ORN adopts roofing ordinance

The Oak Ridge North City Council adopted a roofing ordinance after much debate over the requirements for color, material and wind resistance at its Sept. 22 meeting.

The Council heard the recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Committee from Chairman Cleo Tarver.

Tarver explained that the city had not had any roofing ordinance in place since the previous one was repealed in 2007.

In order to protect the property values of homeowners and to maintain a standard for structures in the city, the committee recommended that the Council adopt an ordinance requiring that residential roofs meet certain fire and wind resistance requirements, have 30-year or greater warranties and be of earth tone colors, Tarver said.

The committee had originally been opposed to allowing metal roofing, but after seeing samples of metal roof materials that resembled composition shingle, they decided it should be allowed, provided it has the appearance of composition shingle or tile roofing.

Under the ordinance, current residences that do not comply will be grandfathered in until the roof needs to be replaced.

We think we came up with an ordinance that meets the needs of the individual homeowners and maintains aesthetic consistency, Tarver said.

Each of the council members expressed concern over different aspects of the ordinance.

I think this is too restricting, said Councilman Tom Coale. What I like about our city is the variety.

Mayor Jim Kuykendall also was opposed to the earth tone color requirement, saying his own house has blue roofing that would not be considered acceptable.

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ORN adopts roofing ordinance