By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Robert Caffro found a solar solution for his home, then acquired a problem that’s cast a cloud on his plan.
The front of Bob Caffro's house; solar panels would be on the rear roof.
Caffro’s homeowners association in his neighborhood in Chester County west of Philadelphia denied his request to install the low-profile rooftop solar panels that he’d arranged to buy at Home Depot.
The governing group sent him a letter on Jan. 5 citing this clause in the neighborhood’s rules:
“Any addition, enclosure, garage, appurtenant building, fence, wall, planting or other improvement or modification erected, placed or maintained within a Unit shall be harmonious in design with the single family residential dwelling within the Unit.”
Which left Caffro, 45, scratching his head over the meaning of the word “harmonious.”
He thought the black rooftop solar panels he had selected were harmonious with the traditional homes in the Brook Crossing subdivision where he bought his four-bedroom home about five years ago. The 34-panel array by BP Solar was to be affixed to the back-facing slope of the roof of his two-story home, rising less than four inches above the shingles, and following the same grade of the roof, he said. It would be architecturally unobtrusive.
His neighbors to the rear of the house would see “essentially a black roof” that would blend in, he said. Caffro also reasoned that such a home improvement would add value to his house, a positive for the neighborhood, and the earth. It would have powered his entire house, virtually eliminating his reliance on fossil fuels and greatly diminishing monthly electricity bills.
“Who stops someone from doing something that’s good for the planet, lowers your costs for energy and helps you survive?” he asks.
In this case, the “who” appears to be two members of the HOA: President Thomas Madonna, and the vice president, Marc Marucci. Both are named on the denial letter to Caffro, which is signed by Marucci, who did not return an email asking for more information on the denial issued to Caffro. Madonna also did not respond.
Solar panels that would be similar to Caffro's, on a nearby house. Caffro's would be framed in black. (Photo: Bob Caffro)
Whatever Marucci and Madonna were thinking, they are not the only ones who view solar panels with trepidation. Across the U.S., there have been countless neighborhood skirmishes over solar panels, sometimes leaving embittered homeowners with no choice but to move away from their carefully controlled housing developments to places where they can exercise their on-site energy plans. Perhaps more often, homeowners likely just gave up on the idea.
But discouraging homeowners from becoming solar consumers is less in fashion than it might have been at another time. With federal and state incentives aimed at helping property owners make the leap to renewable energy projects, states are passing additional laws to shore up homeowners’ rights — and homeowners’ associations are finding that they don’t always have the authority to intercede.
The state of Arizona has a law dating to the 1970s that protects homeowners’ private property rights, allowing them “solar access” that supersedes any conflicting language in their deed restrictions. The law survived a legal challenge in Maricopa County in 2000, when a Superior Court judge ruled against an association trying to force homeowners to take down their rooftop panels.
A recent Arizona law clarified matters, stating that homeowners’ groups cannot deny a resident’s right to add solar energy devices, but can adopt “reasonable rules” about their placement. While the law returns some authority to the neighborhood associations, it also confirms the rights of homeowners, stating that the rules around solar devices should not “prevent the installation of devices” or impair their performance.
California went through a similar process, with legislation in 2005 expanding upon the coverage of a 1978 “solar access” law.
In fact, more than half of states have laws pertaining to residential solar installations, according to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE). Many of them are “access” laws that directly help protect a homeowner’s right to install solar power generation equipment. Many others, however, deal with mainly with easements for solar and wind installations. These easement laws also aid “access” by making it legal for governmental entities to create buffer zones and set up other provisions for wind and solar installations. These laws pave the way so that industrial, commercial or residential buildings can position solar arrays to get adequate sunlight (or place wind turbines to catch the wind) and local authorities can permit such projects.
But many easement laws are silent on the dilemma of homeowners whose HOAs have issued ambiguous wording or outright restrictions against solar or wind projects.
So far, Pennsylvania currently has neither a solar easement nor access law, though neighboring Rhode Island and New Jersey have easement legislation.
Pennsylvania State Rep. Tom Houghton (D-Chester) proposed legislation earlier this month to remove obstacles for homeowners who want to install renewable energy. “As we continue to wage a battle between over-reliance on fossil fuel and rising energy costs, we must provide support to homeowners and consumers who wish to utilize alternative energy sources,” he said in a news release.
Caffro, a former safety director for a transportation company who was left with disabilities after being hit by a car a few years ago, lives partly on disability assistance. He said he checked the homeowner’s covenants when he moved in five years ago, and did not find any mention of solar panels. He assumed that meant they would be allowed.
The letter from Caffro’s homeowner’s association does not elaborate on any potential harm from the solar panels, but notes that the two officers of the HOA, after consulting an attorney, determined that “… solar panel arrays are not harmonious in design with the design of your unit or that of others in the community.”
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