Solar Panels on poss. unpermitted structure question

[LouNY]

Well the last major add-on was about 8 years ago and that was connecting the barn to the shop. The only 2 buildings on the property that have permits are the barn and house, everything else has been added on to. I believe the biggest adds were done in the 80's and early 90's. I know I will be asking the solar guy when he comes out a lot about it and if they have installed any in our township (Pendleton). We do have the barn and shop covered under insurance as 1 building as well since they do connect. This was something I did when we acquired the house in our name last winter. If we are required a 1mil dollar insurance policy then that additional cost would make getting solar not worth it. I don't have land space behind us because we have power lines through the middle of the property and I don't want to sacrifice the section of hay fields next to us since we use that space for a variety of things.

I will definitely wait to see what the solar guy says but from what I am finding online and hearing here, I will most likely pass on solar. I can't risk having to take down any of the buildings that are up. Maybe I will look at a residential windmill and see what they offer..

With your property having a title transfer done every official in your county and town has seen the GIS photos.
I wouldn't be too concerned with having to take any buildings down. I would be a bit concerned with the additional weight loading the roof may get.
To the best of my knowledge there is no incentive money for small scale wind power, when In looked into it needed sustained 25 mph winds
to be in the least bit economical and productive.

 

[zzvyb6]

What's the Zoning code for your property ? I'm 'agricultural' in Michigan. No permits required other than for HVAC on the residence/living space/house.

Tell them that your buildings were for materials storage when they built the Erie Canal and continue to be upgraded.

I once set up a windmill on a friend's property [ as in vintage water pumping farm windmill ]. When I set the anchor irons in the ground, I carved "1929" in the wet concrete. Inspector came snooping around and we showed him that it was a 'restoration'. No permit needed as a result. Otherwise, Engineering Certification drawings signed by a licensed architect, County Water and Sewer permits, elevation measurements, site approval, fence to keep people from getting near the tower, and of course, approval FROM THE LOCAL AIRPORT !

 

[bazman82]

With your property having a title transfer done every official in your county and town has seen the GIS photos.
I wouldn't be too concerned with having to take any buildings down. I would be a bit concerned with the additional weight loading the roof may get.
To the best of my knowledge there is no incentive money for small scale wind power, when In looked into it needed sustained 25 mph winds
to be in the least bit economical and productive.

Actually, it wasn't a complete title transfer. It was a title transfer with clause in it. I cant recall the wording for it off the top of my head. Basically, my wifes gdpa owned the house and put our names on the deed while he stays on the deed as well with a life use clause..So for tax purposes, his name and my name are on the property. We did this so that way when the time comes, the house will already be in mine and my wifes name. Trying to have the lawyers not get so much afterwards. I assume it wouldn't matter either way then for the officials to have taken a look anyways though.

 

[bazman82]

Town of Pendleton, NY District Regulations

This is the zoning stuff for my lot. We are the § 247-11
R2 District: Medium-Density Residential. portion on that page. We have 52 acres so I'll continue reading further into this and try to decipher the legal wordings.

 

[mike48130]

Start by looking on line like they said. They will have the building sizes and should be a drawing of all the building sizes. If they are shown and you are being taxed, then you should be good. The risk is not no permits, but did you follow the land usage sizing. If you did everything legal, then the risk is your taxes will go up when they add the extra building sizes to your assessment. They love to re-assess.

 

[Zippo1]

We had solar panels installed a year ago. The only permit needed was electrical (plus approval and some work by the power company). The only inspection needed for ours was an inspection of the electrical portion of the installation. The inspector didn't seem to care about the panels or where they were located but he was real concerned that the electrical portion of the installation was done correctly.

 

[Grumpycat]

Contact your electric utility before installing PV system. Bet you are counting on grid-tie to sell excess back to the utility? Sometimes they are forced to accept anything you do, sometimes (if TVA is involved) they are a-holes about having the system "designed" by someone with NABCEP credentials.

NABCEP is primarily a solar lobby group. TVA is protecting a limited group of installers. NABCEP training is heavy on solar advocacy and calculation of carbon offsets. Useless.

If you have a mechanical electric meter then it will run backwards when you generate excess. If electronic meter then is likely it runs forward no matter which way the current flows. That means if you don't get it fixed the utility will bill you for the power you generated.

Finally, the utility will insist on an accessible PV cutoff box. They fear that somehow when the lines are down that you will power the lines and hurt the linemen. Never mind the PV inverter must have an AC signal to sync for operation.

 

[LD1]

Too many of these questions and answers need to be had at a local level.

You are getting responses from people all over the country, with all different types of zoning and code enforcement. And honestly, very little of it probably applys to your situation.

That said, I doubt you will have to tear down anything, If there are building codes pertaining to wind loading, snow load, etc and they were not followed.....they could potentially deem the structure unsafe and may make you bring it up to current code. As well as probably levying a fine, and re-assessing, your property taxes.

But again, all that is handled at the local level and county auditor.

 

[CobyRupert]

I wonder if the fact that you acquired the property “in your own name” last year (I assume a transfer of deed?) gets you in the clear when it comes to un-permitted buildings?
You’re not responsible for the “previous owners” .

 

[newbury]

<snip> If on the other hand it will be someone from the town building department there could be trouble. The issue is that you have a lot of unpermitted square footage about which the town is unaware. If the building department sees it they routinely notify the assessor who raises your assessment which means higher taxes. In my township a few miles from you there are also fines for doing stuff without a building permit and inspections. In extreme cases they can try to make you remove such structures since they were never inspected and may possibly be way below code and even hazardous. Proceed with caution.

Town building departments can be a nightmare.
I've a house I've owned since '78. When bought it had an old 10x12 cement block chicken coop w/ failing roof about 30 yards from the house. I fixed it into a shed. Then moved and rented the house and land out.
Fast forward 35 years, tenants are gone, son & family have moved in and I want to expand the house. 1st county inspector come around tells me the coop has to go, it's too close to the property line (about 4 feet) and needs to be removed before any permit for house addition. I was furious. They had been taxing the property with that listed for 35 years.
I got a second county inspector to agree and over rule the first.
Some county inspectors I've met act like they have little fiefdoms.