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4) The current building heights, lot sizes, and setbacks should <br />be examined and, if necessary, revised to protect the solar <br />access rights of all residents. <br />In general, the City should consider adopting regulations to <br />protect the individual property owner's right to solar access <br />such as the following: <br />a) Street layout and solar access <br />With facades towards street, only E -W streets have houses <br />oriented south, therefore, that street layout should be <br />encouraged. This optimum orientation should allow flexi- <br />bility in considering: <br />o topography <br />o preservation of natural features <br />o clustering for better orientation and access <br />o negative effects of steep slopes <br />b) Lot line angles and lot orientation <br />When lot lines must be perpendicular to streets, squarely <br />sited houses are oriented as the streets they are on. To • <br />allow for greater siting flexibility, and reduce the de- <br />pendence of lot orientation and street orientation, require- <br />ments for perpendicular lot lines should be dropped. <br />Flexible setbacks and yard requirements <br />Again, traditional interdependence of setback requirements <br />(minimum front, rear, and side yards) ties building lines to <br />lot lines and therefore, street orientation. By using lot <br />coverage provisions instead, houses can be more flexibly <br />sited to moderate the effects of improper street and lot <br />orientation while still providing an adequate amount of open <br />space on the lot. <br />d) A performance standard for building orientation <br />To complement the considerations of flexible street, lot <br />and setback provisions, subdivision regulations might include <br />a performance standard requiring that buildings be oriented <br />to maximize southern exposure. <br />53 <br />• <br />