AGENDA #5d
to: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
FROM: J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director
Ralph Karpinos, Town Attorney
subject: Response to Petition Regarding Use of Clothes Lines for Energy Savings
date: February 11, 2008
The purpose of this report is to respond to a petition regarding use of clothes lines for energy savings.
On October 8, 2007, the Council received a petition from Ms. Deborah Fulghieri regarding use of clothes lines for energy savings. She requested that Chapel Hill expressly permit in residential zoning provisions, any energy conservation method by individual residents that does not harm others and which helps to reduce aggregate energy demands. Ms. Fulghieri expressed concern about restrictive covenants in neighborhoods that may prohibit the hanging of clean clothing.
We understand that some existing neighborhoods have in place private, restrictive covenants which may prohibit clothes lines or solar devices, for example. In order to ensure that new developments do not include language of that nature in possible private, restrictive covenants, the Town has included the following stipulation in recent development application approval resolutions:
Solar Collection Devices: That the homeowners association, or similar entity, shall not include covenants or other conditions of sale that restrict or prohibit the use, installation, or maintenance of solar collection devices including clothes lines.
This language reflects provisions in Section 4.6.7 of the Land Use Management Ordinance which states that neighborhood or Homeowners’ Association documents may not include covenants or other conditions of sale that restrict or prohibit the use, installation or maintenance of solar collection devices.
We will continue to recommend the inclusion of stipulations for new development that would disallow private covenants of this nature. However, the Town does not have the authority to act so as to nullify any such existing private restrictions. Action to nullify existing private restrictions would need to be legislative or perhaps by the courts.
During the last session of the General Assembly, there was a general law enacted, Session Law 2007-279, on the use of solar collectors. It addressed both local public regulations by cities and counties and also dealt with deed restrictions and private covenants, which are regulations imposed by developers or by neighborhoods that are then enforced as private agreements.
The legislative history of this bill can be reviewed at the General Assembly website: www.ncga.state.nc.us. It was introduced as Senate Bill 670 and the early versions of the bills did include some language that would have addressed clothes lines. Comparing the bill that was introduced with the final version that was enacted by the General Assembly shows that this language was not part of the final law.
The other legislation that may be of interest is Session Law 2007-241. It allows Chapel Hill and a few other municipalities to provide incentives in exchange for reductions in energy consumption.
CONCLUSION
This general subject has been identified as a potential item of interest as part of the Town’s legislative agenda for 2008. The Town does not have the authority to nullify any existing private covenants which might restrict installation of clothes lines.