Village of Key Biscayne

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 Village of Key Biscayne's own Building, Zoning, Planning and Public Works Department is the AHJ for residential building AND electrical permitting/inspection within Village limits, including rooftop PV. It is not delegated to Miami-Dade County for permitting purposes (though Miami-Dade County Code Ch. 8 local amendments to the FBC apply, and Miami-Dade WASD/DERM/GIS remain separate county functions referenced on the Village's own permitting page). 90% · staff directory
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? The Village permits and inspects Building, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical itself, and reviews Zoning/Planning itself. It references (but does not itself perform) Miami-Dade County DERM environmental review and Miami-Dade Dept. of Health review as separate county-level steps named on its own Permitting page, and Miami-Dade WASD provides water/sewer (unrelated to solar). 85% · department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. The Village publishes a dedicated 'Solar Permit Form.pdf' (HVHZ Electronic Solar Permit Form) and a 'Solar Systems Permit Checklist.pdf', both current (created/posted 21 Apr 2025), confirming rooftop PV requires a standard permit — there is no PV exemption. 95% · solar permit form
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? The intake is combined under one Master Building Permit with trade sub-permits: the general Permit Application form has a single 'Select One Trade: Building / Electrical / Plumbing / Mechanical / Other' field, and a real recovered permit (B20-024034) was issued as a 'Master Building Permit' covering the PV install. So building and electrical are sub-permits pulled under/alongside one master record rather than two fully separate application processes. 72% · live permit portal record
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? Requested as a courtesy, not enforced as a hard precondition to permit issuance. The Permit Application Submittal Checklist states: 'HOA Authorization/Landlord Authorization: As a courtesy, we request proof of HOA Authorization.' Separately, the Early Start Permitting Guidelines list 'HOA Letter' among documents to submit with the base permit application, and the general Building Permit Application disclaims that permit issuance does not itself authorize violating deed restrictions, placing the burden on the owner to secure HOA/association approval independently. 78% · submittal checklist
• Is there a historic-district review? No historic-district review or Certificate-of-Appropriateness process exists in the Village's code. A full-text Municode search for 'historic' (7 hits, positive/fabricated controls both passing) surfaces only: a FEMA floodplain exemption for 'Historic Structures' (Ch. 10), a private-club zoning clause about preserving archeological artifacts/historic sites (Sec. 30-107), and an unrelated debris-ordinance renumbering note — no historic preservation board, no historic overlay district, and no Certificate of Appropriateness requirement anywhere in the code. 78% · codified ordinance full-text search (absence proved by enumeration)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? Yes, embedded directly in the HVHZ Solar Permit Form itself rather than as a separate 'windstorm certification' document: the form requires the ASCE-7 Wind Exposure Category (C or D), and either calculated roof-uplift pressures per ASCE-7 OR the RAS-127 (steep-slope, >=2:12) / RAS-128 (low-slope, <2:12) prescriptive Test Protocols for High-Velocity Hurricane Zones, for both the panel field (P1) and perimeter (P2) zones of the roof. 90% · solar-specific permit form
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No — solar panels are addressed in the Zoning and Land Development Regulations as a permitted feature subject only to a screening/setback rule, not as a Specific Use Permit or Village Council approval item. Sec. 30-100 (Single Family and Two-Family districts) lists 'Solar panels that are screened from the public right-of-way' and Sec. 30-110 (allowable encroachments into required yards, all other districts) allows 'Solar heating panels' provided they are 'visually screened from the adjacent Rights-of-Way, or set into the roof so that the solar panel is flush with the upper roof' — both are administrative design standards, not a discretionary approval process. 72% · codified zoning ordinance

