►
From YouTube: EcoChat | Solar Panels & Zoning Code
Description
Benjamin Campbell, Planner at City of Ames, explains some zoning code you need to know when you're ready to put solar panels on your home.
A
So
our
zoning
code
of
aims
refers
to
solar
panels
as
solar
energy
systems,
which
is
kind
of
a
mouthful.
Everybody
else
calls
them
solar
panels.
So
you
might
hear
me
refer
G
there
SES
or
two
solar
panels
in
the
presentation
here,
and
so
some
of
the
frequent
frequent
questions
that
we
get
my
boss
wanted
me
to
make
sure
that
we
talked
about.
You
can
put
solar
panels
on
the
front
of
your
house.
Apparently,
there's
been
some
confusion
about
that,
and
I
want
to
clarify
that.
A
Yes,
you
can
do
that,
and
all
I've
got
some
diagrams
here
in
a
minute
and
we'll
talk
about
how
you
can
go
where
you
can
put
those
on
your
property,
you
do
need
a
permit.
The
city
government,
of
course
you
get
a
permit
and
for
a
panel
solar
panels
are
also
allowed
in
historic
districts
as
well
that
you
may
need
permission
of
the
Historic
Preservation
Commission,
which
I
can.
If
you
have
questions
about
that,
I
can
put
you
in
touch
with
our
planner.
Who
does
that?
A
This
is
an
example
that
I
drew
up,
and
so
this
is,
for
there
are
two
kinds
of
for
residential
solar
panels.
You
can
either
have
the
freestanding
or
you
can
have
them
attached
so
for
freestanding.
You
can
put
you
kind
of
put
any
panels
in
your
front
yard
so
where
your
friend
guard
here
is
you're
in
front
of
your
your
firewood
setback,
it's
different
for
every
zone.
A
So
if
you've
got
a
survey
of
your
property,
you
might
want
to
check
that
before
you
start
going
through
the
process,
they
do
have
to
be
on
the
same
lot.
So
if
you
say
owned,
a
lot
across
the
street
could
not
go.
There
do
have
to
be
on
the
same
piece
of
property
as
the
house,
and
there
are
some
lot
coverage
restrictions
as
well
1/10
of
the
footprint
of
the
structure
or
100
square
feet,
and
that's
again
for
freestanding.
A
A
They
can
either
go
on
the
roof,
which
is
probably
what
most
people
end
up
doing,
or
they
can
also
go
actually
on
the
side
of
your
house,
but
you'll
want
to
obviously
talk
to
whoever
manufactures
the
solar
panels
and
look
at
you
know
where
you
get
the
most
Sun
and
so
forth,
because
you
want
to
place
them
where
they
will
be
most
effective.
There
are
also
some
restrictions
about
having
the
panels
extend
into
setbacks.
A
I
can't
go
farther
than
50%
into
a
rear
side
setback
and
the
max
height
of
the
panels
is
equal
to
that
of
whatever
is
in
the
zoning
district,
and
those
do
vary
from
district
to
district.
If
you
do,
if
you
are
interested
in
mounting
the
panels
on
the
front
wall,
that
would
also
require
a
special
use.
A
You
can
have
them
on
a
pitched
roof,
but
there
are
some
some
restrictions,
the
the
main
criteria,
as
I
said
before
there,
that
the
purpose
of
the
criteria
is
to
you
know,
keep
the
the
panels
in
line
with
the
character
of
your
neighborhood
panels
are
also
permitted
in
commercial
areas.
I
just
stuck
to
residential
here.
If
you're
interested
in
that
you
can
come
and
talk
to
me
and
the
panel's
also
do
need
to
follow
any
applicable
building
codes.