By Eliza Ridgeway

The Los Altos Hills City Council unanimously voted last week to become the first city in the area to eliminate solar energy permit fees.

Councilman Craig Jones initiated the measure to demonstrate that the town is “pro-solar,” he said. “I want to send a very clear message that solar is not only allowed but highly encouraged by our town.”

The council had previously considered a public subsidy for solar power but dismissed the plan as too expensive. Jones described the elimination of permit fees as a “symbolic gesture” with a smaller fiscal impact.

Planning Director Carl Cahill reported that Los Altos Hills collected $8,800 in solar fees thus far in 2005, and estimated the planned ordinance would have a comparable price tag.

According to Jones, the average permit fee in town is $348, lower than the majority of Bay Area cities. The Sierra Club recommends that municipal solar project fees fall below $300, Jones said, and the town’s environmental initiatives committee recently suggested a reduction to $50 per permit.

The proposed ordinance would not waive fees for variance requests, such as applications to locate solar installations in setbacks or conservation easements. Applications are already exempt from plan check and roadway impact fees.

Mayor Breene Kerr said that the town’s move would complement a statewide solar reform the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) introduced last week. The commission is slated to enact most of the provisions of the Million Solar Homes Ordinance bogged down in the state legislature, Kerr said.

The PUC’s $3 billion incentive program allocates funding for state rebates for solar power system installation. Los Altos Hills resident Jay Shideler said that when he installed a $38,000 system in his home, a $17,000 rebate and $6,000 tax credit reduced his net cost by more than half.

“For an average house in California, a 3,000-watt system will cost about $25,000 and would get a rebate of $6,000-7,000,” Shideler said. “A big house would probably break even in five years, because (the solar) will take the homeowner out of the top (energy fee) bracket.”

Kerr said that the local effect of the statewide reforms would be stable funding and support for larger systems. “I think we’ll see some larger systems,” he said. “Some of the larger homes have been putting in smaller systems.”

The new town hall has a 37-kilowatt system with 176 solar panels.