Height Limit on Skylights Eased

NEWPORT BEACH — The City Council has cleared the way for skylights to rise above city height limits.

Property owners will no longer have to petition the city for a variance to install transparent sheets of glass in the roofs of their homes. Under the new ordinance, owners can encroach up to 6 inches beyond the 24-foot average height limit.

Planning Director Jim Hewicker said the ordinance will allow homeowners to avoid the “tough” task of obtaining a variance.

“We have other things that we allow to exceed the height limit--flagpoles, solar collectors,” he said. “Certainly a skylight is not going to be any more a problem than a solar collector,” a device that uses the sun’s energy to heat water.