La Mesa, CA Solar Energy: Expedited Solar Permitting (2026)

LMMC § 14.30.020 is the city's own implementation of the streamlined solar permitting process, adopted by Ordinance 2015-2842 in response to Government Code § 65850.5's statewide mandate. The section defines a covered 'small residential rooftop solar energy system' as one no larger than ten kilowatts AC nameplate rating or thirty kilowatts thermal, installed on a single or duplex family dwelling, that meets applicable fire, structural and electrical codes and does not exceed the maximum legal building height for its zone. The building official develops and adopts a checklist, based on the state's Solar Permitting Guidebook, that is published on the city's website; applicants can submit personally, by mail, or electronically, with electronic signatures accepted in lieu of a wet signature.

Before applying, the applicant must verify the roof structure can carry the system's loads and that the existing electrical system can safely carry the added photovoltaic load. For a system eligible for expedited review, the city requires only one inspection, timely scheduled, which may consolidate the building official and fire marshal into a single visit; a failed inspection allows one follow-up inspection outside the single-inspection rule. An application meeting the checklist is deemed complete and gets administrative approval and permit issuance from the building official directly, with no discretionary hearing. That city approval does not itself authorize connecting to the utility grid; the applicant must separately obtain the utility's interconnection approval.