Title
Install a roof mounted photovoltaic solar system on a principal building (B)
Petition HP-20-00007. Selena Patterson, Power Production Management Inc., agent for Steve & Elizabeth Nichtberger. Certificate of Appropriateness to install a roof mounted photovoltaic solar system on a single-family house. Located at 550 NE 6th Avenue. This building is a contributing structure to the Northeast Residential Historic District.
Project Description
The applicant is requesting approval of a 5.232kW solar photovoltaic system on the roof, with 16 SunPower SPR-E20-E-AC residential modules and 16 SunPower SPR-E20-327-E-AC micro inverters, placed on the eastern roof surface of the principal structure. The modules are the flush mount type to be installed in the same plane as the roof. Due to a mix-up with the address of the property, the building permit for this project was not flagged as a property within a historic district. As a result, the system has been constructed, but has not received final building permit approval.
The existing house is a one-story, stucco covered bungalow style house dating back to 1928. According to the Florida Master Site File, the house at 550 NE 6th Avenue represents a typical Gainesville house of the 1920’s. The house has a wood frame structural system, a stucco covered chimney, a hip roof with a gable vent on the secondary roof structure, and double-hung windows. There has been exterior work done in recent years on the structure. A Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) for a reroof from shingle to shingle was approved in April of 2018 (HP-18-41), while in June of that year COA HP-18-64 was approved for a new raised porch, two small rear additions of less than 150 square feet total, and installation of new Marvin Integrity windows.
Roofs are a highly visible component of historic buildings and are an integral part of a building’s overall design and architectural style. A rooftop solar photovoltaic power system is a system that uses one or more photovoltaic panels installed on the surface of a roof, either parallel to a sloped roof/surface or rack-mounted on a flat roof, to convert sunlight into electricity and is ten kw or less for residential structures and 300 kw or less for nonresidential structures. The subject power system has been placed on the principal structure on the property which is a single-family dwelling. The building is considered a contributing structure in the Northeast Residential Historic District.
The system is located on a primary roof facade elevation. The installation will not result in the permanent loss of significant character-defining features of a historic resource, such as existing roof lines or dormers; the installation is reversible; the system is flush to the roof or low profile, to the extent feasible; and the system blends into the surrounding features of the historic resource to the extent possible.
Recommendation
Staff to the Historic Preservation Board:
Staff recommends approval of the application.