(A) The city building division shall adopt an administrative, nondiscretionary review process to expedite approval of small residential rooftop solar energy systems. The building division shall issue a building permit or other nondiscretionary permit within three (3) business days for electronic applications of receipt of a deemed complete application and meets the requirements of the approved checklist and standard plan. The building official may determine that the proposed solar energy system is not subject to the expedited permitting process if the official finds based on substantial evidence, that the solar energy system could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety. Such decisions may be appealed to the development services director.
(B) Review of the application shall be limited to the building official's or designee's review of whether the application meets local, state, and federal health and safety requirements.
(C) The applicant shall verify to reasonable satisfaction through the use of standard engineering evaluation techniques that the support structure for the small residential rooftop solar energy system is stable and adequate to transfer all wind, seismic, and dead and live loads associated with the system to the building foundation.
(D) The applicant shall verify to reasonable satisfaction using standard electrical inspection techniques that the existing electrical system including existing line, load, ground and bonding wiring as well as main panel and subpanel sizes are adequately sized, based on the existing electrical system's current use, to carry all new photovoltaic electrical loads.
(E) A building official may deny an application for the use permit if the building official makes written findings based upon substantive evidence in the record that the proposed installation would have a specific, adverse impact upon public health or safety and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid, as defined, the adverse impact. Such findings shall include the basis for the rejection of the potential feasible alternative for preventing the adverse impact. Such decisions may be appealed to the development services director.
(F) Any condition imposed on an application shall be designed to mitigate the specific, adverse impact upon health and safety at the lowest possible cost.
(G) "A feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact" includes, but is not limited to, any cost effective method, condition, or mitigation imposed by the city on another similarly situated application in a prior successful application for a permit. The city shall use its best efforts to ensure that the selected method, condition, or mitigation meets the conditions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of amended section 714 of the Civil Code defining restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of the system or decrease its efficiency or specified performance.
(H) The city shall not condition approval of an application on the approval of an association or similar group, as defined in section 4080 of the Civil Code.
(I) If an application is deemed incomplete, a written correction notice detailing all deficiencies in the application and any additional information or documentation required to be eligible for expedited permit issuance shall be sent to the applicant for resubmission.
(J) Only one inspection shall be required and performed by the building division for small residential rooftop solar energy systems eligible for expedited review. A separate fire inspection may be performed if an agreement with the local fire authority does not exist to perform safety inspections on behalf of the fire authority.
(K) The inspection shall be done in a timely manner and should include consolidated inspections. An inspection will be scheduled within two (2) business days of a request and provide a four (4) hour P.M. inspection window. The building official may require the presence of the installer or representative of the installing company during the final inspection or subsequent inspections.
(L) If a small residential rooftop solar energy system fails inspection, a subsequent inspection is authorized but need not conform to the requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 1671, 9-8-2015)