Permitting, Planning, and Zoning Resources

Grow Solar
Growsolar.org has a great set of resources to assist city, county, community and electric utility leaders in the implementation of solar program best practices. The Solar Toolkits, sponsored by SunShot, allow you to access resources to navigate permitting, planning, and zoning in Illinois. Additionally, they provide guides to climate adaption for Chicago municipalities, Chicago PV panel permitting, Chicago solar zoning policy, and a Chicago Green Permit process flow chart.

The International City/County Management Association
The ICMA gives you a glimpse of what other cities, municipalities, and counties have done to ease the solar process for their residents and businesses, as well as a few resources to get started on your own.

SolSmart

SolSmart is a national designation program designed to recognize communities that have taken key steps to address local barriers to solar energy and foster the growth of mature local solar markets. The website shows you how to apply, showcases communities who received designations, and provides resources for your own community to get designated.