Commission approves visible rooftop solar for Lowry Hill East house over staff objections

The Heritage Preservation Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness to install a rooftop solar array at 2429 Colfax Avenue South in the Lowry Hill East Residential Historic District, striking staff-recommended conditions that would have limited panels to minimally visible locations.

The decision followed a staff presentation and public testimony. Rob Skolecki, senior city planner in the historic preservation section of the Department of Community Planning and Economic Development, told commissioners that the district’s 2015 design guidelines state that “solar panels should not be installed on a house” and that if panels are placed on a house they “should be inconspicuous and at least visible from the public right of way,” with preference for garage or rear placement. Skolecki said the application proposed multiple arrays that would be highly visible from the public right of way in selected locations and recommended moving the street-facing panels to meet the guidelines.

D…