Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Energy Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges council to revisit rules limiting street-facing solar panels
Summary
Dan Hicks told the Vandalia City Council on March 3 that current zoning prevents rooftop solar panels on street-facing roofs and prohibits ground-mounted arrays; he asked the council to consider revisiting those rules to increase residential solar adoption.
Dan Hicks, a Vandalia resident of 534 Raider Drive, used public comment time at the March 3 meeting to urge the council to revisit local zoning that he said restricts rooftop solar panels on street-facing elevations and precludes ground-mounted arrays. Hicks said rising electric costs motivated his interest: after several high summer electric bills he convinced his wife to install solar elsewhere and urged the city to update rules that limit where panels can be placed.
Hicks described his own house as facing south and said the zoning prohibition blocks the most efficient placement of panels. He asked the council to “look at exemptions” or to consider rewriting zoning to allow more flexibility, and suggested those changes would help residents reduce energy costs and invest in their properties. He also pointed to broader energy-market pressures and called solar a way to build local resilience.
Council members said the topic has been discussed previously and that it may be revisited in future policy work; no formal action or referral to staff was recorded during the meeting.
Hicks’ remarks were recorded during the public-comment period; they were not tied to a staff report or an agenda item during the March 3 meeting.
