right of Way, Gas, Railing, Waterproofing, Other) and its notice states 'a separate permit must be secured for ELECTRICAL WORK, MECHANICAL, PLUMBING, SIGNS, WELLS, POOLS, ROOFING, SHUTTERS, WINDOWS...'. There is no solar or PV type on that list, so a PV job is filed as Electrical (and Building/Roofing where the attachment or a re-roof is involved). Village Code Sec. 6-40(b)(18) prices 'Solar energy systems' as an ELECTRICAL permit and warns 'Depending upon design, a separate building permit may be required'; Sec. 6-38(b)(7) carries the mirror-image sentence in the PLUMBING fee section for solar thermal. 93% · codified ordinance + permit application form
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? YES, AND THIS IS THE BIGGEST NON-OBVIOUS GATE IN BAL HARBOUR. A Village Architectural Review Board Certificate of Appropriateness is a condition precedent to the permit: Sec. 2-75(c)(2) - 'No building or other permit, required under the ordinances of the Village, for the erection, construction, alteration or repair of any building or structure shall be issued by the Building Official without a certificate of appropriateness having been issued by the ARB.' The Village's own Building Permits page puts it more broadly still: 'For proposed work affecting the exterior of the structure such as awnings, driveways, fences, paint, signs, windows, doors, additions, new construction, etc., the Village requires review and approval by the Architectural Review Board prior to review by the Building Department' - and solar is NOT in that list of examples. The escape hatch is Sec. 2-75(c)(3)a: no COA is needed if 'The Building Official shall determine that no External Architectural Feature as defined in section 5.5-2(b) is involved'. External Architectural Feature means the style and general arrangement of any portion of a building 'designated to be open to view from a public street, place or way, including the kind, colour and texture of the building material of such portion and the type of window, doors, lights, attached or ground signs, AND OTHER FIXTURES APPURTENANT TO SUCH PORTION'. A street-visible rooftop array is arguable either way and the call is the Building Official's alone. Process if it fires: ARB meets the first Thursday of each month, 1:00-4:00pm in the Council Chamber; applications due 21 calendar days before; 7 days' mailed notice plus posting of the property; every member must visit the site beforehand; three affirmative votes of the five-member board (four architects/landscape architects plus one resident expert); appeal to the Village Council within 10 days, heard within 30, and the appeal SUSPENDS the building permit; the COA expires if no principal permit is obtained within 18 months. Separately, NO condominium-association co-signature is required by ordinance: 'association' appears once in the whole 203-document zoning chapter and it is the definition of a private club; the permit application has no association field. 84% · codified ordinance + authority permit page + fee schedule
• Is there a historic-district review? Miami-Dade County Code Chapter 16A governs, and it is empty here. Bal Harbour has NO historic-preservation ordinance of its own: 'historic preservation' and '16A' are zero across the codified Code, and the 15 'historic' hits are all the flood chapter's 'historic structure' definition or ordinary prose. Under Sec. 16A-3(2)(b) the County Historic Preservation Board's jurisdiction reaches all property in incorporated areas 'except where the municipality has enacted its own historic preservation ordinance in accordance with section 16A-3.1'. The County's July 2025 Historic Resource Guide names the ten municipalities that have opted out - Coral Gables, Hialeah, Homestead, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Shores, Miami Springs, Opa-locka, South Miami and Sunny Isles Beach - and Bal Harbour is not among them. HOWEVER, THE GATE CONTAINS NOTHING: the same guide's designation roster (districts in Table 1, individual resources in Table 2, current to June 2025) lists ZERO Bal Harbour properties. Where a property IS designated, Ch. 16A routes 'exterior mounted technology - solar' on a facade or visible from the right-of-way to a Special Certificate of Appropriateness (quasi-judicial board hearing) and elsewhere to a staff Regular COA in 10 days; Ch. 16A also carries a pre-designation moratorium on alteration the moment a staff designation report is filed (Sec. 16A-10(5)(i)), no third-party nomination (Sec. 16A-10(5)), and a 60-day deemed-approved default (Sec. 16A-11(5)(a)(x)). *** WARNING - A NAME COLLISION THAT WILL MISLEAD ANYONE READING QUICKLY: Bal Harbour ALSO issues a 'Certificate of Appropriateness', but it is the Architectural Review Board's appearance instrument under Chapter 2 Article III and Chapter 5.5, not a historic-preservation COA. Two instruments, same name, different bodies, different chapters, different triggers. *** 92% · county code + county historic resource guide (July 2025)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? Yes, by force of the High Velocity Hurricane Zone. Bal Harbour is in Miami-Dade County, so the HVHZ provisions of the FBC 8th Edition (2023) apply. The mechanism is product approval plus wind design pressures on the drawings, not a separate windstorm certificate: Miami-Dade Sec. 8-40 requires a high wind velocity zone approval (a Notice of Acceptance) or a Florida Building Commission approval for 'materials/products used for protection of the envelope of the structure, LIMITED TO windows, exterior glazing, wall cladding, ROOFING, exterior doors, skylights, glass block, siding and shutters'. A rack-mounted PV module is not an envelope product on that closed list, so it runs on statewide Florida Product Approval; an INTEGRATED PV ROOF is roofing and needs a Miami-Dade NOA. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(a)(ii) requires design pressures for wind on the exterior elevations, the sections and details, and the framing plan, plus 'Loads and load transfer calculations required by the Code'. No design wind speed in mph is published by the Village. 90% · county code
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No. There is no special-use permit, conditional-use or Council approval step for a rooftop array. Site plan review under Sec. 21-322 is required only where the work produces one of five listed results - a horizontal shift of exterior-facing building footprint boundaries increasing FAR or lot coverage, an increase in the height of an existing structure, alterations affecting traffic circulation or access to a right-of-way, a change to a Conditional or Statutory Use, or relocation of more than 10% of parking - and a rooftop array produces none of them (see Q47 on why it does not increase Height). The Village Council enters only on APPEAL from the Architectural Review Board (Sec. 2-76), where its decision is final and the appeal suspends the permit. 88% · codified zoning ordinance
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No local cap - the Village code contains no generation, kW or array-area limit ('renewable', 'net meter', 'photovoltaic' all zero). The caps are FPL's, from the filed Tier 1 agreement (Sheet No. 9.050, effective 1 Jan 2026): the Gross Power Rating must (a) not exceed 90% of the customer's utility distribution service rating, (b) be 10 kW AC or less, and (c) 'has an AC generating capacity of less than 115% of the Customer's previous 12 months kilowatt-hour usage'. For inverter-based systems the AC nameplate is the installed DC nameplate multiplied by 0.85. Above 10 kW the job becomes Tier 2 (>10-100 kW, $400 application fee) or Tier 3 (>100 kW-2 MW, $1,000). FPL's ESS adds that customer generation is limited to 90 percent of the distribution transformer rating. 93% · filed utility tariff + utility interconnection standard

