I'm not really sure what I think of this law. It's probably based on the types of laws that prevent one person from planting trees that block another person's established views.

Anyway, that aside, it sounds like the article has made some kind of factual error. It starts out by saying you need to consider your neighbor's existing trees, but the law it quotes specifies trees planted "subsequent to the installation of a solar collector..." So it seems like if the trees are already there, they are safe, but if the solar collector is there first, it has "dibs" on the sun that falls on it. If that's the way it is applied, then it seems fair to me. You should not be able to make someone cut down an established tree, but you should also not be able to ruin another person's investment in a power system by planting a new tree to block it.
dragonrider Reviewed by dragonrider on . Trees, Shade and Solar Panels = a Possible Crime Considering solar panels? How is your relationship with your neighbors? You might want to look around you and see if any neighbors have trees which may in the future shade your planned panel locations. Technically, if they eventually do, it will be a crime. Richard Treanor and neighbor Mark Vargas are both very green. They both recycle, one has a hybrid and the other an all-electric, etc. etc. However, Treanor has ended up in Santa Clara County Superior Court because his large, 35-foot oak Rating: 5