Make Westfield a Solar-Friendly Town

We the undersigned residents of Westfield, New Jersey, affirm that we support making Westfield a more solar-friendly town.

Westfield provides a great place for people to live, shop, and dine. However, the cost of living is high and too many downtown storefronts are vacant. In addition, climate change adds to the risks of damage to buildings and trees and increases the costs of cooling buildings.

For these reasons, Westfield should take the following solar-friendly steps to reduce the costs for residents and businesses alike and to reduce the risks posed by climate change:

Change General Ordinance 2063 (which regulates the installation of solar energy systems) to permit solar panels on front-facing sloping roofs. This ordinance creates an unreasonable burden on home owners interested in taking advantage of solar.
Install solar panels as appropriate on Town buildings, such as the Municipal Building, fire houses, DPW building, and Memorial Pool buildings. Given that the roofs are old, it would be advantageous to replace them with solar tiles or add solar panels when replacing them. The experiences of the school system and the library in adding solar panels should be helpful.
Investigate installing solar panels over parking lots to provide shade for parking and cheaper electricity for residences and businesses, as well as giving Westfield a competitive advantage over neighboring towns. This article summarizes the many benefits: The Best Idea in a Long Time: Covering Parking Lots with Solar Panels
Use federal and state incentives and grants to help pay for these improvements.