In the spirit of the season – even on Labor Day – just as the City Council is attempting to conform to state law on campaign financing, that is the same motivation for accelerating the permit process for residential rooftop solar energy systems.
The goal is to reduce a normally winding, lengthy permit process down to72 hours.
At City Hall, Craig Johnson in Building and Safety, explained:
The ordinance to be addressed at the next Council meeting, a week from tomorrow evening, stems from a state mandate, AB 2188, which says:
“It says all jurisdictions in California must have an expedited review of solar permits for small solar systems for houses.
“It doesn’t apply to large solar systems,” Mr. Johnson said. “It is for 10 kw and less, which is a fairly good-sized system.
“We are working on a faster review time.
“We also want to enable people to apply online for these kinds of permits.”
City Hall is not fishing alone in this ocean, especially regarding timelines.
“The state already has come up with a bunch of standardized criteria,” Mr. Johnson said. “We are looking for a three-day turnaround for people turning in standardized plans.”
