[RE-wrenches] Obtuse Building Departments - Was "Quick Release" PV System

[Matt Lafferty]

Hi Brian,
 
Now you're asking the right questions.
 
Perhaps someone from the building & planning department in Irvine was layed
off and they got a job in Chula Vista.
 
There are a number of a$$-backward municipalities down that way. Dunno what
their real agenda is, but stuff like "Provide UL Listing and Fire Rating for
PV Racking" and "Must have 3rd Party NRTL inspect and provide listing for
supply-side interconnection in existing service equipment" pretty much stops
a lot of otherwise good projects. Mind you, it was the first time I've ever
been asked for the UL Fire Rating on a ProSolar rack. 
 
On the matter of supply-side taps, I have seen a lot of hack jobs. Stuff
that should NEVER be allowed, but has been. I'm all for doing it right. The
service equipment in the case of the 3rd Party NRTL gig happened to be the
closest thing to PERFECT for Supply-Side tap... 3 year-old switchgear with
square-hole perforations every 2" on the buss. We even went so far as to run
down and source the EXACT hardware and lugs that the Mfr (Siemens) used in
the original equipment. Got the info from Siemens. Provided it to the City.
No go!
 
Methinks old-school corruption is the culprit in some of these instances...
Some of us have been around long enough to remember the old days when a
bottle of Wild Turkey with a $100 ribbon used to be expected if you wanted
to get anything done. Now, just to keep the record straight... I never
participated in such activities personally, but I sure saw it happen. Wild
Turkey and hunting trips to Nevada. I was young back then but it still
rubbed me wrong every time I saw it or heard some contractor bragging about
how he bought off the inspector.
 
Don't really know the answer. It's a touchy situation. On one hand, these
agencies are sworn to protect the safety of the public, and that's pretty
much a blank check when you get down to it. On the other hand, if you spend
the time and $$$ gaining favor with City/County supervisors, mayors, etc.,
and that results in them handing down an ultimatum or otherwise pressuring
change at the Building Department, you're gonna have to deal with pissed-off
plan-checkers and inspectors. If it's a onesy-twosey situation and you're
not hopeful to have a whole bunch of work in that jurisdiction, then it's
probably best to punt and refer the potential customer to your least
favorite competitor.
 
I fought many battles on this front over the years. At one point I formally
recommended that SMUD issue a notice to residents within the City of
Sacramento that said: "Due to unreasonable requirements and uncooperative
staff in the City Building Department, SMUD is unable to offer City
residents a PV system at this time. If you have questions or concerns,
please contact your City Supervisor." I wasn't being cocky, but my proposal
was shot down every time I brought it up. Funny thing is, one of the City
Supervisors was actually an attorney at SMUD, but he did the right thing and
recused himself from anything that could be construed as "conflict of
interest".
 
It was, and still is, my opinion that customers are the appropriate
spearhead within their local government. As businesses, we aren't always
located in such and such a jurisdiction. We don't vote for the supervisors
and other local ordinances in every place we work. Our customers are
property owners who choose to live or own property there. From firsthand
experience I can tell you that squeaky constituents get heard and quite
often, if they are a big enough pest, they will get what they want if it's
not too out of line. A suitably installed Tile Integrated project with
appropriate clearances, etc., shouldn't be "too out of line".
 
In your case, I'm assuming that you are proposing an integrated product that
is the roof.... Yes? No? If it is the roof, then it has certain listings,
ratings, etc. which allow it to be installed as the roof, in accordance with
the listing. Unless there is a "quick-release" feature approved by the
manufacturer, modifying the attachment would violate the listing. If you are
proposing a Class A roof installation, then it should be reasonable to
assume the City of Chula Vista is going to require "Quick Release" features
on all other Class A roof systems installed in their jurisdiction, yes? 
 
My experience has been that there are two general cases where this type of
obstacle comes up: 1) Ignorance without malice; 2) Intentional obstruction.
 
In the case of #1, this can generally be overcome by calmly educating the
person you're dealing with. This can be frustrating and time consuming, but
can generally work out in the long run. I've learned a lot going through
this process over the years. Perhaps the most valuable lessons have been in
the area of "understanding where they are coming from". On occassion they've
even been right and I've made changes to what I do accordingly. In the case
of #2, see above.
 
Best of luck! Please let us know how it turns out.
 
Matt Lafferty
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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