Oct 23, 2014 3 min read

People living in a North Strabane Township subdivision aren’t exactly “green” with envy about the large solar panels one neighbor recently installed in the home’s backyard.

Two large solar receptor boards, each the size of a two-car garage’s roof, were erected recently in the backyard of a William Drive home neighbors said are an eyesore in their McClelland Farms development and should never have been approved by the township.

“An accessory structure is a shed or a garage, not these large solar panels,” said Zeffie Carroll, whose Marta Court home faces the solar panels. “Somewhere, somehow, there was a mistake here, and someone needs to be held accountable.”

But there are no township ordinances outlawing solar panels in residential areas, although several neighbors complained during Tuesday night’s township meeting that officials need to better regulate their construction.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Brian Spicer said the board will review the complaints and address the issue, possibly with new zoning rules or ordinances.

“As far as I can tell, the township has acted in accordance with the rules and regulations available,” Spicer said. “It tells me we need to change what we’re doing going forward. We will be acting on this.”

Still, Carroll and the other neighbors are concerned they’ll be stuck with the panels just a few feet from their homes. Neighbors sent a letter to the township Sept. 24 raising concerns about the situation.

“We need an ordinance in place, but in the meantime, what happens to us?” Carroll said.

Some also believe the homeowners who installed the solar panels, Lawrence and Dena Nader, may have not been forthcoming on their application to the township’s planning commission. No one answered the door Wednesday afternoon when a reporter went to the home to discuss the complaints by their neighbors and a telephone call was not answered.

“They’re as big as homes,” Martha Court resident Edward Lee said of the panels. “We have all documentation and I think we’ve found significant errors.”

Those errors Lee claimed to find are that the application states a comparable property with solar panels can be found on Christy Road near Eighty Four. But Lee and others noted that property is in a rural section of the township and neighbors can’t see the panels.

The application also claims neighbors were consulted before township officials approved construction of the solar panels. Susan Zanke, who also lives on Martha Court next to the panels, said they didn’t know about them until crews installed them.

“It really has been a blow that he didn’t let us know about what the plans were,” Zanke said. “We think there has to be something different going forward and we welcome that, whether they’re on the roof.”

She added there is an increase in traffic from people stopping to view the solar panels, and is concerned the small chain-link fence around the home’s property won’t keep kids in the neighborhood from climbing on the structures

Township Solicitor Gary Sweat said he will investigate the situation, but it appeared there was little officials could do about the solar panels since they were properly approved by officials and already installed. He did not comment on the complaints by neighbors about the information included in the application.