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

• Who is allowed to pull the electrical permit? A licensed electrical contractor pulls the electrical permit/sub-permit. Confirmed live: on real permit B20-024034 (235 Ridgewood Rd, 'SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC INSTALL'), the Licensed Professional of record is Rafael A Gonzales of Unlimited Solar Technology Corp, FL Electrical License EC13009583. 88% · live permit portal record
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes. The Village's Permit Application Submittal Checklist states plainly: 'Contractor Registration: All contractors must be registered with the village. A valid contractor's license, liability insurance, business tax receipt, and worker's compensation insurance or exemption are required.' A dedicated 'Change of Contractor Request' form (signed off by the Building Official) also exists, confirming an active village-side contractor-registration record is maintained per job. 88% · submittal checklist
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? The Village publishes a generic (not solar-specific) 'Owner Builder Affidavit' implementing the statewide FS 489.103/489.503 owner-builder exemption for a single- or two-family residence the owner occupies; it does not separately address whether an owner may self-pull the electrical sub-permit for a PV system versus needing a licensed electrical contractor for that trade. 55% · owner-builder affidavit (general, not solar-specific)

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? Per the Village's own Solar Systems Permit Checklist: a roof plan diagram (dimensions, total roof area, roof edges/walls/parapets/expansion joints/rooftop equipment), the solar-array location and size on the roof, wind uplift zone and pressure per ASCE-7, perimeter width per ASCE-7, roof deck type, roof-assembly condition (new/re-roof/existing, each with fire-rating implications), roofing material, roof-clearance documentation, a roof-penetration flashing detail, a Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) PV system certification approval form, a completed owner's solar-system disclosure form, signed-and-sealed structural drawings with design calculations (wind load, uplift/lateral forces on framing, added dead load, connection design), and a complete electrical diagram per NEC Article 690 in its entirety with a floor plan showing equipment locations and load calculations. 95% · solar-specific submittal checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic only, through the Accela Citizen Access ('ACA') online portal (PDF format); the Village states it 'will continue its regular practice of accepting hardcopy (paper) submittal' as an alternative, with a scanning fee possibly applying to paper larger than 8.5x11 or 11x17. 78% · permit portal home page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? For solar specifically, a roof plan diagram (not a full property site plan) is required per the Solar Systems Permit Checklist, showing roof dimensions/edges/equipment and the array's roof-top location, size and area. A full property site plan/survey is the Village's separate GENERAL new-construction requirement and was not shown to apply to a simple PV retrofit. 75% · solar-specific submittal checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes. The Solar Systems Permit Checklist requires: 'Submit a complete Electrical Diagram: Designed in accordance to the NEC Article 690 Solar Photovoltaic Systems, in its entirety' plus a floor plan showing all electrical equipment locations. 95% · solar-specific submittal checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Load calculations are explicitly required ('Submit load calculations'); string/conductor sizing calculations are not separately named but are implied by the requirement that the electrical diagram comply with 'NEC Article 690 ... in its entirety', which itself mandates conductor/string sizing documentation. 75% · solar-specific submittal checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, and with NO stated dollar threshold: the Solar Systems Permit Checklist's 'Structural Design Requirements for Solar Systems' section requires 'signed and sealed drawings along with design calculations' for wind load, uplift/lateral forces on framing, added dead load, and connection design — stated as an unconditional requirement, not one that only kicks in above a value/amperage trigger (unlike the electrical PE trigger in Q14). 82% · solar-specific submittal checklist
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? The Village's OWN current Solar Systems Permit Checklist states an Electrical Engineer must sign and seal plans if the system value exceeds $50,000, OR the aggregate residential service capacity is 600 amps (240V) or more, OR the aggregate commercial/industrial service capacity is 800 amps (240V) or more. THIS $50,000 VALUE THRESHOLD APPEARS STALE against the current statewide floor set by FS 471.003(2)(h) — $125,000/600A (240V) residential — which is the same stale-threshold pattern already documented at the Miami-Dade County level (the county's own Solar Systems Guideline). Record both figures; an installer following the Village's own current document would over-trigger a PE seal by value versus the current state floor. 88% · solar-specific submittal checklist (locally current but apparently stale threshold)

