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Commission approves rooftop solar with color-matching requirement at 31 Roxbury Street
Summary
The Worcester Historic Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness for solar panels at 31 Roxbury Street, requiring house panels be a lighter, roof-matching color while allowing black panels on the rear garage and south-facing garage wall.
The Worcester Historic Commission voted to approve a certificate of appropriateness for solar installations at 31 Roxbury Street, conditioning the house panels to match a lighter roof color and permitting black panels on the rear garage and south-facing garage wall.
Joy, the homeowner and applicant, described a new printed-color glass panel technology that can match roof color and said she had also applied for panels on her garage. Commissioners expressed willingness to compromise, allowing house panels in a lighter color that “match the roof better” while accepting black panels on the garage because they are not highly visible from the public way. The motion, which included the house, garage roof and south-facing garage wall and tied the house panel color to the lighter option agreed with the applicant, passed on a roll call vote with five affirmative votes from eligible commissioners.
The commission opened and closed public comment with no members of the public speaking on the application. The decision allows the homeowner to proceed with the planned solar installation subject to the color and placement conditions the commission recorded.