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

• Who is allowed to pull the electrical permit? A Florida state-licensed electrical contractor, or the property owner as an owner-builder under FS 489.103(7). The Village's eTRAKiT portal states 'You must have a valid FL State license to register with Bal Harbour Village Building Department', and that contractor accounts cover contractors, developers, surveyors, engineers and architects. The application is signed and notarised by BOTH the owner and the qualifier, so the owner is a party to every permit even when a contractor pulls it. 88% · authority permit portal + permit application
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes, in practice: a contractor must hold a valid Florida state licence and must register a contractor account on the Village's eTRAKiT portal before applying or scheduling inspections, and only one e-mail address may be associated with a single licence number. There is no separate Village competency card or local licensing ordinance; 'certificate of competency' appears in the Village code only for burglar-alarm contractors (Sec. 3-26), which is the Miami-Dade county regime. 82% · authority permit portal
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes for a detached one- or two-family house, no for a condominium unit. The Village permit application carries an 'Owner-Builder' checkbox in the owner block. The substantive limits are state law: FS 489.103(7)(a)1 exempts owners acting as their own contractor only 'when building or improving farm outbuildings or one-family or two-family residences', which excludes a unit in a condominium tower; (7)(c) requires the owner to appear personally and sign. Two narrow limbs matter here and are usually missed: (7)(a)3 is a dedicated SOLAR owner-builder exemption reaching one-, two- AND three-family residences, but only where the local permitting agency's government is participating in a 'U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative: Rooftop Solar Challenge' grant - Bal Harbour publishes nothing of the kind - and it still requires a licensed electrical contractor for the wiring and interconnection; and (7)(a)4 does expressly name 'an individual residential condominium unit or cooperative unit', but only to let an owner finish a permit a listed contractor substantially completed. 90% · Florida Statutes, enacted text

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 Village-published solar checklist exists. The operative submittal list is Miami-Dade County Code Sec. 8-10(a), which the Village enforces (Building Department description: 'Enforcing the Florida Building Code, Village Ordinances, and Miami-Dade County Ordinances'). Sec. 8-10(a)(i)-(ii) requires: site plan; exterior elevations with design pressures for wind; building sections/details; floor plan; FRAMING PLAN showing 'roof mounted equipment', design pressures for wind, 'Loads and load transfer calculations required by the Code' and the roofing 'Product Approval Number'; and an ELECTRICAL sheet showing all roof-top equipment, a 'Schedules/Riser' with 'Diagram with size of service, meter, ground, disconnect switches, feeders, and panels' and a 'Load calculation per N.E.C.'. Village-side additions: a notarised Village permit application (owner and qualifier), 50% up-front fee, and where any county approval is needed a Miami-Dade County Municipal Permit Application plus one paper and one electronic drawing set in the County file-naming format. A re-roof or a roof-attachment scope also draws the Village's Roofing Application Packet (the Miami-Dade HVHZ Uniform Roofing Application Form, FBC 8th Edition (2023)). 88% · county code (enforced by the Village) + authority forms
• How many copies, and in what format? Paper, in person, with a parallel electronic set where the County is involved. 'Permit applications can only be submitted in-person at the Building Department located in Village Hall - 655 96th Street.' For concurrent county review: one (1) set of paper drawings AND one (1) set of electronic drawings (CD or USB) in the required Miami-Dade County file-naming format, plus both application forms. Counter hours Mon-Fri 8:00am-3:00pm. 93% · authority permit page + portal
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(a)(i) sets the content: legal description; lot dimensions and bearings; easements; north arrow; street and waterway names; existing, removed and new site features; topographical data and existing/new finish floor elevations; utilities existing or new, expressly including ELECTRICAL; setbacks; lowest finish floor elevation; equipment (pool, a/c 'and similar'); and other improvements. For work in a flood hazard area Village Code Sec. 8.5-6(a) adds delineation of the flood hazard area, flood zone(s), base flood elevation(s) and ground elevations, and notation if the site is seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line. 90% · county code + codified flood ordinance
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes, effectively. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(a)(ii) requires under 'ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING AND H.V.A.C. INFORMATION' a 'Schedules/Riser' showing 'Panel size, all circuits with use, load, wire, breaker and conduit size indicated. Diagram with size of service, meter, ground, DISCONNECT SWITCHES, feeders, and panels.' FPL adds its own on the interconnection side: ESS Section XIII.h requires 'All relaying, protection and metering shall be provided in a one-line diagram. In some case's a three-line diagram may be required', and XIII.A.3 requires the meter numbers of the interconnecting premise on the Single Line Diagram. 88% · county code + utility interconnection standard
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Yes. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(a)(ii) requires 'Calculation: Electrical. Load calculation per N.E.C.' and requires every circuit shown with 'use, load, wire, breaker and conduit size'. That is a conductor-sizing requirement in substance. No Bal Harbour or Miami-Dade instrument names PV string calculations, maximum-voltage/temperature correction or 690.8 continuous-current sizing specifically. 80% · county code
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No published local dollar or size threshold - Bal Harbour publishes none anywhere ('threshold', 'special inspector', 'seal', a dollar trigger: zero relevant hits across the 1.69 MB codified Code and every Building Department PDF). Structural adequacy is reviewed in-house by the Village's Structural Plan Examiner, Misael Rodriguez, P.E. (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 305-868-1141), and the practical trigger is FBC/FS: a signed and sealed structural design is required wherever the array modifies the structure's loading. THE REAL THRESHOLD IN THIS VILLAGE IS THE THRESHOLD BUILDING RULE. FS 553.79(5)(a): 'During new construction or during repair or restoration projects in which the structural system or structural loading of a building is being modified, the enforcing agency SHALL require a special inspector to perform structural inspections on a threshold building pursuant to a structural inspection plan prepared by the engineer or architect of record. The structural inspection plan must be submitted to and approved by the enforcing agency BEFORE THE ISSUANCE OF A BUILDING PERMIT'. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-11(1)(C) defines a Threshold Building as any building greater than three stories or 50 feet in height (or FS 553.71). Almost the entire Bal Harbour housing stock on Collins Avenue is a condominium tower well over 50 feet, so a rack-mounted array on a tower roof plausibly pulls a PE-sealed structural inspection plan approved ahead of permit issuance, paid for by the owner (FS 553.79(5)(b)). 78% · Florida Statutes + county code + authority staff listing
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Not for a normal residential job. FS 471.003(2)(h) exempts a licensed electrical contractor from engineer licensure for the design and fabrication of the electrical system it installs where the project 'requires an electrical or plumbing or air-conditioning and refrigeration system with a value of $125,000 or less' AND 'an aggregate service capacity of 600 amperes (240 volts) or less on a residential electrical system'. No Bal Harbour instrument sets a local electrical-seal threshold. 88% · Florida Statutes, enacted text

