Village of Miami Shores

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's own Building Department administers and enforces permitting/inspection for residential rooftop PV inside Village limits; a real solar permit (SUN-11-24-2885) was issued, reviewed, inspected and finalized entirely by Village staff. 90% · department FAQ + real permit record
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? The Village permits and inspects Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical and Roofing itself, plus a dedicated 'Solar' permit type/category of its own (confirmed in the live EnerGov portal, permit numbers prefixed 'SUN-'). Nothing is delegated to Miami-Dade County for work inside Village limits. 88% · building permit application + live portal record
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. 95% · department FAQ
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Solar is its own dedicated Master permit type in the Village's system (not a generic 'Electrical' permit and not folded into 'Building'). The Village's own Solar Submittal Checklist states: 'When applying online, the Master or Sub permit category will always be: Solar.' Depending on which trade holds the Master, Electrical/Roofing/Building sub-permits are then pulled by the counterpart contractor(s). 88% · City solar checklist + live portal record
• Is there a historic-district review? YES, but only for individually-designated 'historic landmark' properties or contributing buildings within a designated historic district — Ch. 11 (Historic Preservation) requires a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the 5-member Historic Preservation Board before any exterior alteration/addition to a designated property (Sec. 11-6), and a rooftop PV array would be an exterior alteration. There are currently 'over forty' individually-designated historic homes in the Village (per the Board's own page); no Village-wide historic district exists as far as located. Ch. 11 NEVER mentions 'solar' by name in either direction — no solar-specific requirement and no solar-specific exemption. Design guidance is NOT a separate locally-authored PDF: Sec. 11-4(f) instead directs the Board to use the national 'Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings' as its basis — an externally-authored federal document adopted by reference, not a Village guidelines PDF. The Board 'shall meet as needed... after receipt... of an application for a certificate of appropriateness' (Sec. 11-4(e)) — confirmed on the Board's own webpage ('Please view the calendar for meeting dates'), i.e. NO fixed monthly cadence and NO codified submission deadline (unlike the 45-day-deadline board found elsewhere in this survey). The Board's outside planning liaison is 'Corradino Group' (private planning consultancy), per the Board's own webpage. A COA denial IS appealable to Council, and approval carries a mandatory 10-working-day delay before work may start (Sec. 11-7(a)(3)). 85% · Code of Ordinances Ch. 11 + Board webpage
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? Not named for PV specifically, but the Village's own Roof Permit Checklist and its HVHZ Uniform Roofing Application (Miami-Dade County form, FBC 8th Ed. 2023) require RAS 127 (steep-slope) or RAS 128 (low-slope) design-pressure calculations and Florida/Miami-Dade Product Approval for any roof system component — the same prescriptive uplift-table regime this survey's settled HVHZ findings identify as the path for PV racking (alongside UL 2703 and FSEC/PE certification). Miami Shores' own checklist even asks whether an existing rooftop solar system will be reinstalled as part of a reroof. 68% · City roofing/HVHZ checklist (analogous, not solar-specific)

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 pulls the solar permit — either a CGC/general-building-type contractor (who then requires an electrical subcontractor) or a licensed electrical contractor (who then requires either a solar subcontractor OR a paired roofing+building subcontractor). 'A separate permit application must be made for each contractor.' 85% · City solar checklist
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes. 90% · department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Ambiguous, leaning NO for solar specifically. The Village does publish a generic 'Owner Builder Disclosure Statement' implementing the statewide FS 489.103(7) exemption for a one/two-family owner-occupied residence, usable across permit types generally. But the Solar Submittal Checklist's own 'Contractor Requirements' section names only two licensed-contractor Master/Sub combinations and never mentions an owner-pulled path — an omission, not a stated prohibition. 58% · diff of City solar checklist vs. City owner-builder form

