Solar tiles for Bonita Springs, flood paperwork included.

Bonita Springs Tesla Solar Roof questions

What is the SFHA Cost of Improvements Form and will I have to file one?

It is the City's substantial improvement and substantial damage review, and it is completed as part of the permit application submittal for buildings located in a special flood hazard area as identified on FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Map. It cites 44 CFR Sections 59.1 and 60.3 as the basis for the 50% rule, and it is sworn and notarized. Whether it attaches to your project depends on whether your building is mapped in the SFHA, which we check against your parcel at the site assessment rather than guessing from the neighborhood.

How does the City decide what my building is worth?

You elect the method on the form. Building value is either the Lee County Property Appraiser's Office valuation, which requires no appraisal from you, or a State Certified Appraiser's report reflecting like-kind replacement cost depreciated for age, wear and tear, neglect and quality of construction, for the building exclusively. Construction value is either the City's square-footage schedule, based on current published International Code Council Building Valuation Data, or an itemized cost breakdown with supporting documentation. Which combination serves you is a real decision and we walk it with you.

Does a re-roof count toward the 50% rule?

That determination belongs to the City, and we will not answer it for them on a webpage. The City's square-footage valuation schedule lists addition and remodel categories such as living area additions, interior remodels, and enclosures, and re-roofing is not one of its lines, so how a roof-covering scope is valued is confirmed with Community Development rather than assumed. What we do is raise it at the start of the project instead of discovering it at submittal, because the answer can change where equipment is allowed to go.

Why does this matter beyond the permit?

Because the City says so directly on the form. The substantial damage and substantial improvement review is required for a property owner's continued access to flood insurance, disaster assistance, grants, and federally backed loans. It is not paperwork that ends when the permit issues. That is the reason we treat it as a first-order step rather than an administrative afterthought.

Is my electric provider Bonita Springs Utilities?

No, and this is a common local mix-up. Bonita Springs Utilities Inc. is a water and wastewater cooperative and does not supply electricity. Your electric provider in Bonita Springs is Florida Power & Light. That distinction decides how the solar interconnection is governed: FPL is investor-owned, so Florida Administrative Code Rule 25-6.065 applies, with Tier 1 defined as 10 kW or less and no liability insurance permitted to be required at that tier. Neighboring Cape Coral is served by a cooperative, which sits outside that rule and sets its own terms.

What is the City's flood rating and is it good?

Bonita Springs holds a Community Rating System class of 5 and states a 25% flood insurance discount for National Flood Insurance Program policies, referencing properties in the special flood hazard areas. That rates better than neighboring Estero, which participates at Class 6. What the discount is worth on your policy depends on whether your property sits inside the special flood hazard area, so confirm it with your carrier rather than treating it as a flat citywide number.

Do I pull a Bonita Springs permit or a Lee County permit?

A City of Bonita Springs permit. The City incorporated in 1999 and its Community Development Department issues its own building permits through an online Civic Access portal. Permits are required for repairs in the special flood hazard area specifically, which the City has publicly reminded residents of after storms. An address outside city limits goes to Lee County instead, so jurisdiction is confirmed by address before anything is filed.

What wind speed does a Bonita Springs roof have to be designed for?

Lee County is mapped between the 150 mph and 160 mph ultimate design wind speed contours in Figure 1609.3(1) of the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code, and the whole county sits inside the Wind-Borne Debris Region because it is mapped above 140 mph. The figure for a specific address comes from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool at design time. Bonita Springs is not in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, which covers Miami-Dade and Broward only, so statewide Florida Product Approval applies rather than a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance. Tesla Solar Roof V4 is rated to 194 mph per Tesla published specifications.