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, both live at once, and the Village is mid-migration between them. (1) eTRAKiT (CentralSquare) at https://balh-trk.aspgov.com/eTRAKiT/ - this is what the Building Department page's 'Track My Application' AND 'Schedule an Inspection' links actually point to; it offers permit search by number, address, type, sub-type, status, issued date, contractor and APN. (2) SmartGov at https://vlg-balharbour-fl.smartgovcommunity.com - the 'Online Permit Center', linked from the site-wide navigation as 'Search Permits' and used for code-enforcement complaints; it offers status tracking, plan-reviewer comments and inspection scheduling. The FY2026 budget confirms the split: 'New permitting system has been implemented. Both legacy systems will be converted in order to have all permit records in one system.' Card payments carry a 3.25% convenience fee (effective 10 Sep 2021). 90% · authority permit portals + adopted budget
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. Submittal is in person only: 'Permit applications can only be submitted in-person at the Building Department located in Village Hall - 655 96th Street', repeated on the SmartGov portal as 'Permit applications must be submitted in person at Village Hall'. The application must be notarised by both the owner and the qualifier. What IS online: status tracking, viewing plan-reviewer comments, document upload and inspection scheduling, once staff give you an access code. Counter hours Mon-Fri 8:00am-3:00pm. 94% · authority permit page + portal
• What does a residential solar permit cost? About $820-$830 in hard Village and pass-through fees on a $25,000 residential system, before any Architectural Review Board fee. Build-up from the FY2026 fee schedule (Res. 2022-1463, adopted for FYE 2026): Residential permit fee PF005 = 3.15% of job value over $5,000 (minimum PF004 $160 up to $5,000) = $787.50; AD030 Miami-Dade Building Code Compliance Fee $0.60 per $1,000 of construction value = $15.00; AD031/AD032 Florida Building Code surcharge, minimum $2, statutory rate 1% (FS 553.721) = ~$7.88; AD033/AD034 Building Code Administration and Inspection Fee, minimum $2, statutory rate 1.5% (FS 468.631) = ~$11.81. AD001 takes 50% of the permit fee up front at application and it is non-refundable. THE REAL COST RISK IS NOT THE PERMIT FEE: if the Architectural Review Board gate fires, the published ARB fee for 'Alterations' is $1,000 (New Home/New Building $2,500; Minor Applications $250), i.e. more than the entire hard permit cost. AD028 Zoning Review is charged at $100.00 PER HOUR, open-ended, and zoning review is performed by an outside planning consultant. 86% · adopted fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Pure percentage of declared job value, with a floor. Residential: $160 minimum for job value up to $5,000; 3.15% of job value from $5,000 to the first $1,000,000; 2.15% thereafter. Commercial: $325 minimum to $8,000; 3.90%; then 2.90%. Construction cost is determined under Village Code Sec. 6-31 - a verified contract figure may be used, or the Building Official may compute it from R.S. Means Cost Data. NOTE THE LIVE CONFLICT: the codified fee sections (Sec. 6-35(a)(2) building and Sec. 6-40(a)(2) electrical) still say '2.0 percent for the first $1,000,000' with a $150 minimum. The FY2026 fee schedule at 3.15% supersedes them in practice and the ordinance has never been conformed. 90% · adopted fee schedule + codified ordinance
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No separate priced plan-check fee. Instead AD001 takes a non-refundable 'Up-front Processing Fee' of 50% of the permit fee at application, for residential and commercial alike. Village Code Sec. 6-30 says the plans processing fee 'shall be credited to the total cost of the building permit if a permit is issued within 180 days of the submittal date' and that the full fee is recharged on each resubmittal after the third. The FY2026 fee schedule contradicts that on refundability: AD021(1)(f) bars any refund of 'upfront Fees'. Re-review of design documents rejected three or more times for the same violation is priced at AD006 '$100/each additional'. 85% · adopted fee schedule + codified ordinance

