Gilroy's average fee to process and issue permits for solar-powered projects shot up to $769 per home in 2006, according to a study by the Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter. That figure is nearly double the $418 average fee Gilroy's building department charged in 2005, the first year of the study, making it the highest fee among cities in Santa Clara County and one of the most expensive in the nine county Bay Area.

The fluctuation stems from the common practice among cities of pegging fees based to the value of a project. The average cost of installing solar panels on a single family home is about $20,000 after state and federal rebates, but Gilroy was calculating fees based on the pre-rebate cost of roughly $30,000 per home. Under such a system, developers and individual homeowners looking to break their reliance on the energy grid face rising fees as homes increase in size and energy needs.

"We're trying to get them to go to a flat fee as opposed to a per unit fee, because we want to encourage large systems," said Kurt Newick, global warming chair for the Loma Prieta Chapter. "That's entirely appropriate because it doesn't take the city any longer to review a small system than a large system. They still have to do the same plan check; they still have to do the same inspection."

That logic seems to have gained traction with city officials, who are now looking to replace the valuation model with a fee system based on the amount of time city workers spend reviewing and inspecting a project.

"We are assessing the fee based on the costs of the service, which is a fairer approach," said Stephen Lau, Gilroy's senior plan check engineer. A new system is expected to be in place by winter.

Gilroy isn't the only city rushing to lower the barriers to solar power. Union City, which had the highest average plan check fee at $1,074, and a slew of other East Bay cities where costs are highest, are now reviewing their fee systems. In the last 11 months, 34 Bay Area cities have lowered fees after learning where they stood in the rankings compiled by the Sierra Club.

Within days of first hearing from Newick, Sausalito Mayor Ron Albert and the city council waived permit fees on all projects reviewed by the city, while retaining fees for projects out-sourced to consultants.

"They want to be solar-friendly," Newick said. "That's almost unanimous amongst the cities that I talk to. Some of them don't even know they have high fees. As it turns out, solar doesn't take a lot to inspect, and they're realizing once we point this out to them."

Removing the obstacles to solar power is one piece of a bigger eco-friendly push in Gilroy, according to City Administrator Jay Baksa. Earlier this month, the city was certified by the county as a "green business" for its efforts to conserve energy and recycle, and officials plan to start buying more supplies and equipment from environmentally friendly vendors. The city is also crafting a law to force builders to recycle 50 percent or more of construction debris and has already passed a policy requiring fireplaces in new or remodeled homes to pass federal air quality standards.

"It fits in line with our major policy of being environmentally sensitive," Baksa said of the solar permit fees. "We spent a lot of time these past couple of years, whether it be policy or practice issues, and this might be another action in that realm."

POST A COMMENT

If you are under 13 years of age you may read this message board, but you may not participate. Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.