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? Accela Citizen Access ('ACA'), at https://aca-prod.accela.com/keybiscayne/Default.aspx, branded 'Village of Key Biscayne' throughout. 95% · permit portal home page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes for registered users — the portal's home page states: 'The Building Department is now accepting electronic submittal of permit applications and construction plans. We encourage all applicants to take advantage of this new service.' A GENERAL (unauthenticated) search of Building Permit Records is also available with no login, which is how a real, finaled solar permit (B20-024034) was recovered for this run. 90% · live permit portal (tested)
• What does a residential solar permit cost? No PV-specific fee line exists (confirmed: 'electrical' returns 8+ hits and 'zzqqx' returns 0 hits in the fee-schedule PDF, but 'solar'/'photovoltaic' return 0 hits — the search tool itself is working, PV is simply unlisted). A residential PV job is billed under the Village's GENERAL Building Base Permit Fee: for permits not calculated by floor area (which a PV retrofit would be), 2.53% of the value of construction, minimum $100 per discipline ($150 if only one trade is pulled), maximum $27,500 — PLUS a $33 non-refundable Processing Fee and a Submittal Fee equal to 50% of the base permit fee (credited back at issuance). 78% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation-based (2.53% of the value of construction for non-area-based permit types, which a PV retrofit falls under), not a flat fee or a per-watt/per-kW formula. 78% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes. A $33 non-refundable Processing Fee applies to all applications at submittal, and a separate Submittal Fee equal to 50% of the base permit fee is also charged at submittal for additions/alterations (credited toward the base permit fee upon issuance). Additional Plan Review time beyond the first review and one follow-up is billed at $27.50 per quarter hour ($44.00/qtr-hr if expedited). 85% · fee schedule

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

• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Not stated in the documents reviewed; however the fee schedule's existence of a 'Permit Renewal' fee ($110 plus 13.75% of the original base permit fee 'when renewing expired permits') confirms permits DO expire, without giving the length of validity. 45% · fee schedule (indirect evidence only)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) — proved from the Village's OWN CURRENT CODIFIED ELECTRIC FRANCHISE GRANT, not merely a franchise-fee line or a taxpayer schedule. 96% · codified franchise ordinance (Village's own Code, Appendix A)
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? The Village's own building/electrical inspection and approval must occur BEFORE FPL allows the system to operate in parallel with the grid. FPL's own current Net Metering Guidelines state: 'All interconnection applications must be approved prior to installation and operation of the renewable energy system,' and that once construction is complete the customer must provide FPL a copy of the approved permit showing 'Electrical and mechanical inspection signed off / approved by the local inspector' before FPL will install the required bi-directional meter — operating before that meter is installed is 'strictly prohibited.' 90% · utility's own published guidelines

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? Not stated by name/year in any Village document found. Per the statewide baseline (independently corroborated from floridabuilding.org across this survey): NEC 2020, effective 31 December 2023. The Village's Accela portal banner confirms only the FBC cycle ('Florida Building Code (FBC) 2023 - 8th Edition Is Now In effect As Of 12/31/2023') — which is the FBC label, not the NEC edition — so this is carried forward as the state floor, not independently confirmed as a Village-stated fact. 55% · permit portal banner (FBC cycle only; NEC year not locally stated)
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), in effect as of 12/31/2023. 92% · permit portal banner
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes — the Village adopts the Florida Building Code 'as amended through the local technical amendments of Article III "Florida Building Code" of Chapter 8 "Building Code" of the Miami-Dade County Code of Ordinances', per the Village's own floodplain-chapter definition of 'Florida Building Code.' The Village does not codify a separate local electrical/building chapter of its own (Village Code Ch. 6 has only 4 sections: moratorium, construction debris, permit fees, non-residential trash containers) — all substantive local amendment sits at the COUNTY (Miami-Dade Ch. 8/BORA) level, adopted by reference. 85% · codified ordinance definition
• What is the installation judged against? Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) as locally amended via Miami-Dade County Code Chapter 8 (BORA), NEC (edition not locally named; statewide floor NEC 2020), ASCE-7 wind loads and ASCE-24 flood-resistant design (both referenced in the Village's own floodplain code and Solar Permit Form), and — because this is a Miami-Dade HVHZ jurisdiction — RAS-127/RAS-128 prescriptive uplift tables in place of an NOA category for PV modules/racking (per this survey's settled Miami-Dade/HVHZ findings). 78% · solar-specific permit form

