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Olivette adopts amended ordinance to speed residential rooftop solar permitting
Summary
The Olivette City Council on April 14 adopted Ordinance 28‑31 (formerly Bill 30‑59) to let staff administratively approve most residential rooftop solar permits, while keeping guardrails for safety and design review by the planning commission for atypical cases.
The Olivette City Council unanimously approved an amended ordinance April 14 to streamline permitting for residential rooftop solar panels, authorizing administrative review by staff while retaining a path to the Planning & Community Design Commission (PCDC) for exceptions.
Carlos Trejo, the city’s director of planning and community development, told the council the ordinance codifies standards the PCDC has used informally since 2013 and was written to expedite installations without removing basic safety and design guardrails. "The intent of this bill is to streamline the permitting process for the installation by codifying the 2013 standards…and to authorize administrative review and approval based on those standards," Trejo said.
Council members focused most of the discussion on three items in the draft: color language, the requirement that panels be "grouped and centered" within a roof plane, and glare limitations. Several written comments read into the record urged encouraging solar while cautioning that overly specific rules on color or placement could increase costs or prevent future technologies, and council members sought clearer, workable wording.
City Attorney Miss Carr offered draft replacement language to address those concerns. Under the proposed text the council adopted, "The panels shall be grouped within the plane and located for maximum efficiency as determined by the owner or the provider, as long as a sufficient perimeter is maintained in accordance with building and safety codes." On color she recommended permissible colors "include those within the range of black and dark blue," with other colors permitted subject to PCDC review.
Supporters and opponents told the council the changes were intended to both speed installations and preserve neighborhood character. Council member Solomanoff called the final language "a good compromise." The council amended Bill 30‑59 to include Miss Carr’s wording and then approved the amended ordinance on a roll call vote; the measure became Ordinance 28‑31.
The ordinance directs staff to implement the administrative review process under the identified standards; council members noted the measure can be revisited if practical issues arise in implementation.
