Utah County, UT Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

UCLUO § 4.08, Yards To Be Unobstructed, Exceptions, lists free-standing Solar Energy Systems appurtenant to an on-site dwelling among the narrow set of structures allowed to intrude into an otherwise-required yard. To qualify, the system's equipment cannot sit within the required front setback, cannot exceed twelve feet in height measured at its maximum design tilt, and the system's total solar panel surface area cannot exceed 1,000 square feet. Any system that does not meet those three limits does not get the yard exception and must instead meet the full setback and height rules that apply to structures generally in its zone.

The ordinance carves out one enlarged allowance: a free-standing system in the Critical Environment (CE-1) Zone that shares a side or rear property line with land owned by a governmental entity may be built in that shared setback without the 1,000-square-foot cap, but only if the governmental entity gives written consent to the size and location before the county issues any applicable permit required for the system. That phrase confirms a permit is required for the installation, though the land use ordinance sets the siting standards a solar permit application must satisfy rather than describing a separate solar-specific permit procedure. A larger, grid-tied array that functions as an Electrical Power Generation Plant is treated differently and is not covered by this yard-obstruction exception.