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 fire-code ridge-setback or fire-access-pathway rule (in the NFPA/IFC 'access pathway' sense) was found in any Village document. The Village's Solar Permit Form does define wind-uplift PERIMETER zones (P2, P3) where panels/PVL modules may not be installed in roof corners — a structural/wind-uplift concept under RAS-127/128, distinct from a fire-access clearance requirement, and it is not labelled as one. 40% · solar-specific permit form (partial/adjacent, not a direct answer)

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? Not named by edition. The Village's own Solar Systems Permit Checklist requires the electrical diagram to comply with 'NEC Article 690 Solar Photovoltaic Systems, in its entirety' — which would incorporate 690.12 rapid-shutdown by reference — but no document found states which NEC edition (i.e., which version of the 690.12 rapid-shutdown requirement) governs. 60% · solar-specific submittal checklist (inference)

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

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? The Village itself publishes no placard/label list for PV. At the utility level, FPL's own current Net Metering Guidelines require: (a) a warning sign at the meter noting the disconnect location (for Tier 2/3, where a disconnect is required) reading that both sides of the switch may be energized; and (b) for battery storage, a placard permanently affixed to the meter enclosure reading 'Battery storage utilized in this facility.' 70% · utility's own published guidelines (utility-level, not Village)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Only the battery placard has fixed wording from FPL: 'Battery storage utilized in this facility.' No wording is specified for a general PV placard, at either the Village or FPL level. 65% · utility's own published guidelines (utility-level, not Village)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No letter height, colour, or material is specified by the Village or, per FPL's own current guidelines, by FPL either. 55% · not_found (checked utility and Village)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes — FPL requires its own placards/signage beyond anything the Village specifies: a disconnect-location warning sign (Tier 2/3 systems) and the battery-storage placard described in Q38/Q39, both from FPL's own current Net Metering Guidelines rather than from any Village document. 75% · utility's own published guidelines
• Where must the labels be placed? Per FPL's own guidelines: the disconnect-warning sign is placed at/near the meter location alongside the disconnect switch; the battery placard is 'permanently affixed to the meter enclosure.' No placement instruction exists at the Village level. 72% · utility's own published guidelines

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? Governed by FPL, not the Village. Per FPL's own current guidelines: Tier 1 (<=10 kW, the great majority of residential rooftop PV) has NO stated AC-disconnect requirement at all; Tier 2 (>10-100 kW) and Tier 3 (>100 kW-2,000 kW) require a manual, visible load-break-type disconnect switch mounted SEPARATE FROM BUT ADJACENT TO the FPL meter socket, always accessible to FPL, and capable of being locked in the open position with a single FPL padlock. No specific distance (e.g., FPL's often-cited 'within 10 feet') is stated on this particular current guidelines page — 'adjacent to' is the operative language. 88% · utility's own published guidelines
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes — a Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) photovoltaic system certification/approval form is explicitly required for the proposed solar system (and separately for solar water heaters), per the Village's own Solar Systems Permit Checklist. UL 1703 module listing and UL 2703 racking listing are not named in the Village's own document but are the settled statewide/HVHZ standard (no HVHZ NOA category exists for PV modules or racking). 85% · solar-specific submittal checklist
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Not addressed in any Village document found (no battery/ESS-specific permitting language in the Solar Permit Form, the Solar Systems Permit Checklist, or a Municode search for 'battery'/'energy storage'). At the utility level, FPL permits customer battery storage behind the meter subject to UL 1741 certification and the placard in Q39, and treats a stand-alone backup battery (no renewable generation, no export) as not requiring an interconnection agreement at all. 45% · utility's own published guidelines (utility-level; Village itself is silent)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? Yes, in unusual structural depth for a Florida municipality: the HVHZ Solar Permit Form itself specifies roof-top mounting bracket type (stand-off vs. support), mount-spacing in the field (P1) vs. perimeter (P2), support-mount height above the finished roof, number of fasteners per mount, minimum fastener embedment of 2.5 inches with a required pilot hole, total roof attachment points and calculated weight per attachment point, and (for rail systems) support-rail height above the roof and rail counts in field vs. perimeter zones. 95% · solar-specific permit form

