Some neighborhoods don't take a shine to solar power

Oct 23 - The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri)

Rodney Malisos never thought putting solar panels on his Liberty house would be controversial.

He was so wrong.

It turns out that his homeowners association has rules explicitly prohibiting "solar collectors" on any lot in his neighborhood. Which makes no sense to Malisos.

"That's the way of the future," said Malisos, a physician who also plans to put solar panels on the building where his practice is located.

"I want to do that. I want to put the investment in. And I'm being told no."

Malisos' losing battle may not be too common as of yet, but such conflicts can discourage other homeowners from thinking about solar energy at all, experts and researchers say.

The developer of Malisos' Montclair neighborhood in Liberty makes no apologies for the decision blocking Malisos' panels.

Craig Porter said in an email that lawsuits over solar panels have occurred elsewhere, and he keeps those kinds of court cases in mind when enforcing the homeowners association covenant. If he lets Malisos break the covenant, Porter said, he's going to open "a Pandora's box."

"It isn't wise for the homeowners association to pick and choose what to enforce or when to enforce it," said Porter, who has more than 35 years of experience as a developer. "If it says no in the restrictions, it's got to be no. The covenants and restrictions are recorded as a legal document and are in place for a reason -- to make sure residents don't make any alterations to their property that will diminish the value of other homes in the community."

People have different opinions on what's aesthetic and what's not, Porter said, but once he allows one person an exception, he'll need to allow exceptions for everyone who wants one.

One Independence-based installer said covenants vary across the area, and he needs to be careful to check them before beginning construction.

Josh Frankeberger, vice president of sales and operations for Free Energy Corp., said he learned that lesson the hard way.

A solar project being built on the ground already had been approved by Kansas City, Kansas City Power & Light and even the Water Services Department because the company had to cross a water easement. A neighbor, however, was less than enthusiastic about the project. The developer got involved, and the dispute went to court. The court ruled that the panels be moved from their original position on the ground to the roof, out of the neighbor's line of sight.

Disputes among homeowners associations, developers and residents have been litigated across the country. A Cole County Circuit Court decision in July upheld two St. Louis area homeowners' right to install the panels. Battles between homeowners associations and residents have gone to court in California, Nebraska, Oregon and Georgia.

Some metro area homeowners associations said they have no specific restrictions on solar panels in their covenants and that they would try to work with residents requesting solar panel installations. The associations said the panels should be attached to the back of houses where they can't be seen easily, much like requirements for satellite dishes.

The panels usually are flat and look like skylights.

Malisos is aware of aesthetic concerns, but thinks energy savings should outweigh them.

One day this month Malisos sat at his kitchen table, estimates from various solar panel installation companies fanned out before him. He explained the rebate offered by KCP&L -- which gives a one-time $2-per-watt reimbursement for the solar energy a system produces -- and other tax incentives that make solar energy more affordable for him.

One system that could power his entire house -- appliances, heating and cooling, laundry and all -- would cost him $44,000 initially, but after rebates and incentives, that figure would be slashed to about $20,000. In 12 years, the system will have paid for itself. And in 25 years, Malisos will have saved $36,000, the estimates say.

"Basically, this denial letter that I got is equivalent to Mr. Porter taking $36,000 of my money and burning it in front me," he said.

Restrictions such as the ones that blocked Malisos stand to significantly affect solar development in residential areas, said Philip Haddix, project manager for The Solar Foundation, a Washington, D.C.- based nonprofit that does research and raises awareness about solar energy. In some cases, those restrictions might also conflict with state solar energy laws.

"This is a pretty huge impact to (the residential) market," he said. "A lot of these (covenants) were made before such laws were enacted on the state level or just made without considering them."

And legal battles could put a damper on all those rebates, tax incentives and positive talk about renewable energy. For some people, fighting homeowners associations and neighbors might not be worth it.

"It just has a chilling effect on the installation," said Haddix, whose group hosted a workshop in Kansas City last month to explain the benefits of solar energy to local governments.

Malisos and Frankeberger agree that there needs to be more awareness about the logistics of installing the panels and what they can do for a home.

"It's an education issue," said Frankeberger, who had submitted a bid for Malisos' project. "The homeowners associations are afraid that it's going to bring property value down. I think aesthetics are their primary concern."

When it comes to the bigger push toward renewable energy, Frankeberger sees the current disputes over solar energy as a Catch-22. If homeowners associations block people from installing panels, there won't be enough proof that the energy devices may actually increase property values, he said.

Malisos said solar technology has improved a lot in recent years.

"Even if people want to do this, I think they're being prohibited from doing the right thing because of certain people's opinions that aren't educated about how solar is ready to go live for everyone," he said.

To reach Sangeeta Shastry, call 816-234-4690 or send email to sshastry@kcstar.com.

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