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? Seven calendar days for residential, fourteen for commercial - an internal target the Village set itself and publishes only in the budget book: 'Established an internal turnaround time for plan reviews: Commercial 14 days, Residential 7 days' (FY2025-26 Proposed Operating & Capital Budget, Building Department, Significant Accomplishments, p.78). The Village also states that concurrent plan review with Miami-Dade 'will greatly reduce the plan review turnaround time for both residential and commercial projects'. No codified review clock exists and no turnaround is published on any permit page or form. 80% · adopted budget narrative
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? No Village rule at all - the Code sets no building-permit life (the only permit-expiry clause in 1.69 MB is Sec. 15-5(4), a 90-day sign permit). The fee schedule simply refers to a permit that 'has become null and void pursuant to Florida Building Code' and to 'a permit extension as authorized under Florida Building Code'. So the FBC default governs, overridden by state law for a house: FS 553.79(1)(c) - 'A building permit issued by a local government for a single-family dwelling expires 1 year after the issuance of the permit or on the effective date of the next edition of the Florida Building Code, whichever is later', with the local government free to extend. Village extension fees: AD014 Permit Extension $150 and AD015 Permit Application Extension $150; AD020 gives a 50% credit on re-application within six months of expiry. Separately, an unissued application expires and the Village will extend the process number only on a written request made within 180 days of expiry with an explanation of good-faith pursuit. 90% · Florida Statutes + fee schedule + authority permit page
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). Proved four ways on the Village's own documents: (1) the codified Franchises appendix is a complete negative index and names exactly two electricity franchises, both to Florida Power and Light Company - Ordinance No. 25, 21 May 1951 and Ordinance No. 212, 28 Aug 1979 - alongside gas (Peoples), telephone (Southern Bell) and cable (UltraCom/Gold Coast), and no other electric seller and no municipal utility; (2) THE MISSING-DEPOSIT TEST FIRES CLEANLY - the Village's 'Activate or Suspend Service' page establishes a WATER account only, charges a water deposit and terminates 'your water service', with no electric service and no electric deposit anywhere; (3) the FY2026 budget names FPL twice on the operating side (Village priority 9, 'Assist Gated Community with FPL', and a Village Attorney resolution 'approving the expenditure of Landscape and Security Assessment funds for legal expenses associated with FPL activities') and its three operating funds are General, Water and Wastewater Utility, and Resort Tax - there is no electric fund; (4) a live Village news page, 'FPL Pipe Maintenance - Herman B. Fultz Bridge'. 96% · codified franchise appendix + authority utility page + adopted budget
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? In parallel, and the Village never gates on it. Bal Harbour's permit application has NO utility approval field and no FPL tick-box, unlike several neighbouring authorities. The sequence is set by FPL's Tier 1 Interconnection Agreement (Third Revised Sheet No. 9.050, effective 1 Jan 2026): the customer applies to FPL (Sec. 2.3) and pays no application fee at Tier 1 (Sec. 2.2); FPL executes the agreement within 30 calendar days of a completed application (Sec. 3.6); THE CUSTOMER supplies 'Local Building Code Official inspection and certification of installation... that the local code official has inspected and certified that the installation was permitted, has been approved, and has met all electrical and mechanical qualifications' (Sec. 3.4); and the customer must notify FPL at least 10 calendar days before first placing the equipment in service, FPL having the right to attend (Sec. 3.5). 92% · filed utility tariff + authority permit application