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? Through the Accela Citizen Access portal, which lists 'Schedule' as a top-level navigation item (inspection scheduling) alongside phone-based booking through the Building Department. 75% · permit portal
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No AM/PM windows are described; instead a fixed daily inspection window is posted: 'Inspections are daily from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., except Friday with no Plumbing, Mechanical or Fire' inspections offered. 85% · permit portal banner

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. Named, in-house Village staff perform the final inspection: a real, finaled solar permit (B20-024034, 235 Ridgewood Rd) shows every inspection (Notice of Commencement, Framing, Final Building) resulted, rescheduled, or approved by named Village employees — George Peon (Building Inspector) and Joseph Garcell (Chief Building Inspector) — with no third-party or delegated inspection agency appearing anywhere in the record. 92% · live permit portal record (inspection history)
• If delegated, to whom? N/A — not delegated; the Village's own Building Division performs the inspection (see Q52). 88% · live permit portal record

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? From a REAL, finaled residential solar permit pulled off the Village's own live public portal — B20-024034, Master Building Permit, 235 Ridgewood Rd, Key Biscayne, applicant Unlimited Solar Technology Corp (FL Electrical Lic. EC13009583), owner Massimo Grimaldi — the recorded inspection sequence was: Notice of Commencement -> Framing (structural/rough-in for the roof attachment) -> Final Building. (Framing and the first Notice of Commencement attempt were each rescheduled/cancelled once before being approved on 3/30/2021; Final Building was rejected twice — 4/30/2021 and 5/5/2021 — before final approval on 9/8/2021, at which point the record's overall status changed to 'Final.') This single master-permit record did not itself display a separate 'Final Electrical' inspection line, which may sit on a companion electrical sub-permit record not captured in this pull. 85% · live permit portal record (inspection history)
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Yes — the real permit reviewed for Q54 shows a 'Framing' inspection (structural rough-in for the roof/mounting) approved on 3/30/2021, prior to the Final Building inspection. 82% · live permit portal record (inspection history)

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? The Village's Solar Systems Permit Checklist functions primarily as a plan-submittal (design-review) checklist rather than a field-inspection checklist, but it is the closest thing to a published PV-specific checklist this authority has, and covers many items (roof clearance, penetration flashing, disclosure form, FSEC certification) that would also be verified at inspection. 60% · solar-specific submittal checklist
• What must be on site at inspection? Not stated specifically for solar. Village-wide, the general Building Permit Application warns: 'A NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT MUST BE RECORDED AND POSTED ON THE JOB SITE BEFORE THE FIRST INSPECTION,' and the Early Start Permitting Guidelines separately require the Early Start Permit card be 'post[ed] ... in a conspicuous place' when that optional program is used, with 'installation instructions corresponding to the Product Approval Specification Sheet' available to the inspector per the general SFR requirements. 62% · general permit application (not solar-specific)

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? Not a formal Certificate of Occupancy for a PV retrofit on an existing home — the record's own 'Record Status' field is what changes, from active/in-review states to 'Final,' once the Final Building inspection is approved. (The Village's fee schedule does list a distinct 'Certificate of Occupancy or Completion (CO or CC)' fee category, but that applies to new construction/additions, not evidently to a like-for-like PV retrofit.) 70% · live permit portal record
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The customer/installer, not the Village. Per FPL's own current guidelines, once construction and inspection are complete the customer must submit to FPL a copy of the approved permit (or a screen print from the local portal) showing the inspection sign-off, the work description, address, permit number and building department name — after which FPL installs the required bi-directional meter; only then may the system operate in parallel/net-metered. 75% · utility's own published guidelines
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $82.50 per re-inspection (for disapproved work) or $82.50 per additional inspection of the same type for partial work. 90% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Observed directly on a real permit: a rejected inspection (e.g., 'Rejected Final Building') is followed by a 'Rescheduled' entry for the same inspection type, and then a new attempt is logged until it is 'Approved.' On the sampled record, Final Building was rejected twice (4/30/2021, 5/5/2021), rescheduled each time (once by the contractor, 'unlimited solar technology,' and once by Village staff), before being approved on 9/8/2021. 75% · live permit portal record (inspection history)