Neighbor does not want me to install ground mount solar

[Brucey]

Solar arrays do negatively impact abutting property values, but it also depends a lot on the site/location/property value. This is why my nearest neighbor is 20 miles away from me. My three 12kw arrays only attract some drunk hunters.

They shot em up?

 

[jimf909]

I am sure that if I did a roof mount, it would be a much bigger eyesore for a lot of neighbors as our house is on a hill and our roof can be seen from across another hill too

Is there anyone here who can explain how roof mounted solar panels are an eyesore but roof mounted composite shingles or steel roofing are not an eyesore?

My guess is that 98% of people who call solar panels an eyesore owned PT Cruisers or Chevy HHRs and never once apologized for the hideous eyesore they inflicted on others.

 

[PVGeezer]

Or maybe also the Pontiac Aztek? Nissan Juke? Jeep Compass? Not to let Europe off the hook let me suggest the Citroen 2CV and the Fiat Multipla. If youre living in a house with a funky broken tooth pv array tacked onto it or driving one of these rolling nightmares you don't have to actually look at it much so there's that.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I got a broken tooth array on my roof because of a pair of roof vents (next to each other so only one panel space at least). Bite me. I had a nearly new 30 year roof I wasn't about to tear it up and put the venting on the front of the house. Frankly it doesn't bother me.

 

[mvonw]

They shot em up?

Yeah. Apparently people think they are woke or something

 

[PVGeezer]

I got a broken tooth array on my roof because of a pair of roof vents (next to each other so only one panel space at least). Bite me. I had a nearly new 30 year roof I wasn't about to tear it up and put the venting on the front of the house. Frankly it doesn't bother me.

Chill, I'm cool with it. I dont expect other ppl to meet my aesthetic expectations and don't care if I don't meet theirs. Besides, I can't see your house from Virginia anyhow.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Having dealt with children at school for a couple decades, sometimes giving a this or that choice helps them to feel they have some control. This may not be the case here, but remember that they will very likely eventually get used to whatever you install. And you are doing a good thing to make energy, as well as power during blackouts (hopefully). You could offer emergency power for their phones or whatever when it happens.

Sounds like you are willing to be civil with them and that’s all you can do, regardless of their behavior. Kindness can be powerful.

 

[ymd]

I think the neighbors are under the mistaken assumption they have to approve of your build.
They may think you were asking their permission to allow your panels.

They need to be informed that is not the case.

They need to have it explained the panels are going up.
You only wanted to avoid needing a fence, if they would agree that plants would be a better solution.

If they still argue your panels arent wanted, i would build a steel siding fence the legal limit in height, and tell them to bury their heads in the sand if they dont wanna see it.

You tried.

Get your permission from permitting and hoa and write them off as bad neighbors.
Maybe they will move to get away from the industrial view.

Yes, the neighbors are under the mistaken assumption that if they disapprove I can't build our solar ground mount system. Over the weekend I spoke with the HOA president. He assured me that I have full rights to install Solar on my property as it is against Arizona law for the HOA to prevent me from doing so. I need to submit my plans for the architectural committee who will try to find the best solution that would least affect all parties involved. I took him on a tour of my property and showed him that the roof is not really suitable for solar as there is very little of the roof that is pointing to the South. If I put a pergola on the South side, the panels would directly point at the windows of my South side neighbor who would definitely get mad. He agreed that the best place to put our solar is on the ground where my plans show. As we live in a desert, plants will take several years to grow to camouflage anything if I want to use vegetation to obscure the view for the neighbor. Instead he suggested a steel fence with some designs that could blend with the vegetation. I told him that I will go ahead with getting the permits from the county and after installing the panels we can see how they look and then try to do something. There is no point in wasting time and money to please the neighbor and they might still not like what I do. He kind of agreed to it.

I will see what the county says and go from there.

Thank you all for your suggestions, advice and insights. It is helping me get clarity on how to move forward.

 

[PVGeezer]

If you want to make your neighbors happy maintaining a low array profile can mprove the aesthetics. You don't need a lot of ground clearance for vegetation maintenance like we do in the East so you could go for 2 ft clearance or even less.

Keeping the tiit angle low helps too. If you're net metered then there isn't any real penalty down to around 10 degrees tilt, below which soiling becomes significantly more of a problem. The other way to reduce array height is to install the modules in single rows in landscape. Many commercial rooftop PV support structures are designed that way and could be adapted for ground mount use.

I installed our array at 3 ft ground clearance and a 13 degrees tilt following the contour of our hill because it was both less expensive and because we like the way that looks.





