Politics & Government

Survey: Glendora's Solar Permit Fees Are Too High

A Sierra Club survey lists Glendora among cities who charge excessive fees for solar panel installation.

Glendora is one of 55 Los Angeles County cities named in a recent Sierra Club survey with excessive solar panel installation fees.

The survey asserts that the excessive fees discourage residents and commercial property owners from choosing to implement the energy-saving alternative.

Of the 55 cities, Glendora ranked 22 in the county for the highest solar permit fees for 3-kilowatt residential systems, charging $759. For commercial properties, Glendora charged $10,132. Both figures are well above the survey’s maximum suggested fee.

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According to the survey, the maximum permit fee to enable cost recovery for a residential PV system is $485, while the suggested cost for commercial properties is $2,540.

Kurt Newick, chair of the Global Warming committee of the Sierra Club, said the suggested reasonable fees were determined through hours required for plan review and inspection, and the billable hourly rate. Most cities, including Glendora, base their fees on the valuation of the property.

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“Unfortunately, that method is invalid for solar panel projects,” said Newick. “We believe that the permit fees should reflect the true incurred costs of each city.”

Laws governing PV solar permit and fees require agencies have “intent to encourage the installation of solar energy systems by removing obstacles to, and minimizing costs of, permitting for such systems.” With Glendora’s fees several hundred dollars above “a reasonable cost,” Newick said the permit fees created a potential barrier in attracting new solar customers.

While Glendora fell within the county average of solar panel permit costs, Building and Safety Superintendent Judi Hardy said the city’s cost for solar project permit fees may be reviewed soon during a plan review.

“Solar is relatively new and I think we’re still learning more about it,” said Hardy. “We want to encourage people from trying solar panels…as it evolves I’m sure it will become a more standard process.”

Since 2006, 49 solar permits were issued in the city and 14 were issued this year alone. Hardy said there are currently five applications for solar projects in plan review.

Newick recommends that cities adopt a solar permit fee-calculation method based on the hours required to complete the inspection multiplied by the billable hourly rate to ensure cost recovery.

 The city of Napa applied this calculation in their review of the city’s solar permit fees in April. Their fees dropped from $10,597 for commercial properties to $1,219. Their residential permit fees were reduced from $768 to $391.

Several other cities have even waived their permit fees as an incentive for people to choose solar powered energy.

“I think everyone wants to pay what’s fair,” said Newick. “At the same time, solar needs to pay its way for it to be sustainable.”


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