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Citywide: Orange charges residents to go green

October 12th, 2009, 6:00 pm · 18 Comments · posted by

solarledeAn Orange resident is calling city officials “hostile” toward solar energy because of what he considers excessive fees associated with installing 30 solar panels on the roof of his home.

Phil Reid, 45, said submitting paperwork, getting approvals and installation took a little more than four months. Reid, an aerospace engineer, was upset at the $920 fee for a permit, too.

“We almost fell over,” Reid said. “Some more-progressive cities around us offer solar-related permits for free, so we were very surprised.”

City spokesman Paul Sitkoff said the permit fee is based on the overall valuation of the specific project.

“The permitting charge varies between $550 and $850 and covers plan review, inspections and processing,” Sitkoff said. “There are costs involved.”

Sitkoff said the usual time frame for the process is two weeks, barring corrections.

The Register surveyed county cities with populations of at least 100,000 residents:

Anaheim, Santa Ana, Fullerton and Huntington Beach do not impose a permit fee. In fact, Anaheim residents can get half of the installation costs subsidized through the city-owned Anaheim Public Utilities.

Irvine charges a $210 standard fee, but Eric Tolles, the deputy director of community development, said that city was considering waiving the fee.

Mission Viejo charges a standard fee of $290.

County residents in unincorporated areas have to pay a $15 county installation fee and a $1 state fee.

Costa Mesa and Garden Grove, like Orange, charge a fee based on project valuation.

Orange Councilman Denis Bilodeau said he was not surprised that Orange is in the minority among similar-sized cities.

“I believe it should be no fee for solar panels,” Bilodeau said. “I think we need to give people an incentive to convert to clean energy.”

Reid said his project cost $34,000 and, with rebates from Southern California Edison and the federal government, he could see a return of close to half the total cost. Reid said his city, Orange, needs to do more.

“They need to see what the cities around them are doing and be competitive,” he said. “You would think that cities would be excited about their citizens going green and helping out the community.”

Sitkoff said the city does not have any future plans to waive fees.

“Orange supports residents who want to add solar as part of their efforts to reduce their impact on the environment,” he wrote in an e-mail.

To contact the reporter: 714-704-3704 or efields@ocregister.com

 To go to OrangeCityWatch.com, the Register’s blog that covers everything Orange, click here.

 More citywide stories about Orange

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 18 Comments

  • lwps says:
    October 13, 2009 at 4:57 am

    With an electric car or plug in hybrid, he could recover the costs of this installation a lot quicker.

    • DISCO says:
      October 13, 2009 at 11:33 am

      Ought to be fine so long as he does not try to establish native habitat by using landscaping that thrives in local conditions.

  • steveh says:
    October 13, 2009 at 5:53 am

    Greedy bastids

  • Bob W says:
    October 13, 2009 at 6:42 am

    Greedy doesn’t go far enough. Orange residents should recall elected officials who make and pass the laws that gouge peoples pocketbooks. America needs to wake up to these abuses, take charge at every level of government and oust those who self serving bureacrats. ITS TEA PARTY TIME !!!

  • caseclosed says:
    October 13, 2009 at 6:46 am

    If Phil Reid is that unhappy he can always pack his bags and move out of Orange and into Santa Ana. SCE and our tax dollars are already paying $17’000 of his bills as steveh said greedy bastid.

    • hunterr83 says:
      October 13, 2009 at 9:31 am

      Pretty sure steveh was referring to the city officials who created the laws for the fees. Instead of simply moving, how about we just re-elect the officials and hope to find a person who will promote clean energy use instead of charging so much in fees. The bottom line is that these officials are paid via taxpayer money, so we expect them to serve us. $1,000 in fees compared to $200-300 in other cities isn’t exactly my idea of being served.

  • Utterfailure says:
    October 13, 2009 at 6:50 am

    Another example of elected officials being out of step with their constituents.

  • David says:
    October 13, 2009 at 6:50 am

    The headline is a bit misleading. The city of Orange is not charging anything extra for green projects, just the standard permitting fee. So it is not really the city being greedy or obstructive of solar. Rather, I think they are just oblivious to trying to promote it with reduced or waived permit fees. Perhaps this article will focus some of the city’s attention on the subject and they will consider doing something to promote solar. But in the grand scheme of installing solar, the cost of the permit is nothing.

  • MUADIB says:
    October 13, 2009 at 7:01 am

    Yet again another example of anti citizen thinking from the city gov. steal ,steal ,steal as much as you can from the taxpayer to pay for extreemly overpaid public leeches…i mean employees.When are these scum and their defenders going to get the point?

  • Zzyzx says:
    October 13, 2009 at 7:08 am

    lol i love how they sale the return on investment for solar powered homes.

    the city or any government form loves to talk reduction and conservation,
    but you will never see them do with less income. they just raise the rates
    to offset the lower usage.

    i hope those solar panels are made from recyclable plastic.

  • Richard Deight says:
    October 13, 2009 at 9:49 am

    The simplest solution: Put up the panels, don’t say anything, and don’t ask permission.

  • rawwrchelle says:
    October 13, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    it’s outrageous that the city should claim it “supports” residents who are trying to go green.
    what the eff kind of support is that?
    a $920 “permit fee” is outright discouraging on someone who’s already investing so much in trying to do the right thing.

  • jefe says:
    October 13, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    Tita Smith is the worst council person ever!!!!

  • Lucifer'sFlowers says:
    October 13, 2009 at 10:24 pm

    I know Orange wants that “Olde Towne” feel and Solar Panels are too modern. But really. If Orange wanted that “Olde Towne” feel, they need to get ride of their electricity.

  • John S. says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:24 am

    Most of the “green” is the cash that flows into city coffers from someone trying to offset high energy bills.
    Since electricity is on a tiered rate, even a small solar system can push you to a much lower tier and offset the installation expense.

    Mr. Bureaucrat, do I have to get permission to put some of those $5 K Mart solar lights in my yard?

  • syscom3 says:
    October 16, 2009 at 8:46 am

    Just have the state limit the permit fee’s to $200. Im sure theres enough enviornmental types in Sacto who would support that.

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