November 30, 2009 – Daily Brief

Now, solar advocates are pushing for a federal version of the California law. Energy legislation that moved through the House earlier this year included a provision that would make it illegal for HOA rules, leases or private contracts to prohibit the installation of solar systems. Why not, DC has no respect for contract law, unless said law suppports their socialist agenda.

“• When you’re stuck in SCV traffic and shaking your fist at the world, think of these guys and their high tech traffic nerve center.” And then think about our City Planners/Leaders who desire doubling our population to 500,000 in the coming years!

The Tesoro del Valle lawsuit over solar panel installations is completely idiotic, and has resulted in increased monthly HOA dues to the rest of the community to cover the cost of the lawsuit. I don’t understand why HOA’s would want to prohibit energy conservation measures, especially since solar panels aren’t nearly as unattractive as they used to be. Do that many people really care if their neighbor’s roofs have solar panels on them, or are the HOA’s just exercising their political muscles by creating such an uproar? Seems the solar panels are much less offensive than many of the patio covers and decks that have been installed in the Tesoro del Valle area.

It will take more than a few computer geeks in a control room to handle 500k people. Even if all the proposed new roads in the circulation plan are built. I see bumper to bumper traffic from most homes to the freeways during rush hour. Not sure the city will be in control of the bottlenecks. Now they get an A for effort, but do they really add value. McBean and Valencia seem to operate as they always have. um.

Yes, solar panels are still ugly, especially as they age and the homeowner neglects the maintenance. Maybe a panel on top of those already offensive patio covers could be a good compromise. Seems that people don’t read the CC&R’s, that or they don’t care about honoring contracts. Realtors should understand the issue and make sure the buyers are aware. Perhaps the realtor and the buyer need to sign a document to acknowledge the CC&R’s so there are no misunderstandings. Bottom line if you do not want to live in a community with CC&R’s that are thought to protect the value of your property, buy elsewhere. There are plenty of areas in this valley without CC&R’s. They are easily recognized.

Another demonstration of idiot pet owners who refuse to take ownership of their pet. Here are a few novel ideas….maybe you shouldn’t own a large dog if you live in a motor home on the side of the road? Maybe you shouldn’t let a 6-year old handle a large dog? If your dog charges after a police officer maybe you should take responsibility. I hope this bankrupts them and they are forced to give the dog to a responsible owner.

There is no traffic problem in Santa Clarita. Not when compared with other communities, especially in LA. People have unreasonable expectations. And they are selfish. Even on Black Friday at around 5pm, I made it home from Central Park in less than 20 minutes. On the solar panels front, I can’t believe the HOA is that backward and ignorant. A home with a solar panel array is a huge bullet point on a real estate flyer. As a seller, you could charge more for it. As a buyer, I would be much more inclined to buy a house with a solar panel than a house without one. As it stands now, I just crossed Tesoro off my list of possible neighborhoods to buy in.

A lot of time you can ignore parts of CC&R’s. I did, went to court, and won. I honor contracts, but when they are stretched, distorted, misconstrued and abused – they become something I won’t honor. Man, I thought I was bitter. Cash gets the new crown!

Cash, more than likely the Tesoro homeowner who went against the HOA rules on solar panels bought through the builder, not a realtor. This issue has been ongoing for a long while. Realtors do not enforce HOA’s, nor do most homebuyers disclose that they will be wanting to add solar panels to their homes. Homeowners receive a copy of the entire HOA documents prior to the close of escrow, and can opt to back out of the purchase if there are HOA restrictions that they feel are unreasonable. Whether you think solar panels are ugly or not, they are becoming increasingly necessary as our electric bills go through the roof. Or would you prefer to have more of those awful new mega-towers that Edison recently installed? Jeff is right in saying that energy saving measures are becoming more important to homebuyers, whether it’s solar panels, increased insulation, tankless water heaters, dual-paned windows or anything else that helps to reduce utility bills. Seems Edison jacks up their rates every year, and there’s only so much a homeowner can unplug to keep energy bills down without installing some other energy-saving measures. Whether or not you’re on the ‘save the planet’ bandwagon, energy conservation is becoming increasingly important as the price of energy usage continues to rise.

Dog – I read the story and it seems as though the owners of the dog are, in the great American tradition, looking for money. Who lets a child walk a pitbull that probably outweighs her by 20 lbs? To avoid a lawsuit, I suppose the deputy should have just let the dog bite him/her and then shot it.

I agree that that the HOAs mentioned in that article are being completely unreasonable about solar panels. This provides the latest support for my thesis that HOAs are–generally speaking–somewhere between “not good” and “completely evil.” If there’s one thing the crash in property values taught us, it’s that the presence/absence of solar panels makes or breaks the value of a home.

Wow nice work all on the Tesoro issue. I am glad you researched the matter so well. The homeowner did not have approval to install them on a hillside adjacent to the sidewalk along side their home. They did not install them on the roof. Many homeowners in Tesoro have solar panels. The HOA has approved the instalation of many systems, provided they are on the roof. This was the case of a homeowner who installed 22 planels on the slope next too community property. Please people, do some due diligence before you slam any neighborhood. Jeff I am upset at your comment. Stay in Newhall.

Zephyr: Good point. I stand corrected and thanks for clarifying it.

I wouldn’t spend the money to install solar panels but I’d consider it a plus if I was buying a house that came with them. Very few people have paid for solar installation through savings in electric bills. The house is usually sold before that happens and, if not, the upkeep down the road negates a lot of the savings.

