Shannon

In California, you apparently have a legal right to sunlight.

Thus, a man won a lawsuit against his neighbors that requires them to cut down their redwood trees. Why? The trees are blocking his solar panels.

Oh, the irony... :no:

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deafdave3

The redwood was there first! Oh, that takes the cake!

Shannon

From the article --
"Treanor and Bissett [the couple who got sued for having the solar panel-blocking redwoods], who drive a hybrid Toyota Prius, argue that trees absorb carbon dioxide, cool the surrounding air and provide a habitat for wildlife. Vargas [Mr. $70k solar panel dude, whose panels went in after the redwoods], who recently bought a plug-in electric car, counters it would take two or three acres of trees to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as much as the solar panels that cover his roof and backyard trellis."
I think Mr. Solar Panel misses the fact that those redwoods are going to be around, and viably doing their environmental duty, FAR LONGER than his solar panels are. Either his panels will degrade over time, or he will move and the next owner may not maintain the panels, and suddenly we have two less redwoods just because someone had enough cash to tie up the courts for 6 years after investing $70k in panels in a less-than-ideal location. I agree it would have been better if he'd just moved.

Someone ought to donate to the redwood owners to install giant MIRRORS on top of their house to beam highly focused sunlight rays at Mr. Solar Panel. He has a right to sunlight, after all, so why not turn up the heat a little on his house? ;-)

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- Shannon Moore
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JohnK

I agree whole heartedly. This is an example of the judicial system run amuck. I suppose if someone builds a home in the shadow of a mountain and wants to install solar panels he can get such judges to rule that those living on the mountain are just out of luck because the mountain has to be torn down to accommodate the idiot who wants to harness solar energy in a place where the sun don't shine. Arghh!!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm an environmentalist through and through and applaud folks who do what they can to reduce CO2 emissions, etc., but this was truly an idiotic judicial decision. The tree indeed "was there first" and those who own the tree should not have to cut it down because the neighbors decide they want to harnass solar rays. The neighbors should move somewhere where their desire to implement the use of solar panels is practical and doesn't impinge upon the rights and property of their neighbors. Just my humble (though perturbed) opinion.

JohnK

JohnK

Okay, well... I guess I should have read the original article before hitting the reply button in my groggy state late last night. Perhaps I over-reacted just a tad not realizing the law apparently applies only to the impact of one homeowner's vegetation on his neighbor's access to solar rays, and it is likely that though the trees were planted before the solar panels went in, they have since grown enough to cast shadows on panels that were installed at a time when they were in clear sunlight.

Hmmm... If this is the situation, I guess I can see both points of view, but the expression "poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part" comes to mind. Mr. 70K solar panels should have surveyed the situation of surrounding trees and their future growth before plunking down that kind of dough on panels, and, IMHO, should have worked things out with his neighbor about the future of the trees vs. his access to sunlight in advance. It makes me suspect he was already aware of this obscure law and planned in advance to invoke it when necessary. I think I still side with the trees/tree-planter.

JohnK

ping_ping

These is sad. If those people want solar paneling on their house then perhaps they should have thought about buying a home that is away from trees.