Long Beach, CA · July – August 2022 · Southern California Edison / County of Los Angeles Public Works

A Long Beach address, and a permit from the county

Same ZIP code, same street, same utility. A different building department, a different inspection card and a different office to call — because the parcel is not in the city at all.

Written by the Cali Energy project team · California contractor license 1032379 · Updated September 2026

This 4.8 kW system has a Long Beach address, but the parcel is unincorporated Los Angeles County, so the permit came from Los Angeles County Public Works rather than the city's Building & Safety Bureau. Cali Energy installed twelve modules with an Enphase IQ8M microinverter under each on a concrete tile roof, with the array's junction box at the module edge and the run taken down the tile to the wall equipment.

At a glance

System

4.8 kW roof mount — 12 modules

Inverters

Enphase IQ8M, one per module

Roof

Concrete tile

Permit

Los Angeles County Public Works, July 2022

Why

The parcel is unincorporated county, not city

Inspection

Signed 12 August 2022

Utility / AHJ

Southern California Edison / LA County Public Works

The story

The mail here says Long Beach. The ZIP code says Long Beach. The neighbors are in Long Beach. The permit is not from Long Beach, and finding that out after filing with the wrong department costs two weeks nobody planned for.

Pockets of unincorporated Los Angeles County sit inside the same streets and the same postal boundaries as the city. On those parcels the city's Building & Safety Bureau has no jurisdiction: the building permit, the plan review and the inspection all come from Los Angeles County Public Works, which runs its own offices, its own card and its own booking line.

Practically, the difference matters in three places. The application goes to a different counter. The inspection card is a different card, posted at the property, signed by a county inspector rather than a city one. And when anything needs chasing, the number to call belongs to a district office that may be nowhere near the house.

The array itself is the straightforward half: twelve modules on a concrete tile roof with a microinverter under each, a junction box at the edge of the array where the trunk cable is gathered, and a flexible run down the tile to the equipment on the wall. Tile is slower to work than composition shingle — every attachment means lifting tiles and setting a hook that carries the rail above them — and it is the reason the cable stays tied along the rail rather than resting anywhere it could be walked on.

The permit was issued in the third week of July and the inspection signed on 12 August. Four point eight kilowatts, twelve modules, and a card from a department most people in the neighborhood have never had to deal with.

If you are getting quotes and your address is on the edge of a city boundary, it is worth asking which department will issue the permit. An installer who assumes the city and files there loses the time it takes to find out.

How it ran

Same street, same ZIP, same utility — and a permit from a department the city does not run.

What we did

• Established that the parcel is unincorporated county and filed with Los Angeles County Public Works rather than the city.
• Installed twelve modules on concrete tile with an Enphase IQ8M microinverter under each.
• Set the tile hooks so the rail carries above the covering rather than on it.
• Gathered the trunk at a junction box on the array edge and ran it down the tile.
• Tied every cable along the rail so nothing rests on the tile.
• Took the work through the county inspection, signed 12 August 2022.

System specifications

Is your project like this one?

• Your address says one city and you are not sure which department permits it.
• Your roof is concrete tile and you have been told it is difficult.
• You live near a city boundary or in an unincorporated pocket.
• Your quote assumes a city permit and nobody has checked.
• You want to know what tile changes about a solar installation.

Cali Energy in Long Beach

Frequently asked questions

My address says Long Beach — why is the permit from the county?

Because postal addresses and city boundaries are not the same thing. Unincorporated pockets of Los Angeles County sit inside the same ZIP codes and streets as the city, and on those parcels the city has no jurisdiction. The permit, the plan review and the inspection come from Los Angeles County Public Works instead, with its own card and its own offices.

What changes if the county permits instead of the city?

The counter you file at, the card posted at the property and the number you call to book or chase an inspection. The technical requirements are much the same. What costs time is finding out late: an application filed with the wrong department has to be withdrawn and filed again, and that is two weeks nobody planned for.

Is solar harder to install on concrete tile?

Slower rather than harder. Every attachment means lifting tiles and setting a hook that carries the rail above the covering, and tiles break if they are walked on carelessly. The array itself performs identically. What tile really costs is time on the roof and care about where anybody puts their feet.

Does Cali Energy work on unincorporated parcels near Long Beach?

Yes, and checking which authority actually has jurisdiction is part of the quote rather than something discovered later. Cali Energy files with Los Angeles County Public Works where the parcel is unincorporated and with the city's Building & Safety Bureau where it is not. License CSLB #1032379.

What this would look like on your roof

Related

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This timeline reflects this property and this permitting path. Updated September 2026.