Historic preservation commission denies Mills Act contract for 3501 E. Huntington after staff finds solar work nonconforming

The Fresno Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-0 to deny a Mills Act historic property contract application for the Maria and J.B. Cella Home at 3501 East Huntington Boulevard after staff said recent roof and solar work did not conform to the rehabilitation standards the program requires.

Ashley Atkinson, assistant director for planning and development and the commission’s historic preservation staff, told commissioners that two permits were submitted for the work — a reroof permit and a solar permit — and that the reroof approval included a condition that replacement tiles be reinstalled 'like for like' and that the solar array be installed using a picture-frame method. Atkinson said the solar installation was completed Nov. 13 and 'does not conform to the Secretary of the Interior standards' and therefore staff recommended the hearing be…