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 Submittal Checklist, uploaded into the Master ('Solar') permit: (1) Completed Permit Application (sub-permits applied for separately by each sub-contractor); (2) Original Signed & Sealed Architectural Plans; (3) a notarized 'Property Owner Solar Systems Disclosure Form' (acknowledging roof-penetration/warranty impacts). 90% · City solar checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic, via the Citizen Self-Service (Tyler EnerGov) portal. General guidance city-wide: 'All permit applications must include two copies of submittal documents' (paper-era language retained on the About page), but the Public Notice page's current portal-submission rules require Chrome, single-layer (flattened) unencrypted PDFs, no Adobe Portfolio files, and a discipline-code-first file-naming convention (e.g. 'A-101'). 75% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Not published as a PV-specific requirement. The general framework (Sec. 6-5) requires a registered land surveyor's certificate/plan for new structures, additions, or building moves; the Solar Submittal Checklist itself does not list a site plan among its 3 required uploads. 55% · Code of Ordinances
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Not found. Not named in the Village's Solar Submittal Checklist itself. 45% · City solar checklist (absence)
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not found. Not named in the Village's Solar Submittal Checklist. 45% · City solar checklist (absence)
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, and UNCONDITIONALLY — the standout finding of this run. The Solar Submittal Checklist requires 'Original Signed & Sealed Architectural Plans' for every solar Master permit with no valuation or size threshold stated, unlike the general Building Permit Application (which has an optional, blank-able 'Architect/Engineer' field) and unlike the statewide PE exemption floor (FS 471.003(2)(h), $125,000/600A). This is the same 'solar checklist differs from its siblings ONLY by adding an unconditional sealed-plans requirement' pattern seen once before in this survey (Palmetto). 88% · City solar checklist, diffed against sibling permit documents
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? State floor only: FS 471.003(2)(h) exempts a licensed electrical contractor from a PE stamp where electrical system value is $125,000 or less and aggregate service capacity is 600A (240V) or less, residential. The Village's own solar checklist requires a sealed 'architectural' (not explicitly electrical) plan set unconditionally (see Q13); whether that seal must be an electrical PE's specifically, versus an architect's/structural engineer's, is not stated. 60% · Florida Statute (state floor)

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? Tyler Technologies EnerGov, branded 'Citizen Self-Service (CSS)', at villageofmiamishoresfl-energovweb.tylerhost.net. 92% · live permit portal
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes — application, document upload, fee payment, inspection scheduling and status/result viewing are all available online through the CSS portal; a real permit sampled was itself labeled 'Project Name: ONLINE PERMITS'. 88% · department page + real permit record
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $1,846.61 total on a real $49,529-valuation rooftop-PV job (permit SUN-11-24-2885): Permit Fee (Manual) $1,435.87; Technology Fee (Manual) $148.59; Planning and Zoning Review Fee $70.00; Structural Review $60.00; Application Fee - Other $50.00; CCF $30.00; DBPR Fee $22.29; DCA Fee $14.86; Education Surcharge $15.00. 92% · real permit fee ledger (live portal)
• How is the fee calculated? Primarily valuation-based ('Permit Fee (Manual)' was ~2.9% of the $49,529 valuation on the sampled permit), plus a menu of flat administrative fees (Application, CCF, DBPR, DCA, Education Surcharge, Technology) and flat review fees (Planning & Zoning $70, Structural $60). The Code itself (Sec. 6-7) does not print a formula — it delegates fee-setting to Council resolution, which is why the ledger shows 'Manual' fee entries rather than an auto-computed line. 78% · Code of Ordinances + real fee ledger
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes — a $70 'Planning and Zoning Review Fee' and a $60 'Structural Review' fee both appear as line items separate from the base 'Permit Fee' on the sampled real solar permit. 85% · real permit fee ledger

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? Per the FAQ: most permits process in 5-10 business days; residential addition/remodel applications get a 15-business-day completeness review, then a further 10 business days of plan review. In practice, the sampled real solar permit took from Applied (11/13/24) to Plan-Review-Passed (11/24/24) — about 8 business days — but was not Issued until 01/14/25, a ~9-week gap the FAQ figures do not explain (likely holiday/administrative delay, not read from any document). 70% · department FAQ + real permit timestamps
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 180 days from issuance; a passed inspection extends validity another 180 days. No activity (no approved inspection) for 180 days makes the permit invalid, requiring reapplication and a new fee. 90% · department FAQ
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Florida Power & Light (FPL). 78% · Code of Ordinances (incidental utility-pole naming)
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit — FPL, as an investor-owned utility, is state-floor-required not to allow parallel operation until local code officials have inspected and approved the system. 65% · Florida Administrative Code rule text (state floor)

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 building code edition is in force? Ambiguous/stale at the source: the Code's own adopting clause, Sec. 6-1, still says 'the document...known as the South Florida Building Code...is hereby adopted... and shall be known as the Building Code of Miami Shores Village' (language dating to Code 1971 §5-01, never amended) — the South Florida Building Code was repealed statewide and superseded by the Florida Building Code in 2002. In current practice the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) is almost certainly what is enforced (it is the statewide-mandatory cycle and is referenced by name throughout Ch. 6's flood-related amendments, Secs. 6-9 through 6-14), but the Code's own foundational adopting section has never been updated to say so. 62% · Code of Ordinances (fossil adopting clause)
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes — local technical and administrative amendments to the Florida Building Code (Building, Residential, and Existing Building volumes) exist at Secs. 6-11 through 6-14, all addressing flood-hazard-area elevation, substantial-improvement, and variance provisions. Separately, Ordinance 2024-06 (10-1-24) amended Sec. 6-4 specifically to 'update regulations to conform with the Florida Building Code requirements for permitting and remove obsolete provisions related to solar photovoltaic systems' — i.e. the most recent solar-relevant local amendment REMOVED rather than added solar-specific code text. 85% · Code of Ordinances
• What is the installation judged against? The (nominally) Florida Building Code (see Q30's fossil-base caveat) plus, per Sec. 6-2, county building-regulation terminology and the Miami-Dade County Code framework for terms like 'building official' and 'electrical inspector' (cross-referencing County Code § 8-1). In the HVHZ, RAS 127/128 design-pressure standards additionally apply to roof-attached equipment. 68% · Code of Ordinances

