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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Tree-hugger neighbors in court, at each other's throats over solar panel dispute |
| 2008-04-10 |
| SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Call it an eco-parable: one Prius-driving couple takes pride in their eight redwoods, the first of them planted over a decade ago. Their electric-car-driving neighbors take pride in their rooftop solar panels, installed five years after the first trees were planted. Trees — redwoods, live oaks or blossoming fruit trees — are usually considered sturdy citizens of the sun-swept peninsula south of San Francisco, not criminal elements. But under a 1978 state law protecting homeowners’ investment in rooftop solar panels, trees that impede solar panels’ access to the sun can be deemed a nuisance and their owners fined up to $1,000 a day. The Solar Shade Act was a curiosity until late last year, when a dispute over the eight redwoods(a k a Tree No. 1, Tree No. 2, Tree No. 3, etc.) ended up in Santa Clara County criminal court. The couple who planted the trees, Carolynn Bissett and Richard Treanor, were convicted of violating the law, based on the complaint of their neighbor, Mark Vargas, and were ordered to make sure that no more than 10 percent of the solar panels are shaded. . . . On both sides of the Sunnyvale backyard fence, there is evidence of environmental virtue — one Prius (Ms. Bissett and Mr. Treanor), one electric car (the Vargases), one water-free xeriscaped front yard with recycled-plastic borders (Ms. Bissett and Mr. Treanor), 128 solar panels providing almost all the power for one home (the Vargases), and eight carbon-dioxide-sipping, bird-friendly redwood trees in various stages of growth (Ms. Bissett and Mr. Treanor). . . . |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #10 DODO it's called little dick syndrome, aka 50 something yr old men driving red sports cars |
| Posted by: sinse 2008-04-10 18:22 |
| #9 If you have ever seen these beautiful trees you would understand that they do not belong in any neighborhood. And if you had ever seen them in a neighborhood, you'd understand why people plant them. They are quite attractive in a neighborhood of appropriately sized lots, but they grow too quickly, for my taste. They soon (40-50 years) become a liability from a removal perspective. But they sure are nice. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-04-10 15:12 |
| #8 That said - if somebody wanted to chop down my trees for Solar Cell sun-view... I would chop them and their solar cells down. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-04-10 15:08 |
| #7 I had a Sequoia growing in my home in Illinois for 10 years. It was my bet on global warming and a joke. Global Colding finally killed it! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-04-10 15:07 |
| #6 Why would you plant them in a back yard? Redwoods are extremely fast growing. When landscapping in new developments they quickly provide shade and fill in space. However, they do need to be cut down when slower growing varieties mature. First, unless you have an immense yard, they look out of place. Second, because they have very shallow root systems, single trees tend to blow over in high winds. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2008-04-10 11:48 |
| #5 but jeebus, why would you plant them in a backyard? I think Freud would say they were compensating for something.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-04-10 11:22 |
| #4 That was my VERY first thought, too, Dan. I know it takes eons for them to reach the sizes they do in the National Forests/Nat'l Parks, but jeebus, why would you plant them in a backyard? |
| Posted by: BA 2008-04-10 11:03 |
| #3 If you have ever seen these beautiful trees you would understand that they do not belong in any neighborhood. |
| Posted by: Dan 2008-04-10 09:58 |
| #2 Chop down the Redwoods onto the solar panels. Win - win. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-04-10 09:52 |
| #1 Heh! (tm) I love hot red-on-red action. |
| Posted by: N guard 2008-04-10 09:12 |