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, in force statewide as part of the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), effective 31 December 2023. Bal Harbour has NO local electrical amendments and no electrical chapter at all - Chapter 8 of the Village Code is ELECTIONS, not electricity, and the codified Code contains zero anchored occurrences of 'NEC' or 'National Electrical Code'. 92% · authority permit page + codified ordinance (absence)
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), with the High Velocity Hurricane Zone provisions, effective 31 December 2023. The Village states it on its own page ('IMPORTANT: The Florida Building Code EIGHTH (2023) Edition becomes effective on December 31, 2023. All permit applications and plans submitted after close of business (3:00 p.m.) on December 29 must comply with the 2023 edition') and repeats it on the header of its Roofing Application Packet. *** THE CODIFIED CODE STILL SAYS SOMETHING ELSE AND IT IS A FOSSIL: Village Code Sec. 6-101 adopts 'the South Florida Building Code, 1988 edition ... as the minimum standards ... and shall be known as the Building Code of Bal Harbour Village', and Sec. 6-103 divides the Village into SFBC fire zones 1-B, 2-B and 3-B by reference to Ordinance No. 11, a zoning ordinance superseded in 1974. The South Florida Building Code was superseded statewide by the Florida Building Code in 2002 and FS 553.73 preempts local building codes, so Sec. 6-101 is dead letter - but it is still printed in Supplement 92 and Sec. 6-29 still relies on it for premises permits. *** 95% · authority permit page + codified ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023) - the statewide edition - reaching Bal Harbour through Village Code Sec. 6-121, which adopts 'Section 14-40 et seq. of the Code of Metropolitan Dade County ... as the Fire Code of the Village'. There is no Village fire department; fire service and the Chief Fire Official function are Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's, and the Village links MDFR from its own Building Department page. 80% · codified ordinance + county code
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, but none of them touches electrical work. What exists: (a) the dead Sec. 6-101 adoption of the South Florida Building Code 1988 and the Sec. 6-103 SFBC fire zones; (b) Miami-Dade County's own FBC Chapter 1 amendments in county Code Chapter 8, which the Village enforces - these carry the submittal list (Sec. 8-10), the product-approval regime (Sec. 8-40), recertification (Sec. 8-11) and special building inspectors (Sec. 8-22); (c) Sec. 6-121 adopting the county Fire Code; (d) Sec. 6-2, which bars any permit until Chapter 21 zoning is satisfied and states that the building code 'shall not be construed to repeal, supersede or modify any part of chapter 21'. WHAT DOES NOT EXIST: any local NEC amendment, any local rapid-shutdown rule, any local placard or labelling rule, any local PV, battery or ESS provision, and any local freeboard above the FBC. *** AND THE MIAMI-DADE FBC CHAPTER 1 AMENDMENTS CARRY NO PV PLAN-REVIEW LIST AT ALL: 'solar' and 'photovoltaic' are both ZERO across the whole 227,771-character county Chapter 8, with controls passing (building 742, electrical 92, zzqqxvv 0). Broward's PV plan-review list does not travel to Miami-Dade. *** 90% · codified ordinance + county code (searched)
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) including the HVHZ provisions, the NEC 2020 as adopted by it, Miami-Dade County Code Chapter 8 (submittal contents, product approvals, special inspectors, recertification) and Chapter 14 Article III (fire), Village Code Chapter 21 zoning via Sec. 6-2, Village Code Chapter 8.5 floodplain management where the site is in a flood hazard area, and - on the utility side and enforced by FPL rather than the Village - the FPL Electric Service Standards Section XIII 'Distributed Generation' (revision 10-30-25) and the filed Tier 1 interconnection tariff. 90% · adopted budget narrative + codified ordinance + county 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? No Village rule. The operative text is the Florida Fire Prevention Code / NFPA 1 as swept in by Village Code Sec. 6-121 adopting Miami-Dade Code Sec. 14-40 et seq. - neither the Village nor the county chapter reprints ridge setbacks or access-pathway dimensions, and the Village neither publishes nor amends the NFPA text. *** WHAT IS BAL-HARBOUR-SPECIFIC AND MATTERS MORE IS WHO REVIEWS: Miami-Dade Sec. 14-40(A) exempts from Chief Fire Official plan review only 'one- and two-family residential dwellings that are not used in a way that requires a State license and an inspection for compliance'. Sec. 14-40(B) then bars any County or municipal officer from issuing ANY permit for 'construction, erection, alteration, repair, RENOVATION, MODIFICATION, reconstruction, change of use or occupancy classification or demolition' until the Building Official 'in conjunction with the Chief Fire Official' has reviewed the plans - and (B) carries no one-and-two-family carve-out on its face. Bal Harbour is almost entirely condominium towers. So a PV retrofit on a tower roof draws a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue plan review that the identical job on a house in the gated section never sees. *** 70% · county code (fire) + codified adopting ordinance

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

• Is rapid shutdown required, and to which NEC edition? Yes - NEC 2020 Article 690.12, as adopted statewide with the FBC 8th Edition (2023) effective 31 December 2023. There is NO local rapid-shutdown rule and no local variation: 'rapid shutdown' is zero across the whole codified Village Code and zero across Miami-Dade Chapter 8, with controls passing in both corpora. 88% · codified ordinance (absence) + state code adoption

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? None of its own. 'Placard' is zero and 'label' appears twice in the whole codified Village Code, neither about electrical equipment; there is no Village signage, labelling or marking rule for PV anywhere in the Code or in any of the Building Department's published forms. What must go on the service equipment therefore comes from two places only: NEC 2020 Articles 690 and 705 as adopted with the FBC, and FPL's own Section XIII requirements (see Q42). 88% · codified ordinance (absence) + authority forms (absence)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. The Village specifies no placard wording of its own. The only prescribed wording that reaches a Bal Harbour job is FPL's, reproduced verbatim at Q42. 88% · codified ordinance (absence)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Not by the Village - nothing on letter height, colour or material exists at authority level. FPL supplies the only material and construction specification that reaches the job: ESS Section XIII.A.6, 'All labels MUST be permanent and weatherproof/UV resistant placard with ENGRAVED LETTERS. The customer is responsible for all labeling requirements.' No letter height and no colour is given by FPL either. *** AND SECTION XIII CONTRADICTS ITSELF WITHIN ONE REVISION: at XIII:12, paragraph g. Labeling reads 'All labels SHOULD be permanent and weatherproof / UV resistant placard with engraved letters.' Both sentences are printed in revision 10-30-25. Quote the 'must' at XIII.A.6, because A.6 is not tier-scoped and sits in the general net-metering section. *** 86% · utility interconnection standard
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? No. No site plan, facility map or plant-diagram placard is required by the Village (nothing of the kind exists in the Code or any form) and none appears in FPL Electric Service Standards Section XIII either - Section XIII's drawing requirements (XIII.h) are submittal documents, a one-line and sometimes a three-line diagram given to FPL, not a placard fixed at the premises. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(c) requires a weatherproof PERMIT CARD posted conspicuously on the front of the premises for the duration of the work, but that is a permit card, not a facility map. 80% · utility interconnection standard (absence) + codified ordinance (absence)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? YES, and FPL's are the only prescribed placards on the job. FPL Electric Service Standards Section XIII.A.6 (revision 10-30-25): 'All labels must be permanent and weatherproof/UV resistant placard with engraved letters. The customer is responsible for all labeling requirements. The following labels must be installed at the interconnecting meter can and the DER disconnect switch.' INTERCONNECTING METER CAN: 'WARNING / MULTI POWER SOURCES / ENTER SOURCES HERE / RATED AC OUTPUT CURRENT ** AMPS / NOMINAL OPERATING VOLTAGE ** VOLTS'. DER DISCONNECT SWITCH: 'GENERATION SYSTEM AC DISCONNECT / RATED AC OUTPUT CURRENT ** AMPS / NOMINAL OPERATING VOLTAGE ** VOLTS'. BATTERY, Section XIII.C.1: 'A placard must be permanently affixed to the meter enclosure stating -Battery storage utilized in this facility.-' TARIFF-SIDE, and different: the Tier 1 agreement's only placard is Sheet No. 9.051 Sec. 5.3 - where FPL agrees the manual disconnect may sit away from the meter socket, 'the customer shall install a permanent weather-proof plaque adjacent to FPL's meter socket indicating the location of the manual disconnect switch or switches'. *** PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCE: XIII.A.6 is NOT tier-scoped, so THE ENGRAVED METER-CAN PLACARD REACHES A 6 kW TIER 1 JOB THAT HAS NO DISCONNECT SWITCH AT ALL, while the DER-disconnect placard only fires where a switch is fitted. *** 92% · utility interconnection standard + filed utility tariff
• Where must the labels be placed? Two locations, both FPL's: the INTERCONNECTING METER CAN and the DER DISCONNECT SWITCH (FPL ESS Section XIII.A.6). The battery placard goes on the METER ENCLOSURE (XIII.C.1). Where FPL has agreed a remote manual disconnect, the locating plaque goes 'adjacent to FPL's meter socket' (tariff Sheet 9.051 Sec. 5.3). Everything else is NEC 2020 Articles 690 and 705 at the equipment they describe. The Village specifies no placement of its own. 90% · utility interconnection standard + filed utility tariff

