Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit — Town Planning Clearance + Mesa County Building Permit in Palisade, Colorado

Palisade requires a solar photovoltaic (pv) permit — town planning clearance + mesa county building permit for: STEP 1 (Town prerequisite for Palisade specifically): Obtain a Town of Palisade Planning Clearance from the Community Development Department (175 East 3rd Street / P.O. Box 128, Palisade, CO 81526; planning@townofpalisade.org; (970) 464-5602) before Mesa County will issue the PV building/electrical permit — the Basic Planning Clearance application form ($10 flat fee) covers 'service upgrades and/or similar actions which do not change the scale, use or character of a structure,' with an 'Electrical Work Included' checkbox, and is the most likely applicable clearance category for a roof-mount solar installation, though the form does not explicitly enumerate 'solar' or 'photovoltaic' as a named example; STEP 2: Submit the Mesa County Building Department PV permit application per the Mesa County Photovoltaic Guide (rev. 7/20/2023) — structural certification report verifying the existing roof framing supports the array (115 mph wind speed design criteria), three-line diagram, component spec sheets, and roof layout; Total project valuation (modules, inverters, remaining electrical work, structural alterations) determines the Mesa County permit fee per Table 2 of the County's fee schedule; Ground-mount PV systems require a Town of Palisade planning clearance regardless of jurisdiction, per the Mesa County Photovoltaic Guide's explicit statewide-jurisdiction list; All commercial and ground-mount PV system designs require structural, foundation, and electrical drawings stamped and signed by a Colorado Professional Engineer, per the Mesa County Photovoltaic Guide. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Town of Palisade Community Development Department (Planning Clearance — Step 1) + Mesa County Building Department (Building Permit — Step 2) at Town of Palisade Community Development: (970) 464-5602. Mesa County Building Department: (970) 244-1631 before starting work.

In Palisade, the published Town of Palisade Planning Clearance (Basic) is: $10.00 flat fee. Additional published fees: Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Hot Tubs, Pools & Spas Permit Fee (applies to PV system electrical scope, issued by Mesa County) — Valuation-based per Mesa County Table 2 Permit Fee Schedule. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Palisade does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Town of Palisade Community Development Department (Planning Clearance — Step 1) + Mesa County Building Department (Building Permit — Step 2) at Town of Palisade Community Development: (970) 464-5602. Mesa County Building Department: (970) 244-1631 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Town of Palisade Planning Clearance: Basic application; Mesa County Photovoltaic Guide Submittal Package; Mesa County Application for Permit to Build. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Palisade requires 2 inspection(s) for a solar photovoltaic (pv) permit — town planning clearance + mesa county building permit, in order: Rough Electrical, Final. Schedule each through Town of Palisade Community Development Department (Planning Clearance — Step 1) + Mesa County Building Department (Building Permit — Step 2) (Town of Palisade Community Development: (970) 464-5602. Mesa County Building Department: (970) 244-1631).

Apply through Town of Palisade Community Development Department (Planning Clearance — Step 1) + Mesa County Building Department (Building Permit — Step 2) at Town of Palisade Community Development: 175 East 3rd Street, P.O. Box 128, Palisade, CO 81526. Mesa County Building Department: 200 S. Spruce Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501 (mailing: PO Box 20,000-5005, Grand Junction, CO 81502-5001). Phone: Town of Palisade Community Development: (970) 464-5602. Mesa County Building Department: (970) 244-1631, email: planning@townofpalisade.org (Town Planning Clearance); mccomdev@mesacounty.us (Mesa County Building Department). Office hours: Town of Palisade: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mesa County Building Department: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; permit issuance after 4:30 p.m. is on a limited basis (Source: Mesa County Building Department Fees page).. Official information: https://palisade.colorado.gov/departments/community-development-planning (Town Planning Clearance); https://www.mesacounty.us/departments-and-services/community-development/building (Mesa County Building Department, actual permit issuer).

Palisade, Colorado has adopted: AUTHORITY MODEL NOTE: Colorado has no statewide building code (home-rule state); each city or county adopts and amends its own. Colorado does set a statutory statewide energy-code floor via HB22-1362 (requiring jurisdictions that adopt a building code to also adopt the most current or immediately preceding edition of the IECC on a rolling basis) and separate ADU-related state statutes (e.g., HB24-1152). The Town of Palisade has NOT adopted its own separate building code — it relies on Mesa County's adopted code cycle for all building, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permitting, per Mesa County's own department description ('supplies permits, and current codes for building projects in ... the towns of De Beque, Collbran, Palisade, and the City of Grand Junction').; Mesa County Building Department began enforcement of a new adopted-code cycle effective September 1, 2025 (per Mesa County Ordinance adopting and amending Building Codes, in compliance with HB21-1110). Source: Mesa County Adopted Codes and Regulations page. This is the same code cycle documented in this corpus's grand-junction.json (same issuing department).; 2024 International Building Code (IBC) — Mesa County adopted code, effective enforcement September 1, 2025, applies within Palisade town limits; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — Mesa County adopted code, effective enforcement September 1, 2025; 2024 International Residential Code (IRC) — Mesa County adopted code, effective enforcement September 1, 2025; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — Mesa County adopted code, effective enforcement September 1, 2025; 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — Mesa County adopted code; enforcement began September 1, 2025 'in compliance with House Bill 22-1362'; Colorado Plumbing and Fuel Gas Code, 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC), 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — all state/county-adopted per Mesa County's Adopted Codes page, applying identically within Palisade town limits; Town of Palisade Land Development Code (LDC), most recently the July 2023 Revision — this is a ZONING/LAND-USE code, not a building code; it governs the Town's own Planning Clearance process (Section 4.08) and does not itself set building-code technical standards. Local amendments apply — see the Palisade overview page for the full list.

Yes. Unlike Grand Junction, the Mesa County Photovoltaic Guide explicitly requires a Town of Palisade Planning Clearance before Mesa County — the actual permit-issuing authority — will issue the PV building/electrical permit for a residential roof-mount system. Ground-mount systems require this Town clearance in every jurisdiction, including Palisade.