Jul 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Daniel Tedford San Gabriel Valley Tribune, West Covina, Calif.

 San Gabriel Valley cities charge residents more than most other Southland communities when it comes to solar panel installations, according to a new report by the Sierra Club.

Eight local cities charge more than $1,000 in permit fees for a $27,000 project to install standard 3-kilowatt solar panels, according to the survey.

A three-kilowatt, 20-panel system typically costs consumers $27,000. The set-up can provide power to most houses.

"L.A. County (in general) charges fees that are way too high and they do a lot of systems," said Kurt Newick, who conducted the survey. "So this is going to be a wake-up call for them."

In all, 23 San Gabriel Valley cities charge more in fees than the Southern California average of $493 per permit. La Habra Heights tops the list with a fee of $1,572, according to the report.

Cities that charge more for solar installation permits typically base their fees on a project's value, which Sierra Club officials claim is an outdated and inappropriate practice.

Cities like La Habra Heights and San Gabriel -- two of the three highest ranking cities in the Southern California survey -- don't handle many solar panel projects, officials said.

La Habra Heights uses cost for permit pricing. They expect to re-evaluate the plan in the future. Still a building official questioned the merits of the survey.

"I don't really know where they got their information or what they based it on when they said we were the highest," said Yolonda Huapaya, who issues permits for the city. "There is no concrete backing to that."

Huapaya could not provide actual permit costs currently charged by La Habra Heights.

In San Gabriel, officials said the city will change its process.

"Within the next couple weeks, there is going to be a memo with some recommendations for a change," said building division manager Evan Zeisel.

The goal of the Sierra Club survey was to shed light on the high costs of permits and incite change.

The effort was inspired by the Utility Consumers' Action Network, which did a similar survey in San Diego County. The survey spurred all cities to lower their costs, Newick said.

A Sierra Club survey in Northern California also caused cities there to lower rates.

Newick, who works as a solar installer at Horizon Energy Systems, is hoping for similar results in Southern California.

"(Cities) want to do the right thing, but a lot of them don't know what to charge or how to do the permits," Newick said.

Rosemead, where Southern California Edison is based, and Pasadena rank among the lowest in permit prices.

"We do it out of kindness, I suppose," said Rosemead building official James Donovan.

Still, Donovan wasn't sure lower permit fees will encourage people to install solar panel buyers.

"If you are spending $20,000 for a solar electrical system, a $1,000 fee is not a big hit," Donovan said.

Over the past several years, Pasadena Water and Power, which charges about $200 for solar panel permits, has issued 140 approvals, more than any other San Gabriel Valley city.

"The best way to see it as is that you are buying power for the next 25 years," said Pasadena's solar program manager Mauricio Mejia.

The city works with customers to help them qualify for grants, Mejia said.

"We try to lower an obstacle or barrier for people to go solar," Mejia said.

The Bothwell family, who live in Linda Vista, installed their solar panels in 2007.

The 30-panel project cost about $45,000, said Graham Bothwell, a former project manager for Jet Propulsion Laboratories.

"The city is very keen to promote solar power and we benefited from that," Bothwell said. "I think the (solar panels) are wonderful. We are just ever so pleased we have them."

daniel.tedford@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2730

(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services