(A) Prior to submitting an application, the applicant shall:
(1) Verify 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; and
(2) At the applicant’s cost, using standard electrical inspection techniques, verify 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.
(B) For a project complying with the checklist for a small residential rooftop solar energy system the applicant may submit the permit application and associated documentation to the county’s building division by personal, mailed, or electronic submittal, together with the required permit processing and inspection fees.
(C) An application that satisfies the information requirements in the checklist, as determined by the Building Official, shall be deemed complete. Upon receipt of an incomplete application, the Building Official shall issue a written correction notice detailing all deficiencies in the application and any additional information required to be eligible for expedited permit issuance.
(D) Upon confirmation by the Building Official of the application and supporting documentation being complete and meeting the requirements of the checklist, the Building Official shall administratively approve the application and issue all required permits and/or authorizations, except as further set forth below. Such approval does not authorize an applicant to connect the small residential rooftop energy system to the local utility provider’s electricity grid. The applicant is responsible for obtaining such approval or permission from the local utility provider after requesting and obtaining a final inspection and receiving final approval on the inspection record.
(E) The Building Official's review shall be limited to whether the proposed small residential rooftop solar energy system meets all health and safety requirements of local, state, and federal law. The requirements of local law shall be limited to those standards and regulations necessary to ensure that the solar energy system will not have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety.
(F) The Building Official may require an applicant to apply for a use permit, if the Building Official finds, based on substantial evidence, that the small residential rooftop solar energy system could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety. Such decision, if made, may be appealed to the San Benito County Planning Commission.
(G) If a use permit is required, the application for the use permit may be denied if the appropriate authority as designed in the applicable county zoning ordinance makes written findings based upon substantial evidence in the record that the proposed installation would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. Such findings shall include the basis for the rejection of potential feasible alternatives of preventing the adverse impact. Such decisions may be appealed to the County Planning Commission, or if the Planning Commission was the appropriate authority, such decisions may be appealed to the Board of Supervisors.
(1) Any condition imposed on an application to install a solar energy system shall be designed to mitigation the specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety at the lowest possible cost.
(2) 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 county on another similarly situated application in a prior successful application for a permit. The county shall use its best efforts to ensure that the selected method, condition, or mitigation meets the conditions of Cal. Civil Code § 714(s)(1)(A) and (B).
(H) The county shall not withhold issuance based on the approval of an association, as defined in Cal. Civil Code § 4080.
(I) For a small residential rooftop solar energy system eligible for expedited review, only one inspection shall be required, which shall be done in a timely manner. If a fire inspection is required, that inspection shall be perfonned by the local fire authority prior to the inspection by the Building Official. If a small residential rooftop solar energy system fails inspection, a subsequent inspection is authorized; however the subsequent inspection need not conform to the requirements of this division. Also, subsequent inspections, after the first, shall be charged a reasonable reinspection fee as determined by the Building Official in accordance with the currently adopted fee schedule.
(Ord. 940, § II(part), 2015)