Solar panel rules considered outside St. James gate

Regulation of the appearance and placement of solar panels outside the gate likely will be discussed at the next Town of St. James planning board meeting.The property owners association already regulates solar panels within St. James Plantation—the gated area— with some rules about where they can be placed similar to ordinances enacted by Brunswick County, and other suggested guidelines for their appearance. But Thursday, planning board members discussed whether they wanted to see town ordinances regulating the panels as well, including for businesses inside town limits but outside St. James Plantation.
The POA's Architectural Control Committee (ACC) reviews and enforces POA rules regarding the appearance of homes, including the addition of solar panels. If the town's rules for solar panels are the same as the POA's, the POA will continue enforcing the rules through its ACC.The Town of St. James does not have building inspectors, relying instead on the county for that purpose, and typically responds to violations after a complaint.Board members have mentioned before that the town does not have the staff to seek out violations, instead of reacting to complaints, and members questioned the need to address solar panel regulations if the POA already does.
"Are we trying to be stricter than the POA? Are we trying to cover the POA on doing this?" asked Stephanie Macaluso. "What are we trying to do?""We've already gone down the solar road, and we already have solar in a lot of cases," said board member Bob Accordino. "I think for the most part the ACC guidelines are good depending on where the house is."But other board members pointed out that, while all residential areas inside town limits are also in St. James Plantation, there is commercial development inside the town limits but outside the gate.
"What is it that the group wants to see in solar and wind in our town?" asked town councilor and board liaison Bruce Maxwell. "What is it you folks want?""You're saying, 'What do we as a board want, inside and outside the gate?'" asked planning board member Betty Russell. "I think the question is do we want to regulate them?" asked board member John Sullivan. "Do we need to regulate them? If we choose not to, the POA can do whatever they want and it will fit in our guidelines."Accordino made a motion to consider adopting the ACC guidelines for solar panels, though he later amended it to state the town would use the ACC guidelines as a starting point, adjusting as needed, to also address areas outside the gate. The topic is expected to come up again at the next planning board meeting, scheduled for Thursday, December 13, at 3 p.m.