An open letter to our neighbors

Help us
keep our home.

The Brighton Forest board has started fining our family over the solar panels on our roof, and we're now in court to keep our home. Our neighbors can help. The first step is updating the ARC guidelines so they align with North Carolina's solar access law, which already protects a homeowner's right to install solar. Broader changes can come once that right is spelled out clearly in our own guidelines.

No one in Brighton Forest should have to endure a legal fight to power their home with solar.

Stand with us → What we're asking for
The Schertzinger family home at Brighton Forest
An update for our neighbors

Turning your support into action.

We want to thank you all for the outpouring of support we received after sharing our story about suing the HOA. It has meant more to us than you could imagine.

We've spent a lot of time since then thinking about how to turn that support into something actionable that improves the experience of living in Brighton Forest for the whole community, and not just our household.

What we heard is a theme across many of the responses: a lack of consistency in the assessment and application of our covenants and guidelines, and a lack of transparency and accountability overseeing board operations and conduct.

Three steps, in order.

We're asking for one thing first: update the ARC to support solar without spending our dues on a legal fight. If the current board won't, we'll work to replace them. Once that's done, we can take on the broader transparency and accountability work the whole neighborhood needs.

01

Align the ARC with NC solar access law.

Update the Brighton Forest ARC guidelines so they align with North Carolina's solar access law, N.C.G.S. § 22B-20, which makes HOA rules that prohibit — or effectively prohibit — rooftop solar void and unenforceable. Under N.C.G.S. § 47F-3-108, lot owners holding 10% of the votes can call a special meeting and put this amendment on the agenda. We don't need permission to ask.

First step
02

If the current board refuses, replace them.

If the sitting board declines to update the guidelines, the next step is electing one that will. Under N.C.G.S. § 47F-3-103, lot owners can remove any board member by a majority vote at a meeting with a quorum, with or without cause. It's a normal part of how an HOA works.

If needed
03

Then: transparency, accountability, plain language.

Once homeowners have a clear right to solar, we can take on the rest: open meetings, recorded votes, and an ARC rewrite that removes vague phrases for good.

Then the rest
A small example

"Whenever possible." What does that actually mean? And who decides when it is and isn't possible?

The current ARC guidelines lean on hedging phrases like whenever possible and as inconspicuously as possible, leaving every decision to the reviewer's reading of the day. Two neighbors with the same project can get two different answers. That isn't anyone's fault. It's the language. Here's the kind of change we're proposing.

Current language — Brighton Forest ARC, Solar Collectors
"Solar collectors must be installed as inconspicuously as possible. Whenever possible, collectors should be placed on the rear of the home or on the side that has the least public exposure… Every effort must be taken to camouflage the plumbing and supports of the collectors, which may require completely encasing the collectors."
Vague and restrictive. "As inconspicuously as possible" and "whenever possible" are decided by the reviewer — and a rule that can require hiding or "completely encasing" panels can conflict with NC solar access law.
↓
Proposed language
"Homeowners may install solar collectors in the location needed for effective solar access. Consistent with N.C.G.S. § 22B-20, the Association may regulate only the location or screening of collectors, and only where doing so does not prevent their reasonable use or reduce their energy output."
Clear and lawful. Tracks North Carolina's solar access law, so every homeowner gets the same answer — and keeps an effective system.
A comment we received
BF is a highly sought-out neighborhood for many reasons. Front-facing solar panels is not one of them and is probably a minus on that list. I, personally, have no interest in solar, and I have no interest in looking at a neighbor's solar panels on the front of their house.

This is exactly why we need clear rules.

Imagine if this person was on the board and willing to deny your legal rights because they personally don't like solar panels. Under North Carolina law, the HOA cannot use general aesthetic objections to override a homeowner's right to install solar. The Supreme Court was specific about this in Belmont v. Farwig. But that doesn't stop a board with no accountability from trying.

If they're willing to violate the law to impose their personal tastes on solar, what other projects would they deny to impose their tastes on others? Today it's our solar panels. Tomorrow it could be your fence, your landscaping, your addition, your shed, your roof color. Anything they personally find unappealing becomes fair game.

That's what this is about: updating the guidelines so homeowners have clear guidance, and so individuals on the board can't circumvent the rules or the law to suit themselves.

Brighton Forest, together

The HOA works for us. Let's help it work better.

If you'd like clear rules, transparency, and accountability from your HOA, add your name. That's the whole ask. We'll keep you posted; you decide how involved you want to be.

Add my name → Read the full proposal