Battle over solar energy in Wildwood pits homeowner against City Hall | #citycouncil

It’s not really a fight he wants to have. But 10 months after filing a request to put solar panels on his roof to decrease energy costs, he feels like he doesn’t have a choice.

The city government, led by Mayor Jim Bowlin, has delayed approval and then denied it. And the city council has proposed a new ordinance that would make it nearly impossible to efficiently use solar energy in homes.

The entire process has been “pretty frustrating,” Downey says. “It didn’t seem like we were having a serious conversation.”

So earlier this month, Downey took matters into his own hands. He sued the city in federal court, alleging a “taking” of his property rights.

“Under the existing law, Downey has a right to install solar panels on his home in the city in the lawful manner that he proposes,” the lawsuit reads, “as is exemplified by others installing solar panels in a very similar manner under the existing law prior to Downey’s permit application.”

The dispute started last August, when Downey filed for a conditional use permit to install solar panels on the front of his roof, which faces west. There is not a house across the street from Downey’s home in the Wynncrest subdivision; he faces a park. His solar experts, and those from Ameren Missouri, helped him devise the plan, to take advantage of the afternoon sun, and reduce his utility bill during peak times. He applied for a $6,200 incentive from Ameren to help pay for the installation. Those incentives expire in July.

There are other homes in Wildwood that have front-facing solar panels — two of them are in my neighborhood. Downey thought he took great care to make sure his installation was of high quality. He installed matching black shingles on his roof; made sure there were no aluminum brackets; so the black panels matched the roof. When he presented his plan to the planning and zoning commission, he thought most seemed to appreciate the work he put into it. The main opposition seemed to come from Bowlin, and some residents who suggest solar panels should always be on the backs of houses.

In Wildwood, the mayor has a vote on the planning and zoning commission. The commission eventually voted no on the permit; so did the council. Meanwhile, it proposed a highly restrictive new ordinance that would make it impossible for Downey and other homeowners to install any front-facing solar panels.

That got the attention of Frances Babb. She lives one town over, in Clarkson Valley. More than a decade ago, Babb and her husband sued the city in an eerily similar case, when they were denied the right to install solar. The Babbs won in court and became advocates for better policies in the state. Last year, with Babb’s support, the Missouri Legislature passed a law that restricts homeowners’ associations from trying to deny solar installations. That law took effect in January.

“Solar is a tremendous return on investment,” Babb says. She’s urged the Wildwood City Council to back away from its proposed ordinance, which would be so restrictive that it would practically ban any efficient installation of solar, she says. Babb says Downey’s proposal is as “non-obtrusive as possible.”

Downey got the solar bug around the time Babb was battling her city. He installed solar on a commercial building he owned in Chesterfield and recouped his costs through lower utility bills in less than a decade. He sold the building and the solar increased its value, he said. Indeed, the National Association of Realtors says that’s the standard nationally, that residential solar increases home values.

So why is Wildwood fighting it? That’s not clear. After the ordinance ran into trouble, Bowlin said he planned to survey residents of the city to get their views on solar. “Until that information is available, it would be premature for me to comment,” Bowlin told me.

Downey doesn’t understand why Wildwood would take a stand in direct opposition to the trend nationally. Ameren is investing in solar power, including large power producing solar farms along Interstate 70. The state Legislature and Public Utilities Commission have made increasing solar energy the official public policy of the state. But the policy in Wildwood, at the moment, seems to be that some people can have solar, and other people can’t.

“I feel that my rights are being violated,” Downey says. “I hope that Wildwood will change their minds and see the folly of their ways. I don’t know why you would write an ordinance in 2023 that goes the opposite direction of everybody else.”