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? For a standard Tier 1 residential job with a LOAD-SIDE connection: NO AC disconnect at all. FPL tariff Sheet No. 9.051 Sec. 5.1 - 'U.L.1741 Listed, inverter-based Tier 1 customer-owned renewable generation systems do not require a customer-installed manual disconnect switch.' FPL ESS Section XIII.A.4 says the same from the other side: 'All tier 2 and tier 3 systems require an FPL approved visually open Distributed Energy Resource (DER) disconnect switch'. *** ASK THE TAP POINT BEFORE QUOTING THE HARDWARE. ESS Section XIII.A.5: 'FPL recommends that all interconnections will be performed on the load side of the customer's main electrical panel. If the interconnection is performed on the LINE SIDE of the customers main electrical panel (per NEC) a manual AC disconnect IS required between AC generation output and the point of interconnection to FPL facilities. The manual disconnect switch must be mounted separate from but adjacent to the FPL meter socket WITHIN 10 FEET and must always remain accessible to FPL.' *** Where a switch is required, FPL's published DER Disconnect Switch requirements (ESS XIII, 10-30-25) are: a 'visible open' switch with blades, jaws and air gap visible to an operator, not obscured by any dead-front or arc-shield; lockable in the open position; an FPL padlock shank of 3/8 inch must fit the cover hasp; the switch may not be modified to accept an FPL lock; installed separate from but adjacent to the FPL meter socket within 10 feet, with the dimensions between meter socket and switch SHOWN ON THE PLANS, and with no locked gates, doors or fences between them; enclosure properly grounded; usable as a raceway only for the switched phase conductors, the neutral and the equipment ground; rated and listed to UL/ANSI/IEEE and installed per the NEC; and connected so the blades are de-energised when open, per NEC 404.6(C). The Village itself specifies nothing - 'disconnect' appears 36 times in the Village Code and every hit is cable-television consumer protection, alarm systems or water-service shut-off. 94% · utility interconnection standard + filed utility tariff
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes, three overlapping lists. (1) Statewide Florida Product Approval for the mounting components, or a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance where the assembly is ROOFING - Miami-Dade Sec. 8-40 limits the NOA/high-wind-velocity-zone regime to envelope products, 'limited to windows, exterior glazing, wall cladding, roofing, exterior doors, skylights, glass block, siding and shutters'. A rack-mounted module is not on that list; an integrated PV roof is. (2) Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(a)(ii) requires the Product Approval Number on the framing plan for roofing and sheathing material. (3) FPL: the inverter must be 'a certified UL 1741 SA and IEEE 1547 grid interactive inverter. Inverters that have not been certified to UL Standard will be denied interconnection' (ESS XIII.A.1); battery equipment must carry an NRTL certification to the current UL 1741 standard, or be DC-coupled behind a UL 1741 listed device (XIII.C.1); and the tariff's Sec. 3.1 adds IEEE 1547, IEEE 1547.1 and UL 1741 listing for continuous interactive operation. 92% · county code + utility interconnection standard + filed tariff
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted, with no Village rule of any kind. 'Battery' and 'energy storage' are both ZERO across the whole codified Village Code (anchored, because unanchored 'ESS' returns thousands of false positives inside 'assessment', 'process' and 'business'), and both are zero in Miami-Dade Chapter 8. The conditions therefore come from FPL ESS Section XIII.C: equipment must be NRTL-certified to the current UL 1741 standard or DC-coupled behind a UL 1741 listed device; a permanent placard must be affixed to the meter enclosure reading 'Battery storage utilized in this facility.'; energy stored is for the customer's use only and 'at this time the customer may not export power from the battery to the grid'; a battery installed WITHOUT a renewable generation system purely as emergency backup may be charged from the grid and needs NO interconnection agreement, but the customer must prevent back-feed; a battery designed to charge from the grid and operate interconnected must be notified to FPL via a Small Generator Interconnection Application; and stand-alone storage is outside the definition of 'renewable energy' in Rule 25-6.065(2)(d) F.A.C. and is not net metered. Ground-level battery equipment must also sit above the design flood elevation or meet ASCE 24 (Village Code Sec. 8.5-15(a)(4)) and may not stand in a required side setback or yard (Sec. 21-354(g)). 88% · utility interconnection standard + codified ordinance
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No separate ESS permit type and no separate ESS inspection. The Village's permit application permit-type list is closed and contains no storage, battery or ESS item, and the eTRAKiT permit-type and sub-type indexes return nothing for solar or photovoltaic either. Storage is therefore filed as Electrical (and Building where a pad or wall mount needs structural review). State law treats it as single-trade work: FS 553.791(1)(r) defines 'single-trade inspection' or 'single-trade plans review' to include 'solar energy and energy storage installations or alterations'. 84% · Florida Statutes + authority permit application + permit portal (controlled search)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? It would be, but the question is close to theoretical here - Bal Harbour is 0.383 square miles of land, effectively built out, and there is no solar ground-mount provision anywhere in its code. 'Ground-mount' appears 16 times and every hit but one is in Chapter 6 Article VI, the SATELLITE DISH ANTENNA article (Sec. 6-161 to 6-189) - do not read that article across to PV. What would actually bite a ground or pad-mounted installation: Sec. 21-1 defines Mechanical Equipment as including, 'but not limited to', air-conditioning compressors and condensers, heating-ventilation equipment, electrical transformers and pool or spa equipment, 'ground-mounted or on pads' - an open list that an inverter or battery cabinet would be read into; Sec. 21-354(g), 'Mechanical equipment shall not be placed in required side Setbacks or Yards'; the Appearance Code screening clause at Sec. 5.5-5(2)f; and Village Code Sec. 8.5-15(a)(4), requiring mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems above the design flood elevation or to ASCE 24, with Sec. 8.5-15(d) adding, in Zone V and Coastal A Zones, that other development must sit outside the building footprint, be unattached, and be supported by a registered design professional's analysis showing no harmful diversion of floodwaters or wave run-up. 78% · codified ordinance
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No local mounting, attachment-spacing or standoff specification exists. What actually governs the attachment on paper is Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(a)(ii): the framing plan must show 'roof mounted equipment', 'Design: Pressures for wind design. Loads and load transfer calculations required by the Code', and the roofing 'Material: Roofing and sheathing material (Including Product Approval Number)'; and the components run on statewide Florida Product Approval, or a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance if the assembly is roofing (Sec. 8-40). Where a re-roof is in scope the Village's Roofing Application Packet (Miami-Dade HVHZ Uniform Roofing Application Form, FBC 8th Edition (2023)) requires the Fire Directory Listing Page, the Product Approval front page, specific system description, specific system limitations, general limitations and applicable detail drawings, and Chapter 16 / RAS 127 / RAS 128 design calculations. 78% · county code + authority roofing packet

