Clarkson Valley is the latest municipality to propose regulations on residential rooftop solar panels.
A four-month moratorium on solar energy system applications began in December while officials studied and reviewed policies.
An attempt to extend the moratorium in March was unsuccessful, and it expired on April 1.
The city is now developing new legislation to address the issue.
Earlier this month, the Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend that solar energy collectors be installed on back or side-facing roofs only. Front-facing roof installations would be prohibited on primary or accessory structures, and solar panel profiles cannot be visible from street frontage.
On corner lots or properties with multiple street frontages, any side roof facing a street is considered a front-facing roof.
One exception allows solar energy collectors on front-facing roofs when elevation, topography, or berms prevent visibility from the street.
The two dissenting commissioners suggested eliminating placement restrictions entirely, according to Clarkson Valley City Administrator/City Clerk Megan Eldridge.
Solar energy advocate Frances Babb views the proposal as a setback for the community.
“We have solar homes with front facing panels now that are not centered or symmetrical,” she explained. “Requiring arrays to be centered and symmetrical on a roof plane will significantly shrink energy production as much as 50%. This has a negative effect on property values and will be a hindrance to folks that want to install batteries.”
Babb notes that most Clarkson Valley homes sit on one-acre lots or smaller and cannot accommodate ground mounts. When ground mounts are allowed, height is limited to 10 feet, she added.
She emphasized that each home and lot presents unique circumstances.
“It’s going to cause a lot of hard feelings when one home is denied the best position of their system, while a nearby house facing another way is allowed to use their best roof, even though both houses have equal visibility from a road,” she said.
Wildwood faced comparable challenges with solar panel regulations.
After receiving multiple conditional use permit requests for front-facing solar panels, the city adopted comparable guidelines in November 2023 permitting front-facing panels under specific conditions.
Applicants must first submit a permit application to the Planning Department.
On sloped roofs, solar energy collectors must be positioned symmetrically, centered on the roof plane, installed parallel to the slope, and cannot extend above the roof peak.
Additionally, solar collectors must have reflectivity below 30% or be positioned to prevent concentrated sunlight or glare from affecting adjacent properties or streets.
Ground-mounted solar systems are not permitted.
Resident Pat Wood argues that because his home’s solar panels are uniform in color, they blend in well.
“Is black glass worse to look at than asphalt shingles?” he questions. “It’s not as if people are painting bright, yellow smiley faces on their roofs.”
Eldridge stated she is completing the legislation for the Board of Aldermen, which will be presented at the June 2 meeting.
