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Neighbors press BZA on solar-panel impacts as Institute of Caribbean Studies seeks use variance
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Summary
The Institute of Caribbean Studies asked the BZA to restore residential use and add two affordable for-sale units at a long-vacant PDR1 lot; OP and the ANC supported the application, but nearby homeowners raised concerns a new building would cast winter shadows on rooftop solar panels. The board left the record open for applicant follow-up with the neighbor and a solar-provider update.
The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment on Dec. 3 heard an application from the Institute of Caribbean Studies seeking a use variance to allow nonprofit office space on the ground floor and two for-sale affordable housing units above at a narrow PDR1 lot on 3rd Street NE. The Office of Planning recommended approval, and the applicant said the project is part of a DHCD-backed redevelopment that must deliver two deeply affordable for-sale units.
Alex Wilson, counsel for the applicant, told the board the 17.8-foot-wide lot is functionally constrained by the PDR transition-setback requirements that would otherwise prevent most by-right or commercial uses. The applicant said the project will include nonprofit program space on the first floor and two two-bedroom for-sale units priced at roughly 50% and 80% AMI, consistent with a recorded affordable-housing covenant tied to the federal/local redevelopment program.
Several nearby homeowners testified that shadowing from the proposed three-story addition could reduce their solar arrays' output, lowering energy generation and potentially shortening roof lifespan. Rana Buell, a homeowner at 1108 3rd Street, said, “Any reduction in direct sunlight may negatively affect the performance and efficiency of our solar energy system,” and described potential financial and maintenance impacts on her household.
Fred Irby, who lives nearby and had sought party status earlier in the day, said he filed the party-status request because neighbors had not received timely shadow analysis; after the applicant provided a solar-array plan and a consultant's shadow study, Irby acknowledged the new materials showed limited impact to his own property but said other neighbors remained concerned, particularly during winter months.
Applicant architect Aubrey Grant presented shadow studies showing the project's incremental shadowing is small at peak solar-generation hours and that existing adjacent buildings and tree cover already cast significant shade. Grant said the project team had just received a detailed diagram of the adjacent solar installation and was in active discussions with the solar-provider about possible array reconfiguration to preserve system output.
Office of Planning staff explained that, in OP's view, the site has limited by-right options because PDR1 rules require a 25-foot transition setback next to residential uses. OP recommended the BZA weigh the binding redevelopment covenant, the long vacancy of the property and the constrained lot in applying the use-variance standards.
Board members asked for more direct engagement between the applicant, the immediate neighbor (1108/1114 3rd Street), and the solar installer. Chair Fred Hill said the board would leave the record open for a short period to allow the parties to report back. The board instructed the applicant to provide an update on its outreach and any technical mitigation the solar company could offer by Tuesday; the board will consider the application on Wednesday at the board's next decision session if no additional issues are raised.
The board did not take a final vote at the Dec. 3 hearing; the board left the record open for the applicant's update and for any neighbor submissions arising from their Monday meeting with the solar-provider.