It all depends on how accommodating you want to be.

 

[ymd]

If you want to make your neighbors happy maintaining a low array profile can mprove the aesthetics. You don't need a lot of ground clearance for vegetation maintenance like we do in the East so you could go for 2 ft clearance or even less.

Keeping the tiit angle low helps too. If you're net metered then there isn't any real penalty down to around 10 degrees tilt, below which soiling becomes significantly more of a problem. The other way to reduce array height is to install the modules in single rows in landscape. Many commercial rooftop PV support structures are designed that way and could be adapted for ground mount use.

I installed our array at 3 ft ground clearance and a 13 degrees tilt following the contour of our hill because it was both less expensive and because we like the way that looks.

View attachment 283762



It all depends on how accommodating you want to be.

Thank you for your suggestion. We don't have a lot of space. If we reduce the tilt angle, then we will need more space which I think we don't have.

Given our limitations, I will be as accommodating as possible within reason. If they don't like it even then, I will just meet the county requirements and let my neighbors get used to it.

 

[PVGeezer]

Thank you for your suggestion. We don't have a lot of space. If we reduce the tilt angle, then we will need more space which I think we don't have.

If you have multiple rows lowering the tilt angle allows you to space them closer together without increasing shading, so for larger systems lower tilt frees up space. But for sure if it's a tight space it can sometimes work the other way.

In any case, sounds like you have both the state and the HOA president in your corner so drive on and good luck!

 

[SparkyJJO]

I'm sorry, this is my property, well within my rights and the laws, if you don't like it, I'm sorry, I tried to be accommodating, but in the end you wanted to be a jerk, and I paid for this property and I pay the taxes, so kindly and politely go stuff it.

 

[kolek]

I want to maintain good neighborly relationships. How should I respond to this?

If they hassle you, install one of those giant mirrored parabolic dishes used for solar cooking. Really easy to forget and leave those uncovered and pointing all kinds of random directions.

 

[kolek]

they don't want me to have solar at all.

A lot of folks operate out of plain jealousy. If your wife is better looking than theirs, they won't like that either. Good thing you don't need a permit for a hotter wife.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

We are building our new house and have plans to add a ground mount solar in our back yard. My county requires that if the panels are closer than 50 feet from our property line, we need to install an opaque wall or vegetation that grows higher than the panels to obscure the view from the affected neighbors. To avoid that we can get written permission from the neighbor to not install the wall or plant vegetation. Our plan makes the end of our arrays to be within 40 feet of the property line.

I talked to our neighbor. The old couple said they are worried about the views. I told them that the panels will point to the South and they are on the East side of my property and they will not get any glare. I offered to pay for whatever vegetation they want either on their property or my property to keep their aesthetics. They wanted to see my plans. I should not have shared it, but I emailed the plans to them.

They have replied that they don't will not give me permission as I am installing a "huge" system at an "industry level power plant". He says the system is too big for my family! How the heck would he know what is the size of the system my home would need? That it would be an eyesore and has also urged me to drop the idea as it would affect our views too! He has acknowledged that I have been generous to offer to pay for any vegetation and went on to say that I would maintain the vegetation (which I did not offer). I might sell my property and the future owner might not maintain the vegetation and some wild animals might destroy it. And finally, he has said that he has forwarded my plans to the HOA president to "look into it"!

I know I am on solid ground and nobody can stop me from installing the system on my property. I can simply make 3 arrays instead of 2 and be within the 50' from my property line and that would make it a "bigger eyesore" to them.

I want to maintain good neighborly relationships. How should I respond to this?

re arrange your system so that it stays out of the 50' zone and then when finished tell him to go pound sand.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

You need to know exactly and fully what the published HOA rules are.
You need to know exactly and fully what the county code and ordinances say.
You need to know what state law could override these if it ever goes to court.

In this country, anyone can sue you for any reason at any time, and legal fees are at your expense.
You tried to do the right thing with the neighbor. It is obvious they will fight you whatever you do.
So plan accordingly.

yep theses days it is cheaper to hire an international thug than pay for lawyers these days. contact your local SPLC or ACLU and have them send a couple of their Tren de Aragua clients your way. (its a joke folks... remember America first.... hire some outlaw bikers if available.)

 

[Rednecktek]

Neighbor does not want me to install ground mount​

Well bless his heart...

