Big Steps In Building: Remove Stupid Rules That Are Making It Hard To Go Green
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 05.12.08
Even Al Gore had to fight to put solar panels on the roof of his house, taking extra time, money, and a lot of abuse from the right whiners. In fact there are all kinds of zoning bylaws, condo rules, homeowners associations and even building code rules that make it harder to go green. In Arizona, with 300 days of sun per year, they just passed legislation to prevent homeowners associations from stopping solar panel installation. Illinois state Democratic Rep. Karen May, a sponsor of a "solar rights bill" says "If you're going to have local governments and condo associations saying, 'Solar panels are ugly,' that's a real stumbling block."
USA Today tells of one family that wanted to outfit their roof with solar panels. The local homeowners association, the Burke Centre Conservancy, was "flat-out against it" because of worries about how it would look, James Draheim says. His reaction: "You've got this energy just falling on your property and you're not allowed to use it because of aesthetics?"
Now eight states have "solar rights" laws to prevent lower levels of government from restricting the installation of solar power. But even in California, the first state to have such a rule, people are still fighting with buildings departments. Although the law says that local officials can only look at "health and safety" issues, planners in Pismo Beach say that nothing in the rules prevents the City from imposing height limits on solar installations.
In much of the world, every house has a solar water heater; here they are hard to find. No doubt if you went to install one, the local zoning examiner would question its height, the structural examiner would want a load calculation, the plumbing examiner would demand endless calculations and a separate conventional heater just in case the sun went out.
Big Step in Building: Let's have national regulations that remove all restrictions and covenants limiting the installation of solar hot water and photovoltaic systems from housing. ::USA Today
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in my exoerience lower levels of government are usualy leftest democrats that limit any addl building on YOU'r property PS i'm from chicago
How about the right to line dry clothes? Most condo and housing associations, and even some towns make it illegal to do so. At what cost are we valuing aesthetics over environment? Solar rights needs to tie into drying rights (and local weed ordinances that say you can't have tall grass prairie as landscape, and diversion laws that outlaw rainbarrels, etc., etc.,...)
"At what cost are we valuing aesthetics over environment?"
Keep in mind that a lot of HOA agreements & covenants etc. got their start in life as a way to keep the "wrong" people (too poor, too brown) from buying a home in the area.
...so they're well-practiced at the art of being Evil while staying within the letter of the law. Damaging the environment is probably just an amusing sideline for them.
[disclaimer: I work in engineering & construction, and am therefore probably biased against deed restrictions etc.]
As I stated in another response, There is a company called Lumet that's making peel and stick photo voltaic roof panels that can be installed by ordinary roofers that don't stick out like a sore thumb. I'm sure that there could be no objection to something like this.
I believe you are referring to Innovalight found at the following link.
http://www.innovalight.com/
Solar access rights and simplified zoning and permitting to expedite renewable energy installations are extremely important. But they can't trump all other zoning and regulations as a matter of law, and as good planning and development practice.
I think that most of the objections are based on aesthetic concerns that are generally unwarranted. But I've seen my share of ugly and intrusive solar installations.
A well designed building should not find it hard to merge solar and other renewable power into a project that can abide by (most) local building codes and regulations.
I totally aggree with you except for one point--I believe in California now, if your tree blocks where the light shines on somebody's solar pannel, you can be forced to remove it. I guess that's an argument about "your" tree vs "their" sunlight, but I'm force to side with the tree. Unless perhaps the solar pannel came first and a growing tree is begining to block the sunlight
When did we start to consider suburbia "aesthetically pleasing"?
We just got a PV laminate installation approved for a project we're doing in the local historical district. previous attempts at solar in the district have been denied due to aesthetics and them not fitting in with historical context, so this is a pretty big for us since we're setting a new precedent.
Unfortunately, the solution to this challenge is local government catching up with business. That's not likely, especially when rooftop solar installations are denied for "aesthetic" reasons.
First off, I dispise home owners associations, the people running them tend to be the "I'm wealthy and look at my pretty house" yuppie types, and second, where do they get off telling people to not conserve energy, not allow solar panels, or make people mow their lawn every 5 days (had a landlord like that) which is just wasting more resources, all for what?? Having the prettiest yard on the street? No, thats not what its about anymore, it cant be, there is not room left in this world for our vainess and lack of concern for the environment just to please the HOA.
I say you throw the solar panels up, hang your close out on a line coming from your bedroom window and give them the bird when they complain to you about it!