Earlier in December 2011, the California Court of Appeal ruled that the California Solar Rights Act, which bars homeowners associations (HOAs) from preventing solar installations, does not apply when homeowners do not provide multiple siting options to the HOA. In the case of Tesoro V. Griffin, a jury found that HOA Tesoro Corp. was within its rights to bar the solar array installed by Griffin.

The HOA filed against Griffin for installing solar on the roof of his house and on a slope outside the perimeter wall. Tesoro alleged that Griffin didn’t receive approval for the plans from Tesoro and that the HOA could not determine whether other locations were considered, according to law firm Goodwin Procter. Tesoro filed the suit after the Griffins refused to return the slope to its original condition.

“I think what it does is it puts everyone on notice that while a homeowner has the right [to install solar], the HOA still has some powers on them,” said Goodwin Procter Partner Doug Praw. The jury ruled that what the homeowner did was improper. “It allows you to put solar up within the confines or reasonable restrictions put forth in an HOA.”

The ruling may give HOAs more leverage in such future cases, which means they could put some restrictions on access to solar.

“I think it does give the HOA more power and requires that the homeowner would have to prove that the CCRs, [covenants, conditions, and restrictions], were unreasonable, and there was an economic burden to the restriction. The HOAs do have more power because they have the ability to impose those restrictions,” Praw said. “The question becomes how reasonable are the restrictions, and the court found that’s a fact for the jury to decide.”

One of the keys in the case was that it was demonstrated that the installation could have been located elsewhere on the homeowner’s property without impacting the system’s production.

“It’s really a decision as to the placement of a solar system,” said Praw.

Had Griffin worked more with the HOA, the issue may never have been in the courts. But Praw understood that there had been a lot of back and forth between the homeowner and the HOA.