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Clarkson Valley backed down on plans to restrict the use of solar panels on residential homes in the city.
The Board of Aldermen had considered adding more rigorous requirements, in particular for roof-mounted solar panels.
There were two bills proposed at the board’s June 2 meeting. 
One proposed bill would have removed “devices for the generation of energy, such as solar panels and similar devices” as an accessory use from city code. It would also remove language associated with special use regulations that “solar energy systems may be approved by the board of aldermen.” This means solar panels would only require relevant permits from the city.
The other bill would have amended the city’s land use code by adding a new chapter on solar energy systems. 
Under the regulations proposed, solar energy collectors would have to be located on the back- or side-facing roof. Systems could not be located on front-facing roofs of a primary or accessory structure. 
The proposed regulations would mean solar energy collectors could be installed on front-facing roofs only when the front-facing roof is not in line of sight or visible from the street frontage due to elevation, topography or berms. Additional restrictions would have required solar energy collectors to be positioned in a symmetrical fashion, and applied regulations to ground-mounted solar systems as well.
Several residents attended the June 2 meeting to voice their displeasure over these proposed new regulations.  
Frances Babb, a longtime proponent of solar panels, previously sued Clarkson Valley over solar panels and won. She also helped to defeat similar solar legislation proposed in Wildwood.
Babb said a well-designed solar energy system can produce up to six figures worth of electricity in its lifetime.
Babb said Missouri law recognizes the right to utilize solar energy as a property right.
“Sadly, to protect those rights you need to sue,” she noted.
Bryan Meyers said a legal precedent had already been set in the Missouri Supreme Court case of Eikmeier v. Granite Springs Homeowners Association, which ruled that the association’s rule prohibiting street-facing solar panels adversely affected cost and efficiency and could not be enforced under the statute.
The bill removing solar energy systems from accessory land uses and special use regulations was approved. 
The bill to add new regulations to solar energy systems did not pass. 
 
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