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ROH - 04/04/11 RESOLUTION NO. 2011-Q21 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AUTHORIZING A TWO-YEAR CONTINUANCE OF A PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE SOLAR INSTALLATIONS BY TEMPORARILY WAIVING PERMITTING FEES BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines and declares as follows: A. On May 5, 2008, the City Council adopted atwo-year solar permit fee waiver program to encourage solar insfafJfa~tions for both residential and commercial properties Citywide. The program's initial adoption resulted from discussions with the City Council Development Committee and a desire to broaden the City's environmental agenda. By all accounts the program has been successful over the past two years in incentivizing solar installations and should be renewed in order to continue supporting the City's goals with respect to the environment and sustainability. B. The two primary uses of solar energy include using the sun to heat water and/or to generate electricity. Both rely on widely tested and proven technologies. However, their application has in the past been limited by the high acquisition/construction costs compared to potential cost savings. This dynamic continues to shift, however, given the ever increasing cost of energy as well as various programs offered by both the State and local utility companies incentivizing solar installations. C. Prior to the adoption of the solar,permit~fiee~waiver, the city processed relatively few solar energy projects (less than five projects per year). This number has increased substantially, and in 2010, the City processed over 40 solar permit applications, a 227 percent increase from 2009. This increase is consistent with growth in solar projects statewide as California leads the nation in solar installations with' nearly 77,000 installations generating 779 megawatts. D. The City's review of solar energy projects involves both plan check and inspection services. The amount of time required for these reviews depends primarily on the size and complexity of the solar installation. A thorough review and analysis of the type of solar installation requests received over the past two years indicates that the vast majority of solar installations in Santa Ana are for single-family residences. Based on this .. ~t~esai~ticari Als: 2011-~2~% .. _ .. _ P'agE~ 1 Sri 3