Tracy, CA Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

010, is to adopt an expedited, streamlined solar permitting process for small residential rooftop solar energy systems, applying only to permitting of systems meeting that specific definition. 020 defines a qualifying "small residential rooftop solar energy system" through four cumulative conditions: it cannot exceed 10 kilowatts alternating-current nameplate rating (or 30 kilowatts thermal); it must conform to all applicable state fire, structural, and electrical building codes and to Civil Code Section 714(c), the state's solar-access protection statute; it must be installed on a single- or duplex-family dwelling; and the panel or module array cannot exceed the City's maximum legal building height as set under Title 10, Planning and Zoning.

5, as either a solar collector or device whose primary purpose is collecting, storing, or distributing solar energy for space heating or cooling, electric generation, or water heating, or a structural design feature of a building serving that same primary purpose. A system that fails any one of the four eligibility conditions, for example an oversized array, a system on a triplex or commercial building, or one that pierces the zoning height limit, falls outside the chapter's definition and does not qualify for the expedited process it creates.