 

[thishammer]

We are building our new house and have plans to add a ground mount solar in our back yard. My county requires that if the panels are closer than 50 feet from our property line, we need to install an opaque wall or vegetation that grows higher than the panels to obscure the view from the affected neighbors. To avoid that we can get written permission from the neighbor to not install the wall or plant vegetation. Our plan makes the end of our arrays to be within 40 feet of the property line.

I talked to our neighbor. The old couple said they are worried about the views. I told them that the panels will point to the South and they are on the East side of my property and they will not get any glare. I offered to pay for whatever vegetation they want either on their property or my property to keep their aesthetics. They wanted to see my plans. I should not have shared it, but I emailed the plans to them.

They have replied that they don't will not give me permission as I am installing a "huge" system at an "industry level power plant". He says the system is too big for my family! How the heck would he know what is the size of the system my home would need? That it would be an eyesore and has also urged me to drop the idea as it would affect our views too! He has acknowledged that I have been generous to offer to pay for any vegetation and went on to say that I would maintain the vegetation (which I did not offer). I might sell my property and the future owner might not maintain the vegetation and some wild animals might destroy it. And finally, he has said that he has forwarded my plans to the HOA president to "look into it"!

I know I am on solid ground and nobody can stop me from installing the system on my property. I can simply make 3 arrays instead of 2 and be within the 50' from my property line and that would make it a "bigger eyesore" to them.

I want to maintain good neighborly relationships. How should I respond to this?

Just an idea, and really for anyone out there that wants to create a nice barrier quickly (albeit seasonal) growing hop plants (cascade seem to grow the quickest and most prolific in my area) on a tier really makes a quick regenerating privacy wall, and you can brew with fresh hops!

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Well bless his heart...

ya now... maybe we should convince his neighbor to lick the red wire....

 

[AmpD]

I want to say build 3 arrays 50’ away with custom American Eagle ground mounts telling him he is #1.

Having watched all the episodes of “Fear Thy Neighbor” starting long lasting feuds with neighbors seldom ends well for anyone involved.

Before you know it he’ll setup a pellet gun range and say sorry about the stray shots.

Probably the best thing is to build a solid tall wooden fence and move forward. He can stare at that instead. Then avoid any future contact.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Just an idea, and really for anyone out there that wants to create a nice barrier quickly (albeit seasonal) growing hop plants (cascade seem to grow the quickest and most prolific in my area) on a tier really makes a quick regenerating privacy wall, and you can brew with fresh hops!

OK... claiming to be a brew-meister on your first post... this requires some proof... give me an address, I will fly in next week to taste your supposed wares!

 

[Johneb]

If you’re not into brewing yourself you can sell the hops. They bring a nice price on the market.

 

[kendive]

You need to know exactly and fully what the published HOA rules are.
You need to know exactly and fully what the county code and ordinances say.
You need to know what state law could override these if it ever goes to court.

In this country, anyone can sue you for any reason at any time, and legal fees are at your expense.
You tried to do the right thing with the neighbor. It is obvious they will fight you whatever you do.
So plan accordingly.

Why??? I would put in the solar and tell them to pound sand.

Arizona law protects individual homeowners’ private property rights to solar access by "dissolving" any local covenant, restriction or condition attached to a property deed that restricts the use of solar energy.

Also like an HOA stopping you from putting in an Air TV Antenna. You can get the FCC on there butt and the HOA will go away. Can't stop you from that either.

 

[k490]

Why??? I would put in the solar and tell them to pound sand.

Arizona law protects individual homeowners’ private property rights to solar access by "dissolving" any local covenant, restriction or condition attached to a property deed that restricts the use of solar energy.

Also like an HOA stopping you from putting in an Air TV Antenna. You can get the FCC on there butt and the HOA will go away. Can't stop you from that either.

Fighting an HOA in court is costly get what you want to do approved instead of spending 50-100K in legal fees. I don't get why anyone is complaining about an HOA when one chooses to agree to their rules when you bought the home. Arizona law doesn't say an HOA can't place restrictions on the way it's installed. HOA is not allowed to completely ban solar same with FCC and an antenna.

 

[Q-Dog]

Why??? I would put in the solar and tell them to pound sand.

Arizona law protects individual homeowners’ private property rights to solar access by "dissolving" any local covenant, restriction or condition attached to a property deed that restricts the use of solar energy.

Also like an HOA stopping you from putting in an Air TV Antenna. You can get the FCC on there butt and the HOA will go away. Can't stop you from that either.

The HOA can't prevent you from installing solar, but they can make reasonable regulations about where or how you can install solar. If you don't agree with these rules, don't join (buy into) the HOA.