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 Village of Miami Shores on this step yet — 1 question checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

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

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

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

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? Not specified by the Village; falls to the utility/state floor. Per this survey's established FPL specification: Tier 1 (<=10kW) systems require NO AC disconnect placard; Tier 2/3 require a manual, visible, load-break AC disconnect within 10 feet of the meter socket, always accessible with no locked gates/doors/fences between it and the meter, plus a location sign and an energized-conductors warning sign. 55% · utility/state-floor spec (not independently re-pulled from FPL this run)
• Where must the labels be placed? Not specified by the Village; per the utility/state floor cited at Q38, the AC disconnect and its signage sit at/near the meter socket, always accessible. 50% · utility/state-floor spec (not independently re-pulled this run)

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? Not specified by the Village; per the utility/state floor: for FPL, Tier 1 (<=10kW, i.e. most residential rooftop PV) is exempt from a dedicated AC disconnect switch requirement; where required (Tier 2/3), it must be within 10 feet of the meter socket, always accessible, with no locked barrier between. 55% · utility/state-floor spec (not independently re-pulled this run)
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Not required by name in the Village's own Solar Checklist. Notably, UNLIKE a sibling authority in this survey whose solar checklist explicitly requires UL 1703/1741/2703 listings, Miami Shores' checklist names no equipment-listing requirement at all — an omission worth flagging. 55% · City solar checklist (absence, diffed against a sibling authority)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Not found as a PV-specific statement; the Zoning Appendix defines general 'accessory structure'/'accessory use' concepts (Secs. 201, 516, Ch. 12 Sec. 12-9) that would likely reach a ground-mount array, but no provision names ground-mounted solar specifically. 45% · Code of Ordinances (generic, not solar-specific)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? Not found as a solar-specific spec; generic HVHZ roof-attachment design-pressure/product-approval requirements (RAS 127/128) would apply to any roof-mounted racking, per the Roof Permit Checklist, but no PV-specific mounting-spacing document exists. 45% · City roofing checklist (generic, not solar-specific)

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? Via the online CSS/EnerGov portal, or by phone (305-795-2204). 85% · department page
• How much notice is required? Requests made before 3:30 PM are scheduled for the next available business day for that trade. 88% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No AM/PM or same-day windows are offered; the online inspection-request form explicitly states 'no same day appointments', and inspections are booked to the next available business day by trade (Building/Roofing and Electrical Mon-Fri; Plumbing Mon-Thu; Mechanical Mon & Wed). 82% · department page (online form text)

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. 90% · real permit record
• If delegated, to whom? N/A — not delegated. 85% · real permit 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 sampled permit's actual workflow, in order: Plan Review -> Confirm application complete -> Issue Permit -> Framing -> Electrical Final (one cycle required re-inspection) -> Electrical - Residential -> Electrical Final (passed). 90% · real permit record (inspection workflow)
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Yes — a 'Framing' inspection (passed 01/23/2025) preceded the electrical inspections on the sampled real permit, functioning as a rough-in/structural-attachment check for the racking before the electrical trades closed out the job. 70% · real permit record (inspection workflow)

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? A submittal (pre-permit) checklist is published (the Solar Submittal Checklist, Q8), but no separate INSPECTION-stage checklist for solar was found. A generic Roof Permit Checklist exists for roofing work. 60% · City solar checklist (submittal, not inspection, checklist)
• What must be on site at inspection? The permit card must be displayed and the approved plans must be readily available on site; work must be accessible/exposed for inspection. 88% · department page

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

• What is issued on pass? The permit itself is marked 'Closed' with a 'Finalized Date' once all required inspections pass; for a rooftop-PV retrofit (not new construction) no separate Certificate of Occupancy/Completion appears to be issued. 60% · real permit record
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Not stated by the Village; per the state floor, the customer/installer must execute the Standard Interconnection Agreement and notify the utility at least 10 days before energizing (FL PSC Rule 25-6.065(7)(d)) — the Village's own material never describes the Village itself notifying the utility. 55% · Florida Administrative Code rule text (state floor)
• Is there a re-inspection fee? Yes — an $85 re-inspection fee 'may result' after a SECOND rejection. 80% · department FAQ + real permit fee ledger (corroborating)
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Corrections are tracked through the online portal's inspection/status workflow (e.g. the sampled permit shows a discrete 'Re-inspection required' status event); the Plan Review Process note states corrections will not be accepted piecemeal — 'All disapproved trade's comments must be addressed and submitted together when bringing in corrections.' 65% · department page + real permit record