INSTALLATIONS OF SOLAR
Covenants, restrictions, or conditions in a community association’s governing documents that effectively prohibit or restrict the ability of owners to install or use solar energy systems, are against pub- lic policy and are void and unenforce- able.
Nevertheless, community associations may impose “reasonable restrictions” on such systems, provided that they do not significantly increase the cost of the sys- tem or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified performance, or allow for an alternative system of comparable cost, ef- ficiency, and energy conservation benefits.
Solar energy systems must meet appli- cable state and local health and safety standards and requirements as well as all applicable safety and performance stan- dards established by certain governmen- tal and industry bodies, including the California Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
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Underwriters Laboratories, and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
If a community association board re- quires prior approval of an owner’s ap- plication to install a solar energy system, it must treat the application the same as it would in reviewing any other archi- tectural application. If a board does not deny or reasonably request additional information from the applicant, in writ- ing, within forty-five (45) days of receiv- ing the application, the application is au- tomatically deemed approved—despite any longer time period that may exist in the association’s governing documents for reviewing and approving architec- tural applications.
Terefore, if a board has any doubt re- garding an owner’s application, and if it can reasonably do so, in good faith, it should deny the application within this forty-five (45) day period, and/or request additional information from the appli- cant to toll the running of the approval/ denial period.
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