HLC approves replacement and additional roof solar panels at 2224 Houston Place

The Denton Historic Landmark Commission unanimously approved a Certificate of Appropriateness to replace an undersized rooftop solar array and add 14 additional panels at 2224 Houston Place, a circa-1940 residence owned by Theodore Wood. Staff recommended approval after concluding the proposal met rehabilitation standards and district guidance on skylights and solar panels.

Staff said the existing system, installed in 2023, was undersized for the property and that energy-cost considerations prompted the owner to seek higher-capacity panels. The proposed work would replace the existing array and add 14 new panels; staff noted the replacement system’s maximum rise above the roof would be eight inches, compared with up to 10 inches for the currently installed units. Staff also said it had required the applicant to place the additional panels on a rear structure to minimize visibility from the street.

Staff reviewed the proposal against standards for rehabilitation and the West Oak Area Historic District provision (section 4.996(c)), which allows skylights and solar panels when placement does not adversely affect the building’s architecture or the district’s character. Commissioners asked why panels installed two years earlier would be replaced; staff said the owner sought newer panels that provide greater power and that the existing array was undersized. A commissioner noted 14 additional panels would be a substantial increase but supported staff’s condition to move them to the rear.

A motion to accept staff’s recommendation, including the condition to relocate additional panels out of the primary street view, passed unanimously.