Limelight Shines on Solar Homes

The Santa Barbara City Council recently recognized 97 projects at its Solar Design Recognition Awards Ceremony, including 40 homes in the Las Barrancas neighborhood. The neighborhood, one of the first completely to become solar in the county, houses Westmont’s faculty.

Russell Smelley, former president of the Las Barrancas Homeowners Association, Reed Sheard, vice president of advancement and information technology, and Ben Siebert, CEO of Planet Solar Inc., accepted the award at City Hall.

Fourteen of the homes in Las Barrancas were destroyed in the Tea Fire. Those homes were prepared for photovoltaic panels during reconstruction, and the other homes were retrofitted with brackets. “I am particularly pleased that the community was able to take this devastating event and turn it into something wonderfully sustainable,” Smelley says.

The city’s program promotes solar energy system installations and encourages aesthetically integrated designs. More information on the Solar Design Recognition Program and Solar Design Guidelines is available at: www.Santabarbaraca.gov/Resident/Home/Guidelines.