Gilbert to ease restrictions on solar panels

Gilbert plans later this month to remove some of the restrictions on installing solar power systems on homes and businesses, a move that one man says came too late because the red tape cost him extra time and money.

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Beginning July 31, residents will no longer need to get a town building permit to install the systems as long as they are installed by an Arizona-licensed contractor and meet nationally recognized building and electrical safety standards. If the installer and system do not meet those standards, Gilbert will continue to require the owner to obtain a permit and an inspection by an outside structural engineer.

The change comes just as demand for the permits is skyrocketing, thanks to government and utility company incentives that can shave off three-fourths of the startup costs. Gilbert issued 37 permits for solar power devices during the 2008-09 fiscal year, compared with eight in 2007-08 and four in 2006-07, according to the development services department.

In the past, Gilbert was concerned that roofs built to the town’s minimum construction standards might not be able to bear the weight of a solar panel system, so the town required a permit and inspection.

But problems have been rare and involve roofs sagging under the weight rather than caving in altogether, said Ray Patten, permitting and plan review services manager.

So Patten and his staff suggested the changes, which were approved by the Town Council on June 30.

“We decided, at the end of the day, the consumer is still protected because ultimately it’s the contractor’s responsibility,” Patten said.

Yet the move comes a little too late for Tom Scanlon, a Gilbert resident who thought the process was much more time-consuming and costly than necessary. He missed his goal of having his roof-mounted, 3,036-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system up and running by the time he retired at the end of June after 25 years as a Tempe civil engineer. Scanlon started the process in February, figuring that would be plenty of time because of his familiarity with how cities handled such permits.

But then he ran into the requirement for a structural inspection, which he found unnecessary and not in line with other cities. So he sought a waiver from Town Manager George Pettit and Town Council members, but gave up after officials stopped responding to his e-mails.

“Now we don’t even need the permit, after I’ve gone through all the heartaches, expense and delays,” Scanlon said.

Pettit said the new ordinance is not retroactive, so Scanlon’s case would not have been affected because it was already in the system.

“At the time we were dealing with Mr. Scanlon, the town had not decided that we were willing to cut loose on the liability on this issue,” he said.

Scanlon finally received his permit in mid-July, after spending $258 for the fee and another $750 for the required inspection by a structural engineer.

Then he had to wait for Salt River Project to inspect the system before hooking it up to its grid. On Wednesday morning, Scanlon was finally able to say, “SRP just powered it up, and my meter’s running backwards.”

That was enough to override the annoyance Scanlon felt over the permitting process and the fact that the town never informed him of the upcoming changes.

“The town is darn fortunate that I have a good sense of humor,” he said.

Compared with some nearby cities, Gilbert is late in making solar systems easier to install.

Mesa spokesman Steven Wright said Mesa lifted its permitting requirements three years ago to encourage the growing consumer interest. But Wright said that could change, depending on feedback from the solar industry.

Mesa will keep in touch with industry representatives and could change regulations over time, “depending on what they feel needs to be permitted and what doesn’t need to be permitted.”

Jeff Kurtz, Chandler assistant planning director, said city code does require a permit for installation of solar electrical and heating systems. There is a flat fee of $225 for photovoltaic systems and $90 for a solar pool heating system, but Kurtz said the permits usually take a couple of days, and the applicant does not have to get an inspection from an outside structural engineer.

The permit is issued after a city code compliance inspector checks to make sure the system is connected to the house correctly if it’s a hot-water heater or to the electrical grid if it provides electricity.

Kurtz likened the impending change in Gilbert’s regulations to what Surprise is doing in the West Valley.

“We continue to review all our permitting requirements, and some cities are successful and others not so successful with this kind of hands-off approach,” he said.

Solar industry representatives said reducing the scope and cost of permitting will encourage more people to install systems on their roofs. But Krystal Book of Scottsdale-based American Solar Electric said deregulation carries some risks, as well.

She said cities requiring a structural engineer’s inspection, including Queen Creek and Peoria, “present some of the biggest challenges with the permitting processes we have.” Lifting the requirement could save consumers $1,600 in application and engineering fees, a boon to consumers because SRP, the Valley’s largest utility provider, plans to roll back some of its consumer incentives for solar.

But she emphasized that consumers should do their own research and find a licensed contractor.

American Solar is licensed but many other installation companies are not, she said, and there is concern that the reputation of the entire industry could be damaged by unlicensed contractors doing shoddy work.

“We don’t want the solar industry to get a black eye,” Book said.