The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that will establish and expedited, streamlined process for residents living in houses and duplexes to install solar panels on their roofs.
“We are always looking for ways to better serve our constituents,” board Chairman James Ramos said in a statement following Tuesday’s meeting. “It was time for the county to take action in offering residents incentives for using energy-saving alternatives.”
Those qualifying for the streamlined permit process for rooftop solar system installation will also be eligible for a permit fee waiver under a program approved by the Board of Supervisors in June 2010, which was implemented to encourage residents to use solar panels and other energy-efficient systems.
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The ordinance, which goes before the Board of Supervisors again on Aug. 25 for final adoption, will bring the county in line with the California Solar Rights Act, signed into law on Sept. 14, 2014 by Gov. Jerry Brown. The law established a statewide policy to promote and encourage the installation and use of solar energy systems by eliminating a lot of the bureaucratic red tape often associated with the process and minimizing permit costs.
For residents to qualify for an expedited permit and fee waiver, their rooftop solar systems must be no larger than 10 kilowatts alternating nameplate rating or 30 kilowatts thermal. Residents must also live in either houses or duplexes to qualify.
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The ordinance is consistent with regulations in other jurisdictions. Riverside County and several cities in San Bernardino County have embraced the same ordinance to ensure regional consistency. It also establishes a process in which residents can electronically submit their permit applications, according to the board staff report.
In other news:
• The Board of Supervisors denied an appeal of the county Planning Commission’s April 23 approval of a permit to replace an existing solar plant on 333-acre parcel in Daggett - a Mojave Desert town off the 40 Freeway, 10 miles east of Barstow - with a 44-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant.
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Opponents argued the project was not exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act. The county Land Use Services Department maintained that the project is exempt from such review because, under CEQA guidelines, it is a replacement project that will be built in the same spot and will have “substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced.”
• Supervisors approved an amendment to the county code lifting licensing requirements for junk dealers, pawnbrokers and salvage collectors because those businesses are now regulated by state law. The county code provisions on such businesses were drafted in 1952 and were last amended in 1985.