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? Online, by the permit holder. 'All inspections for permits issued after February 1, 2017 must be scheduled through our Online Permit Center', and 'The permit holder (owner/builder or contractor) is responsible to request each inspection.' Two routes are live: the Building Department page's 'Schedule an Inspection' link goes to eTRAKiT at https://balh-trk.aspgov.com/eTRAKiT/, while the SmartGov Online Permit Center also offers inspection scheduling. Fall-back contacts: inspections@balharbourfl.gov and (305) 866-4633. The required inspections are listed on the permit card issued with the permit. 90% · authority inspection page + permit portals
• How much notice is required? Not published. The Village publishes no minimum notice period, no cut-off time and no lead time for booking an inspection anywhere - not on the Schedule Inspection page, not on the Building Permits page, not in the Code, and not in any of its published Building Department documents. What IS published and is the practical constraint: the trade in question only inspects on certain days (Building, Roofing, Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing Monday to Thursday), and Village Hall counter hours are Mon-Fri 8:00am-3:00pm. Requests go through eTRAKiT or SmartGov, or to inspections@balharbourfl.gov / (305) 866-4633. 62% · authority inspection page (absence) + permit portals
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? Not as AM/PM windows - the Village publishes trade DAYS instead. Building, Roofing, Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing plan reviews and inspections are performed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (effective 6 June 2022); the Structural Plan Examiner sits Tuesdays and Thursdays. *** THE TWO VILLAGE PAGES THAT PUBLISH THIS SCHEDULE DISAGREE WITH EACH OTHER, BOTH DATED 'EFFECTIVE JUNE 6, 2022': the Schedule Inspection page says Public Works/Utilities Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Zoning Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; the Building Permits page says Public Works/Utilities Tuesdays and Thursdays and Zoning Tuesdays and Thursdays. The trade days agree on both; the ancillary reviews do not. *** 75% · authority inspection page (two conflicting versions)

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 Village performs every trade inspection itself with named in-house chiefs: Building trades Mon-Thu (Structural Plan Examiner Misael Rodriguez, P.E., 305-868-1141); Mechanical, Chief Jan Pierre Perez; Plumbing, Chief Maykel Massanet; Electrical, Chief Candelario Martinez - all on balharbourfl.gov e-mail addresses. The FY2019 utilization report records 4,592 inspections and re-inspections conducted with '5 Full-Time Village employees, 5 Part Time Village Employees and 2 Consultant Staff'; the FY2026 budget reports 3,477 inspections performed between 1 Oct 2024 and 19 Aug 2025, an average of 20 a day. 93% · authority inspection page + FS 553.80 utilization report + adopted budget
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated. The Village retains all inspections. The only lawful alternative is the state private-provider route under FS 553.791, which Bal Harbour accommodates but does not promote: its FY2019 utilization report records 12 inspections and re-inspections conducted by a Private Provider and ZERO audits of private-provider inspections by the Village, and the fee schedule's refund clause AD021(1)(d) contemplates 'any recorded inspection having been made by the Building Department or Private Provider'. The Village publishes no private-provider policy, no registration system and no audit policy. 85% · FS 553.80 utilization report + fee schedule + Florida Statutes

