Posts tagged Hprb
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Do Something: The week of November 27, 2023
This week: here’s how you can Do Something about the proposed Chevy Chase Historic District, really good and really dumb bills in Montgomery County, and help us do more in Northern Virginia. Keep reading…
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How can DC preserve history that’s more than a building?
DC’s historic preservation system is well set up to preserve historic buildings and properties, but ill prepared to formally recognize other types of history. A simple reform could go a long way to resolve that. Keep reading…
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DC historic homeowners get the green light to ask for front-facing solar panels (but don’t make them green, or blue!)
Responding to outrage that followed Greater Greater Washington’s report on that hearing, the DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board revised its guidelines to say that front-facing solar panels could be okay if “necessary” to achieve climate goals such as DC’s 2019 clean energy law. The board approved the guidelines, including the proposed changes, at that meeting as the start of what will surely be a long conversation within the preservation community about how to integrate planetary preservation. Keep reading…
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On solar panels, DC’s preservation board puts aesthetics over addressing the climate crisis
“I applaud your greenness and your desire to save the planet,” said architect and preservation board member Chris Landis, “and I realize that we are in crisis politically as well as sustainably. But I just have this vision of a row of houses with solar panels on the front of them and it just — it upsets me.” Keep reading…
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DC will now allow solar panels in historic districts! (Mostly.)
Homeowners may be able to put solar panels on the fronts of their roofs in historic districts, under new sustainability guidelines released by DC’s Historic Preservation Office Friday. HPO may still push homeowners to adjust colors, appearance, and so forth of their panels, but won’t outright prohibit them. Keep reading…
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The Historic Preservation Review Board’s solar panel restrictions are a call to action
DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board’s (HPRB) recently forbade a DC resident from adding solar panels to the front roof of his house. This decision created quite a stir in GGWash’s comment section and on Twitter. Keep reading…
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Grappling with the climate crisis, DC’s preservation board rejects front-facing solar panels
“I applaud your greenness and your desire to save the planet,” said architect and preservation board member Chris Landis, “and I realize that we are in crisis politically as well as sustainably. But I just have this vision of a row of houses with solar panels on the front of them and it just — it upsets me.” Keep reading…
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DC takes steps to streamline solar power, but some still don’t take a shine to it
To help meet DC’s goal of generating 100% of its energy renewably by 2032 and 10% with solar power by 2041, a likely zoning change will make it easier to build community solar “farms” on the ground and atop garages. But, not surprisingly, some people object, wanting neighbors to have opportunities to speak up in opposition before any solar installations can be built. Keep reading…
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Don’t label Barry Farm a landmark, say historic preservation staff
The Historic Preservation Office (HPO) recommends not turning Barry Farm into a historic dwelling. A vote on the future of the public housing neighborhood in Southeast DC won’t happen until July 11 by the Historic Preservation Review Board. Keep reading…
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In a shift, front-facing solar panels win DC historic preservation approval
If a homeowner wants to put solar panels on a roof facing a street, is that a laudable step toward fighting climate change or an affront to historic preservation? With a recent preservation board ruling, DC's historic preservation system took one very small step toward tolerance of visible solar panels, at least in some cases. Keep reading…