Homeowner finds it's not easy being green

Daniel Hall said he wanted to put solar collection panels on the roof of his Canton home as a green way to generate hot water and cut his utility bill for his 3,600-square-foot home.The township gave him the permits, but the Pheasant View Homeowners' Association turned down his project, saying that it wouldn't be aesthetically compatible with the rest of the neighborhood. He can't install the panels without the association's approval because the township requires it.
"I will fight," Hall, 48, said. "I'm weighing my options at this point."
A licensed engineer and a construction superintendent, Hall said the three, 4-foot-by 8-foot panels -- which contain water tubes and are covered with a glass -- will look like skylights. He said a high-efficiency boiler he installed in December has decreased his gas bills from $900 to $1,000 a month to $600 a month. He said the solar collection system will save him an additional 50% on his utility bill.
Dee Heinze, president of the homeowners association, said she was not on the Architectural Review Committee and had no comment on why Hall's plan was rejected.
A letter from the committee dated April 25 said it voted to deny the request "for aesthetic reasons." The letter said that the request was "the first of its kind" for the subdivision.
Hall said he may go to Wayne County Circuit Court and ask a judge to clear the way for the panels. He also plans to enlist the help of lawmakers to pass a bill prohibiting associations from restricting solar panels.
Mark Makower, an attorney with Dickinson Wright PLLC in Bloomfield Hills, represents 650 homeowner associations. He said that prior to three years ago, he couldn't recall a case in which a person asked to make a change to the exterior of his or her home related to energy efficiency. Alternative energy is relatively new in Michigan, he said.
"This is clearly going to be the trend of the future," Makower said. "You need to set up policies to address these things, unless you want the government to start making your rules for you."
David Congdon, office manager for Mechanical Energy Systems of Canton, the company that sold Hall his system, said two other customers are waiting for approval but that others have all been approved by their associations. The company has sold more than 1,900 systems designed to heat pools and two dozens systems similar to Hall's.
"The people wanting solar installations now has doubled in the past year," Congdon said.


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