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

• Which inspections are required, and in what order? The required inspections are enumerated on the permit card issued with the permit - 'Once the Building Permit is issued, a list of required inspections will be outlined on the Permit card' - and no published sequence exists for PV. *** BUT THERE IS ONE CODIFIED SOLAR-SPECIFIC INSPECTION SENTENCE, AND IT IS EASY TO MISS BECAUSE IT SITS IN A FEE SECTION. Village Code Sec. 6-40(b)(18), 'Solar energy systems': 'Depending upon design, a separate building permit may be required. INSPECTIONS OF STRUCTURAL, MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS ARE TO BE OBTAINED BY INSTALLERS DURING WORK BEFORE FINAL APPROVAL OF INSTALLATION.' The mirror sentence in the plumbing fee section, Sec. 6-38(b)(7), reads 'Inspections of structural, plumbing and electrical components are required to be obtained by installers during work before final approval of installation.' *** So the codified sequence is: during-work inspections of the structural, mechanical and electrical components, then a final. On completion, 'Upon approval of all inspections and submittal of additional required documents, such as final survey, the permit status will change to -Final-'. 82% · codified ordinance + authority permit page
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Yes, in substance. Village Code Sec. 6-40(b)(18) requires that for solar energy systems 'Inspections of structural, mechanical and electrical components are to be obtained by installers DURING WORK before final approval of installation' - i.e. the components must be inspected before they are closed up or the job is finalled, which is a rough-in requirement by another name. No mid-roof inspection is named anywhere. 76% · 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.

• What must be on site at inspection? The weatherproof permit card, posted conspicuously, plus the approved plans. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(c): on approval of plans and payment of the fee 'the Building Official shall issue a weatherproof permit card which shall bear the description of the property, the nature of the work being done, the name of the owner and contractor and other pertinent information: and such card shall be maintained in a conspicuous place on the front of the premises affected thereby during the entire time that the work authorized by the permit is in progress.' The required inspection list is printed on that card. The Village's application also warns the owner about recording a Notice of Commencement (FS 713.13), and the Building Department offers electronic recording with the County Recorder's Office so contractors need not travel to record construction documents. 85% · county code + authority permit page
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Not published, and bounded. No Bal Harbour instrument describes what an inspector checks on any inspection - there is no inspection checklist, no inspection guideline sheet and no field-verification list in the Code or among the Building Department's published documents. The nearest codified statement is Village Code Sec. 6-40(b)(18), requiring inspection of the 'structural, mechanical and electrical components' of a solar energy system during work before final approval, which does not mention labels or listings. Miami-Dade Sec. 8-10(a)(ii) does require the roofing Product Approval Number on the framing plan, so listing is verified at PLAN REVIEW; whether it is re-verified in the field is not stated by anyone. 55% · codified ordinance + county code (partial) + authority forms (absence)

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' permit status, and a Certificate of Occupancy or Completion where applicable. The Village: 'Upon approval of all inspections and submittal of additional required documents, such as final survey, the permit status will change to -Final- and based on Section F.B.C. 111 a Certificate of Occupancy will be issued where applicable.' A retrofit array on an occupied dwelling does not change occupancy, so in practice the permit simply finals. Related fees: Certificate of use/completion $150.00 (Village Code Sec. 6-33(a)(6)); Temporary CO/Completion initial certificate $300.00 and extension $300.00; occupying without a CO/CC/TCO/TCC $500.00 (FY2026 fee schedule). 84% · authority permit page + fee schedule
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The customer, not the Village. FPL's Tier 1 Interconnection Agreement Sec. 3.4 (Third Revised Sheet No. 9.050, effective 1 Jan 2026): 'The Customer agrees to provide Local Building Code Official inspection and certification of installation. The certification shall reflect that the local code official has inspected and certified that the installation was permitted, has been approved, and has met all electrical and mechanical qualifications.' Sec. 3.5 then requires the customer to notify FPL at least 10 calendar days before initially placing the equipment in service, FPL having the right to have personnel present on the in-service date; Sec. 3.6 obliges FPL to execute the agreement within 30 calendar days of a completed application. Nothing in the Village Code, on any Village page or on any Village form obliges the Building Department to notify FPL, and no Village document mentions FPL, interconnection, net metering or permission to operate at all. 92% · filed utility tariff + authority code and site (absence)
• Is there a re-inspection fee? Yes, and two live Village instruments disagree on the amount. The FY2026 fee schedule, AD007 'Reinspection Fee as per Florida Statute 553.80 Sec 2(c)', prices it at '$100.00/each subsequent re-inspection'. Village Code Sec. 6-33(a)(1) prices reinspection of work in progress, per discipline, at $75.00 for the first, $100.00 for the second and $150.00 for the third and each thereafter. Sec. 6-32(b) sets the triggers: condemned work from faulty construction, work not complying with approved plans, or work not ready for inspection when called - and payment is due before any further reinspection in that discipline or any further permit is issued to that permit holder, unless the Building Official waives it. There is also an open-ended catch-all at Sec. 6-33(b): any service not specifically covered is charged at 150 percent of the inspector's payroll rate plus a 35 percent administrative fee. 86% · adopted fee schedule + codified ordinance
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Plan-review corrections come back as reviewer comments readable in the Online Permit Center - the portal's stated purpose is to 'track the current status of your permit application, VIEW PLAN REVIEWER COMMENTS, and schedule inspections online'. Field corrections follow Sec. 6-32(a): 'If, upon such inspection, the designated inspector finds that the work does not conform to or comply with the provisions of this chapter, the inspector shall notify the contractor or Owner of the corrections required. When the inspector is notified that the corrections have been made, he shall again inspect the work.' Reinspection fees under Sec. 6-33 must be paid before any further reinspection in that discipline. If plans are rejected three or more times for the same violation, AD006 adds a rework charge. 85% · authority permit portal + codified ordinance