Upper St. Clair Creating Ordinance for Solar Panels
As use rises, the ordinance will place regulations and restrictions on solar photovoltaic systems.
The Upper St. Clair commissioners are scheduled to vote on an ordinance amendment for solar panels in the township.
A Penn Future representative said residential use of solar panels is on the rise. He said there is plenty of sun in Pittsburgh to produce energy.
The amendment will restrict where residents can put solar panels on their property, and require screening and setbacks. Solar panels on the front of a roof would be required to be parallel to the roof and no panels would be allowed to go over the height of the roof.
Signage and advertising would also be prohibited.
Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the ordinance amendment on Monday, Jan. 7.
The compilation of the ordinance amendment was funded through a grant.
34TigerLily
12:23 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
Our commissioners are a bunch of idiots if they approve this ordinance. We need to encourage the use of solar panels, not restrict where they can be placed on a house.
Deirdre Hughes Lovelace
1:33 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
Kudos to 34TigerLily!! You are so very right! Gotta make sure things "look right" vs. "doing right" on these types of things. We wouldn't want to have houses becoming more GREEN and energy efficient if it effects "the look" of a house, right?? Funny that our school district is doing all these things to be "green" --- no paper and using e-alerts, etc. and yet, we need to put an ordinance in on this? UGH!
Glenn Robinson
2:08 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
"Solar panels on the front of a roof would be required to be parallel to the roof...." Thus reducing the effectiveness of the panels if the house doesn't happen to face the right direction.
Any location or size restrictions can reduce the effectiveness and/or viability of the panels. That in turn will remove solar power as an option for many homeowners. The benefit goes then to the electric/gas companies.
No, we don’t need to regulate something that is not a problem to begin with.
Preston Shimer
3:34 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
Patch indicates that the development of this ordinance was funded by a grant. I wonder who provided the grant. It is a bit unusual for granting agencies to provide funding for restrictive ordinances like this.
Jim
4:48 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
Everything in Uppity St Clair has to "LOOK" good. Even though Zoning regulations based on aesthetics are ILLEGAL, St Clair has done it for over 30 years. Saving energy isn't as important as how the neighborhood "LOOKS" !!
Becky Brindle
5:27 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Here is the update: http://patch.com/A-0T4Y It also addresses some of your questions/concerns.