Tonawanda, NY Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Town of Tonawanda Code § 54-5F(8) tells applicants exactly what the Code Enforcement Officer needs for a solar project: for all small-scale solar energy installations the Town requires the New York State Unified Solar Permit Application, filed alongside the same building-permit paperwork required for any other structure under § 54-5F, including a tax map number, a description of the work and construction documents. Zoning Chapter 215, Article 26 then layers its own standards on top of that permit. Section 215-26.1C(1) requires a building permit and the state Unified Solar Permit for any solar collector, whether attached to the main structure or installed as a detached accessory structure, while § 215-26.1D(1) subjects every collector to the setbacks, offsets and lot-area coverage rules of whatever district it sits in.

Height is capped separately: § 215-26.1D(2) limits collectors in all residential districts and the MU-N District to five feet above the district's permitted building height, with other districts following their own height rules. In residential districts, § 215-26.1D(4) confines solar collectors to rooftops of principal or accessory buildings, requires the collector to stay completely within the limits of the building roof, and pushes any other equipment and components into the rear yard, subject to the accessory-structure setbacks. Large-scale and utility-scale systems are regulated separately under § 215-26.2 and need a special use permit and Planning Board site plan review, which residential rooftop arrays do not. As with any other building permit, the same Chapter 54 fee schedule, 60-day review clock and 12-month expiration apply once the application is filed.