Treanor maintained all along that he and Bissett were supporters of solar power but thought state law went too far in punishing tree owners. Simitian also wrote the law that requires California to obtain 20 percent of its power from renewable energy by 2010. If the solar panels were there first, the solar panel owner can seek redress through a civil lawsuit, but not criminal prosecution. Under the new law, trees can grow to shade solar panels without the tree owner facing a penalty – as long as the trees were there first. It didn’t matter if the trees were planted before or after the panels were installed. Under the old law, property owners could be required to trim back their trees or face criminal prosecution for public nuisance and fines of up to $1,000 per violation if the branches grew to shade someone’s solar panels. solar, and now it is a conversation about trees and solar.” “I was frustrated by the fact that this was always characterized as a debate between trees vs. “I really view this as a triumph of common sense,” Simitian said. Simitian strikes a balance between two noble goals – expanding renewable energy and preserving trees. Treanor and Bissett finally gave up appeals and chopped back two of their redwood trees in March after having spent $37,000 in legal fees. In a partial victory for each side, he ruled that six of the trees could remain and the two generating the most shade must be “altered or removed in such a way so that 10 percent or less” of the solar panels are shaded.Ī Mercury News report on the case attracted the attention of CNN, Fox News, National Public Radio and other outlets as an “only in California, green vs.
In December, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kurt Kumli found the couple guilty of violating the Solar Shade Control Act. San Jose prosecutors agreed and ordered the trees cut under penalty of $1,000-a-day fines. Vargas said doing so would reduce the amount of electricity they could generate for his five-bedroom home and electric car.Īfter several years of failed mediation, Vargas filed a complaint with the Santa Clara County district attorney arguing that the trees violated California’s “Solar Shade Control Act,” a rarely used law signed in 1978 by former Gov. They suggested Vargas move his solar panels, which make up an array three times the size of a typical home system. They said they liked the trees for privacy and noted the trees were there first. Later, he asked them to trim the trees to about 15 feet high, even offering to pay the costs. The trees range from about 20 to 40 feet tall. Vargas said he first asked Treanor and Bissett to chop down the eight redwoods the couple had planted from 1997 to 1999 along the fence separating their yards. (2) A transferor receiving a notice pursuant to subdivision (a) may provide the notice to a transferee of the property.The showdown began in 2001, when the neighbor, Mark Vargas, installed a 10-kilowatt solar system on his roof and on a 10-foot-high trellis in his back yard. (c) (1) A transferor of the building where the solar collector is installed may provide a record of persons receiving the notice pursuant to subdivision (a) to a transferee of the building. (b) If the owner of the building where a solar collector is proposed to be installed provided the notice pursuant to subdivision (a), and the installation date is later than the date specified in that notice, the later date shall be specified in a subsequent notice to persons receiving the initial notice.
#CALIFORNIA SOLAR SHADE CONTROL ACT ZIP#
The building owner is providing the following information: Name and address of building owner: Telephone number of building owner: Address of building and specific location where a solar collector will be installed (including street number and name, city/county, ZIP Code, and assessor’s book, page, and parcel number): Installation date of solar collector:
The owner of the building where a solar collector is proposed to be installed is providing this written notice to persons owning property that may be affected by the requirements of the act no more than 60 days prior to the installation of a solar collector. local standard time if the tree or shrub is placed after installation of a solar collector. 25980 et seq.) a tree or shrub cannot cast a shadow greater than 10 percent of a solar collector absorption area upon that solar collector surface at any one time between the hours of 10 a.m.
#CALIFORNIA SOLAR SHADE CONTROL ACT CODE#
Under the Solar Shade Control Act (California Public Resources Code Sec. If a notice is mailed, the notice shall be mailed no more than 60 days prior to installation of the solar collector and shall read as follows: (a) An owner of a building where a solar collector is proposed to be installed may provide written notice by certified mail to a person owning property that may be affected by the requirements of this chapter prior to the installation of the solar collector.
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