Anaheim, CA Solar Energy: Expedited Solar Permitting (2026)

060 requires the Building Official, in consultation with the Fire Chief and the General Manager of Public Utilities, to adopt a checklist covering everything a small residential rooftop solar system needs to qualify for expedited review, modeled on the state's California Solar Permitting Guidebook. A "small residential rooftop solar energy system" is capped at 10 kilowatts AC or 30 kilowatts thermal, installed on a single or duplex dwelling, and cannot exceed the maximum legal building height. Once an applicant's submission satisfies the checklist, as determined by the Building Official, the application is deemed complete and the Building Official must approve it and issue all required permits; an incomplete application instead draws a written correction notice listing every deficiency.

Applicants submit to the Planning and Building Department in person, by mail, or electronically, pay the standard permit processing and inspection fees, and must independently verify (at their own cost for the electrical check) that the roof structure can carry the system's wind, seismic, and dead/live loads and that the existing electrical panel and wiring can handle the new photovoltaic load. Only one inspection is required for an eligible expedited system, which may be a consolidated Building Official/Fire Chief visit; a failed inspection triggers a follow-up inspection outside the one-inspection rule. Administrative approval under this streamlined track does not authorize grid interconnection: the applicant must separately obtain that authorization from the local utility provider. 070.