February 03, 2012
CCPDA Approves Solar Energy Facility (SEF) Permit Streamlining Guide, Model SEF Ordinance, etc...
California law requires that, by 2020, one‐third of the State’s electricity come from renewable energy sources. With this vision in mind and with the help over 100 people from a broad coalition, the following documents have been approved by the CCPDA Members on February 03, 2012. The goal of this project is to assist CA Counties in their effort to provide a streamlined regulatory climate for the installation of Solar Energy Facilities while protecting important farmland and sensitive habitat. Thanks to all who helped to produce these documents. Let's lead the nation in being SMART about the installation and regulation of solar.
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pdf 2012-02-03 CCPDA President Letter on Solar Energy Facility Project (76 KB)
pdf
CCPDA SEF Permit Streamlining Guide 2012-02-03
(1.81 MB)
<READ FIRST>
- This document includes a lot of information about General Considerations for Solar (Type and Scale, Legal Framework and Incentive Programs), Policy Options (Project Siting, Economic Development, Interconnection, Brownfields/Landfill Reuse, Protecting Farmlands, Environmentally Sensitive Habitats, Scenic and Historic Resources, Cultural Resources, Decommissioning, Financial Assurance and Abandoned Facilities) and Streamlining the Permit Process (Project Development, Compatibility Findings and Nexus and Programmatic Environmental Review for Ordinance Adoption)
pdf Appendix A - CCPDA Model SEF Permit Streamlining Ordinance (368 KB) - What this is and is not - This Model Ordinance IS NOT state law. This Model Ordinance IS to be used by local governments as a STARTING POINT to write their own locally appropriate zoning ordinance to implement rules that Streamline the Solar PV Permitting Process AND Protect Farmlands and Environmentally Sensitive Habitats. A key tool in this document is the Land Use Table (Table 1) which offers 4 Tiers of Permit Processing for a variety of land use conditions. This will be very helpful to jurisdictions seeking to adopt a local ordinance.
pdf Appendix B - CCPDA Renewable Energy Combining Zone (99 KB) - To encourage and facilitate development of large-scale renewable energy facilities in appropriate areas based on the availability of renewable resources, the location of existing or planned infrastructure, and the potential for renewable energy facilities to be appropriately sited and to effectively mitigate potential significant impacts.
pdf Appendix C - Sample Sales Tax Agreement - Sonoma County (472 KB)
pdf Appendix D - Sample Developer Agreement - Tulare County (1.28 MB)
pdf Appendix F - Sample Public Benefit Program - Imperial County (1019 KB)
pdf Appendix G - Sample Impact Fee Study - Kern County (4.16 MB)
pdf Appendix H - Sample Conditions of Approval - San Luis Obispo County (647 KB)
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pdf
California Solar Permitting Guidebook
(2.79 MB)
(Tools to streamline the Building Permit Process - a companion document to the Model SEF Permit Streamling Guide and Model Ordinance)
folder Link to a Category of all Solar Documents generated during this project