Do I need approval for solar panels, a satellite dish or an antenna?

**The test the Association applies is simple: does it stand above grade on its own?**

**Needs Architectural Committee approval** — anything that exists above ground level as its own structure:

- A **free-standing solar array**
- Fences
- Sheds and other accessory buildings
- Similar independent structures

**Does not need Association approval:**

- **Solar panels mounted on your roof** — not a stand-alone structure
- Concrete pads
- Gravel driveways
- Septic systems
- Wells

**Small dishes and antennas are excepted.** Satellite dishes of one metre or less and comparable small antennas do not require Association approval.

**"No Association approval" is not the same as "no approval."** The items in the second list frequently need permits or sign-off from someone else:

- **Freeman Township** — zoning permits, and the Zoning Administrator's determination on setbacks and placement
- **Clare County** — building, septic and well permitting
- **Your utility provider** — solar interconnection, and anything touching gas, electric or water service

Note also that the Township's zoning ordinance expressly addresses **small wind energy systems**, so a turbine is a Township matter with its own requirements on top of any Association approval.

**When in doubt, ask first.** The covenants require written approval **before** work is commenced for any building, fence, wall or other structure, and before any exterior addition, change or alteration. Submitting plans costs you nothing. Building something the Committee would have wanted to see is a much harder conversation, and on the Township side an unpermitted structure carries a doubled permit fee and a municipal civil infraction.

**If you are unsure which list your project falls into**, contact the office and describe it. That is a two-minute call.

*Source: Restrictive Covenants, Article VI, Section 1; Architectural Building Regulations (2025); Freeman Township Zoning Ordinance No. 8, Section 8.02.Q; Board and Architectural Committee position on structures requiring approval.*