Audiencia para considerar y hacer hallazgos sobre la Solicitud de Construcción B26-08853 para un permiso solar para: 1. Casa J.R. Turner (HP #276) ubicada en 815 East Dudley Avenue (APN 452-114-21)

REPORT TO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 26, 2026 FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director Planning and Development Department BY: ASHLEY ATKINSON, AICP, Assistant Director Planning and Development Department SUBJECT ..Title Hearing to Consider and make findings on Building Application B26-08853 for a solar permit for: J.R. Turner Home (HP #276) located at 815 East Dudley Avenue (APN 452-114-21) ..Body EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The J.R. Turner Home located at 815 East Dudley Avenue in the Tower District is Historic Property #276. Application B26-08853 requests authorization for the placement of the solar array on the roof of the home. This project represents a substantial alteration to the resource and is subject to review by the Commission pursuant to FMC Section 12-1617. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) take one of the following actions: ADOPT a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Sections 15331/Class 31 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines And APPROVE: Application B26-08853 to authorize the placement of the solar array on the roof of the home at the J.R. Turner Home (HP #276) located at 815 East Dudley Avenue (APN 452-114-21). Or: DENY: Application B26-08853 to authorize the placement of the solar array on the roof of the home at the J.R. Turner Home (HP #276) located at 815 East Dudley Avenue (APN 452-114-21). BACKGROUND The J.R. Turner home was constructed circa 1910 within the streetcar subdivision of the Meadow Brook Tract, located north of Belmont Avenue, in what is now recognized as the Tower District. Originally situated on Lots 3 and 4 of Block 2 of the Meadow Brook Tract, the residence was built during a period of significant transition, from reliance on horsedrawn vehicles and wagons to the introduction of electric streetcar service and the increasing use of private automobiles. The first documented owner of the property was J.R. Turner, who obtained a permit to construct a garage in 1912. By the 1930s, ownership had transferred to Simon W. and Anna Henry. Mr. Henry, born in Millerton, was the son of Simon and Ann Henry, early settlers who arrived in the region in 1859. The Henry family relocated to Fresno in 1874, where they constructed a hotel and later established a blacksmith shop and livery at Tulare and Fulton Streets, incorporating materials from their Millerton home into the new structures. Simon W. Henry later worked for the Cooper Department Store. This one-story Craftsman-style bungalow is wood frame with lapped horizontal wood siding. The medium pitched sidegabled roof features decorative triangular wood knee braces and wide, projecting eaves finished with plain fascia boards. A gabled roof dormer contains three knee braces and a rectangular window fitted with triangulated headed leaded glass. The home has retained a high degree of integrity, with character-defining features such as a full width front porch supported by square wood posts on solid balustrades, wood sash ribbon windows, and interior elements such as the original wood wainscoting, beamed ceilings, a built-in China hutch, and a brick fireplace. Also associated with this property is an original wrought iron hitching post, with a clenched fist finial which is located on the park strip. Project Analysis Building permit application B26-08853 was submitted on August 4, 2026, and proposes the installation of solar panels on the property (Exhibit C). After initial review of the permit application, staff notified the applicant that it could not be approved due to the placement of the panels on the primary elevation being substantially visible from the public right-of-way. Staff recommended reducing the number of panels on the front and moving panels to either the rear slope, the dormer, the front or back slope of the porch addition on the east elevation as this is set back from the primary elevation, or if possible, the shed in the backyard. However, the application was submitted through SolarAPP+, which automates issuance of solar permits for residential properties per the California Solar Rights Act, and staff learned that a permit had been issued, and the applicant had proceeded with installation. SolarAPP+ has since been modified to ensure that designated historic resources are not eligible for automated permit issuance. Because the J.R. Turner Home is an individually listed historic resource on the Local Register of Historic Resources, any proposed project with a scope of work which proposes substantial alterations to the resource is subject to review by the Commission pursuant to FMC Section 12-1617. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring & Reconstructing Historic Buildings (Exhibit D) provides that “Installing mechanical and service equipment on the roof (such as heating and air-conditioning units, elevator housing, or solar panels) when required for a new use so that they are inconspicuous on the site and from the public right-of-way and do not damage or obscure character-defining historic features” (page 100). The guidelines also provide that compliant installations are a) placed out of site from the ground level, b) installed on secondary or new additions, low-slope gables, cross gables, or rear porch roofs, or c) using detached, pole-mounted arrays located in a discreet part of the site rather than on the historic building itself. Installations should be designed and mounted so that they can be removed in the future without permanently altering or destroying historic materials. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS If the commission finds the project consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s guidelines, the commission adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Sections 15331/Class 31 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, preservation or conservation of a historical resource. FRESNO MUNICIPAL CODE FINDINGS In order to approve the application or approve it with modifications, the Commission must make one of the following findings: The proposed work is found to be consistent with the purposes of this article and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, not detrimental to the special historical, architectural or aesthetic interest or value of the Historic Resource; or This finding can be made because the installation is designed and mounted so that it can be removed in the future without permanently altering or destroying historic materials. The extant roofing material is contemporary composite shingle. The action proposed is necessary to correct an unsafe or dangerous condition on the property; or This finding cannot be made, as the proposed work is not necessary to correct an unsafe or dangerous condition on the property. Denial of the application will result in unreasonable economic hardship to the owner. In order to approve the application, the Commission must find facts and circumstances, not of the applicant's own making, which establish that there are no feasible measures that can be taken that will enable the property owner to make a reasonable economic beneficial use of the property or derive a reasonable economic return from the property in its current form; or The finding can be made that removal and replacement of the permitted and installed solar panels would constitute an unreasonable economic hardship, because the automated issuance of the permit was a circumstance not of the applicant’s own making. The site is required for a public use which will directly benefit the public health, safety and welfare and will be of more benefit to the public than the Historic Resource. This finding cannot be made because the site is not required for a public use which will directly benefit the public health, safety and welfare and will be of more benefit to the public than the Historic Resource. For applications for relocation of an Historic Resource, the Commission shall find that one or more of the above conditions exist, that relocation will not destroy the historical, architectural or aesthetic value of the Resource, and that the relocation is part of a definitive series of actions which will assure the preservation of the Resource. This finding cannot be made because this is not an application for relocation of a Historic Resource. CONCLUSION The appropriateness of the proposed project has been examined with respect to its consistency with FMC Section 12-1617. The proposed project has been analyzed, and staff recommends that the Commission take one of the following actions: ADOPT a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Sections 15331/Class 31 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines And APPROVE: Application B26-08853 to authorize the placement of the solar array on the roof of the home at the J.R. Turner Home (HP #276) located at 815 East Dudley Avenue (APN 452-114-21). Or: DENY: Application B26-08853 to authorize the placement of the solar array on the roof of the home at the J.R. Turner Home (HP #276) located at 815 East Dudley Avenue (APN 452-114-21). ATTACHMENTS Exhibit A – DPR Inventory Form and Designation Resolution Exhibit B – Public Hearing Notice and Radius Map Exhibit C – Solar Array Layout Exhibit D – Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties Exhibit E – Fresno Municipal Code Findings Exhibit F – Public Comment