Neighbors oppose front-facing solar panels at Polo Downs; homeowner seeks conditional-use permit

The Town and Country Board of Aldermen opened a public hearing April 14 to consider a conditional-use permit for a roof-mounted solar energy system facing a street at 1019 Polo Downs Drive. The homeowner, identified in the record as Mr. Viralapati, asked the board to approve panels mounted on the garage and front-facing roof to maximize energy production.

The homeowner told the board the system would cost about $85,000 and would cut his monthly electric bill by roughly half; he said placing the panels on the rear roof would reduce generation by about 50 percent and make the project economically infeasible. John Luzynsky of Sun Solar, the applicant's contractor, told the board the four panels on the front roof receive about 1,323 sun hours and that rear-facing panels would be substantially…