Just wait, you WILL sit in more traffic than you do now if OVOV is adopted in its current state as the city planners and leaders would like it to! The Valley of Villages will produce more high density projects in the Santa Clarita Valley and I can guarantee you the residents of the Villages will travel outside of their Village! Smart growth does not mean no growth just not run away growth.

Vote for a new City Council that is not beholden to the developers! Vote TimBen in April 2010. TimBen will read and understand the issues that are brought to him and, he will/does listen to the public.

Annette: Hold onto that vain hope! Anyone who does not believe in the power of incumbency should reflect on the Newhall School District election where someone with INCUMBENT by their name that WITHDREW FROM THE RACE captured a vote on just under 25% of the ballots cast.

Timothy: Just think… In four years Cathy Colley will be able to write “incumbent” next to her name rather than “nurse” for the Newhall Water Board election. Won’t make her a better candidate but the voting public in the SCV doesn’t seem to care much about qualifications and desire.

What an irresponsible adult to put an adult pit bull in the hands of a 6 year old girl. Rather than ask the sheriff to pay for the vet bill, how about the parent be prosecuted for inadequate containment of a dangerous animal? Of COURSE the pit bull THOUGHT it was defending the little girl! That is why they attack! That does not excuse the adult’s negligence! At this point I am for a ban on the breed. Humans are not just responsible enough to manage them.

No matter how much money is spent on traffic controls, the traffic light controls still stinks. How many times I have stopped for a red light on Newhall Ranch Road for no reason. The traffic going in the opposite direction has the green light, but we’re just sitting at the red light for no reason. Or, how about sitting at a red arrow light at a left turn lane, waiting it to turn green, seeing no oncoming traffic at all! What about installing those flashing yellow left turn arrows that allow for a left turn when it is safe to do so? I cannot tell you the number of times I have called the City about the traffic light issues on Newhall. BTW, anyone see the horrible accident on Hillsborough near Decoro yesterday around 3?

Timothy, Please do not use to many rolls of adding machine tape on “my vain hope”. It is mine and I will live by it until the voters prove you or me wrong I do agree that John Q. Public needs to be educated about our current council, especially that the current council meetings are no longer mostly agenda items for the public to make comments on,but rather almost all consent items, just a council vote and its a done deal. That public speaking has been moved to the end of the council meetings and if the current council does not want to hear what you have to say, they basically let you know that their mind is already made up! Yes, I can get that on DVD! I DO believe TimBen can accomplish an educated voter base and turnout to be successful in the 2010,so either get on the campaign trail or save your breath on me A little off topic but a direct reply to Timothy.

Re: Solar Panels See: Satellite Dishes Mr. Cash: the “non-socialist” Bush govt got involved a few years back (i’m sure thanks to the lobbying of dish companies, TV networks, etc) and made it illegal for HOAs to disallow satellite dishes. I believe we all survived that one.

Spineflower: Finally something you and I are in complete agreement on. Your comments on the pit bull are right on. I teach on dog safety in my job and have had pit bull encounters throughout So Cal. These dogs are dangerous and even more so when they think they are protecting a child. These dogs scare me like not much else. The ignorant dog owner wants the officer to pay for the dogs surgery because she can’t afford it. If she can’t afford the surgery she can’t afford a pit bull and the associated liability for unsafe handling. I say we take up a collection for the ~$200 for putting the dog down.

There is no traffic problem in Santa Clarita. Not when compared with other communities, especially in LA. People have unreasonable expectations. And they are selfish . You’re right on. Apart from some bonehead intersection design and the stupid traffic light issue one commenter was pointing out above, SCV has pretty good traffic conditions. Imagine having to sit in the kind of traffic you find on Santa Monica in Beverly Hills everyday at rush hour.

fred, jeff, I agree. Maybe people don’t appreciate that driving from Canyon Country to Stevenson Ranch can be a nine-mile drive. We move lots of cars, quickly. There is a regrettable side effect of making our roads less safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and the like, but we don’t have a traffic problem. Good job City!

“Mr. Cash: the “non-socialist” Bush govt got involved a few years back (i’m sure thanks to the lobbying of dish companies, TV networks, etc) and made it illegal for HOAs to disallow satellite dishes. I believe we all survived that one.” Those changes actually occurred during the Clinton administration in 1996 (or 1995). I ought to know… I live in an HOA and was monitoring the changes in the FCC laws that prevented HOA’s from not allowing the installation of dishes. As soon as that happened, I went to Sears to buy my DirecTV dish set-up (in those days, you went to places like Sears and Circuit City to buy your dish).

The bighgest traffic problem in Santa Clarita is getting in and out of Santa Clarita. This morning’s crash only temporarily blocked all lanes. By daylight, it was ontl one lane removed from the southbound traffic. Yet by midmorning, traffic was backed up to Parker Road. So we are one lane short of a total bottleneck in case of emergency. Or another housing tract…

Zephyr: Wow nice work on the Tesoro Solar Lawsuit Issue. I am glad you researched the matter so well. Actually the homeowner did max out their rooftop before using the hillside for the remaining 22 panals. The hillside that you refer to is private property that is adjacent to county property, not HOA property. The county permitted and approved of the installation. Go and check with Building and Safety. You say that many homeowners in Tesoro have solar. How do you define many. There are nearly 1100 homes and at my last count only 6 of them have Photovotaic panals installed. You also state that the HOA has approved those panals that are on the roof. Actually they allowed one other ground mount, but they failed to disclose that.