Winnetka eases residents’ path to solar panels

In an effort to make Winnetka more environmentally friendly, the Village Council has updated its zoning guidelines for the installation of solar panels on private homes.

Trustees unanimously voted to waive introduction and approve the updates following a public hearing at the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

The changes come just four weeks after representatives from the Village’s Environmental, Forestry and Sustainability Commission presented a proposal for ordinance updates, which they predict will encourage more residents to install solar panels.

According to village documents, the changes to the ordinance include:

• Allowing building-mounted solar panels as permitted accessory use, meaning they do not require a special use permit;
• Defining which solar energy systems are allowed by the village;
• Requiring inspection by the Village prior to activation; and
• Prohibiting tree removal for solar panel installation unless approved by village staff

While all trustees were supportive of the ordinance, Trustee Tina Dalman questioned why the ordinance the council was voting on prohibited ground-mounted solar panels when the original ordinance allowed them.

“I was just curious if there was any discussion about, rather than striking it from the proposed ordinance, making it a special use permit so that there could be some flexibility,” she asked.

Trustee Kim Handler, the Village Council’s liaison to the Environmental, Forestry and Sustainability Commission, said that based on public and commission feedback, it was decided to remove the ground-mounted solar panel regulations to allow for further research into them.

“We’re not permanently deleting it,” Handler said. “We’re temporarily pulling that out now so we can move forward with the kind of implementations that 100% of people in Winnetka have so far wanted, which are rooftop installations. So rather than hold this up while we refine and better understand what it means for Winnetka, we’re just going to pull it out temporarily. We’re going to revisit that and add it back into the ordinance.”

She added that no Winnetka residents have requested ground-mounted solar panels installation on their property.

King Poor, a member of the commission who has solar panels on his home, encouraged the trustees to reconsider allowing ground-mounted panels in the village.

“I have a concern about saying no ground-mounted,” he said. “This is making (the ordinance) more restrictive.”

Poor asked that if the village would like the commission to study the ground-mounted panels more, they provide a timeframe.

Village President Bob Dearborn asked if the commission would have enough information to present at the March 3, 2026 council meeting, and Poor agreed.

Poor also praised the quick turnaround for the ordinance and said he thought it was a positive that the village added language about tree protection.

“We don’t want to give anybody the impression that, as beneficial as solar panels are environmentally, that this is an invitation to start getting really aggressive with tree-trimming or anything else,” he said.

In addition to the ordinance, the council approved an amendment suggested by Trustee Scott Myers that waives the building permit fee for solar panel installation for a year.

“It’s not something that we are, by any means, dependent on financially at this point,” Myers said, “and I think it would certainly send a signal to those who are interested in this that we are encouraging people to do this.”

According to Community Development Director Scott Mangum, the last six solar panel installations generated a little more than $8,700 for the village.

Trustees agreed to waive the fees for a year, after which they would revisit them and decide if they should continue to be waived.

Dalman said she believes this will encourage more people to install solar panels if they know the fees may be reinstated in the future.

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