Solar energy heating up Clarkson Valley council chambers
Jim and Frances Babb want Clarkson Valley to see the light aboutthe benefits of solar energy.
Instead, they fear city officials are placing a premium on looksand smothering their rights.
The Babbs, who live on Kehrsdale Court in Kehrs mill EstatesWest subdivision, want to install 100 panels on the front of their14-year-old house. the system will save them about 90 percent oftheir energy costs, they said.
The panels would face south, which they said is the bestalignment to pick up the most solar energy.
The couple applied Oct. 14 to the city for a permit to put inthe panels, but the permit is on hold while city officials draw upa new law regulating solar systems.
“I feel we’ve been discriminated against by the city, because itwas only after our application went in that the city decided torestrict solar,” said Jim Babb, an electrical engineer.
Babb said the city should have give him a permit based on itsexisting law.
“State law says solar energy is a property right,” he said. “Ifyour new law is so restrictive that I can’t put solar on the frontof my house, you’ve taken away that right.”
While the law isn’t finalized, some early provisionsinclude:
• Solar panels cannot be on the front or side of a roof andground-mounted solar panels are prohibited.
• for firefighters’ safety and proper roof ventilation, panelswould have to be located at least three feet below theroofline.
• A city permit would be required to install solar panels.
• Any electrical connection to the panels would have to be inaccord with rules of the local utility company.
City officials say they want to make sure any solar systems lawthey approve will ensure safety and keep up property values.
“There’s not a single person on this board against solar panels,and we’re not taking an adversarial position,” Mayor Scott Douglasssaid.
The council is not expected to vote on a final version until atleast January, Douglass said.
In the meantime, the city is seeking comments on the proposedlaw. A Dec. 7 work session was attended by residents and cityofficials of Clarkson Valley and nearby communities, andrepresentatives of solar energy companies.
Ellen Barnett, a neighbor of the Babbs in Kehrs mill Estates,said she was concerned about how the panels would look.
“If it covers the entire roof, it could look trashy,” she said.”The average home price in this city is $500,000 or more. Solarenergy is great, but how long will these panels last? will theyfall off the roof?”
Jim Babb said panels have a 25-year warranty.
The city needs an ordinance that makes it reasonable to putsolar panels on a house, but protects nearby property owners, saidDane Glueck, president of Straight up Solar. Glueck is alsopresident of the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association,which advocates for solar energy growth and reasonablepractices.
Glueck called the proposed law under consideration toorestrictive, such as in denying panels on the front of abuilding.
“It’s based on Frontenac’s, which is the most restrictiveordinance my organization has seen, and I’d hesitate to use it as atemplate,” Glueck said.
Dr. Joseph Gira, a Town & Country resident, told the boardhe’d encountered problems last year in getting a freestanding,ground-mounted solar array installed in his back yard.
The array is about 690 square feet, painted black and less thansix feet tall, and sits near a retaining wall and woods.
“Once the system was set up, our mayor and aldermen saw it wasunobtrusive, and it’s providing a significant percentage of ourenergy,” Gira said.
Town & Country Alderman Phil Behnen said since the Girasystem was approved, the city has approved four more suchinstallations on a case-by-case basis through a permit process andby applicants going to the Planning and Zoning Commission. none ofthose approved requested panels on the front of a house, hesaid.
“We found we can’t restrict solar based on the aestheticsargument, because the courts, time and time again, have thrown thatout,” Behnen told the board.
The move toward investing in solar power has been embraced bynot only homeowners, but local governments, said Chuck Welegala, aWildwood resident, who owns Heartland Alternative Energy.
Manchester recently installed a solar photovoltaic array on thecity’s public works garage roof, and Ballwin is putting a solararray on the roof of the city government center, said Welegala, whoworked as consultant with both cities.
Chesterfield city hall, within the last year, has installed arooftop solar system, called an evacuated tube solar thermalcollector.
Behnen offered Clarkson Valley officials some advice.
“I caution you against setting up too many restrictions,” hesaid. “Instead, you need to be proactive and ask people what thecity can do to help.”
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