PRINTER'S NO. 217
No. 191 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY J. L. WRIGHT, JAROLIN, CLYMER, GEIST, VROON,
KUKOVICH, SCHEETZ, CAWLEY, ITKIN, HERMAN, E. Z. TAYLOR,
CORNELL, MERRY, JOSEPHS, MELIO, MORRIS, PETRARCA, WOZNIAK AND
BELFANTI, FEBRUARY 1, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 1, 1989
AN ACT
1 Providing for the establishment of solar rights.
2 The General Assembly finds that preservation of the aesthetic
3 appeal of a community carries with it strong justification;
4 however, the cost of energy has escalated to a point where such
5 aesthetic restrictions may now be less readily justifiable.
6 The General Assembly further finds that it is to the benefit
7 of the citizens of this Commonwealth to conserve the value of
8 land, buildings and resources by preventing the adoption of
9 measures which will have the ultimate effect, however
10 unintended, of increasing the costs of owning and operating
11 commercial or residential property beyond the capacity of
12 private owners to maintain.
13 The General Assembly, therefore, declares that the intent in
14 enacting these provisions is to protect the public health,
15 safety and welfare of the citizens of this Commonwealth by
16 encouraging the development and use of renewable energy
1 resources, and that the right to use the natural resources of
2 the sun is a property right, the exercise of which is to be
3 encouraged by the laws of this Commonwealth.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Solar Rights
8 Act.
9 Section 2. Definitions.
10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12 context clearly indicates otherwise:
13 "Obstruction." Any object which impedes the line-of-sight
14 path of sunlight for a solar collector located on the subject
15 land.
16 "Solar energy collector." A device, structure or part of a
17 device or structure which is used primarily to transform solar
18 energy into thermal, chemical or electrical energy. The term
19 includes any space or structural components specifically
20 designed to retain heat derived from solar energy, any mechanism
21 that converts wind energy into electrical energy and any
22 photosynthetic process specifically maintained to produce
23 photosynthetic products.
24 Section 3. Right to sunlight reception.
25 (a) Unobstructed path of sunlight.--An owner of land shall
26 have the right to an unobstructed line-of-sight path of sunlight
27 for a solar collector located on his land.
28 (b) Adjacent landowners.--The rights granted herein shall
29 not affect the rights of any adjacent land owner to the
30 continued maintenance of any natural or man-made obstruction
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1 existing at the time the solar collector owner acquires title to
2 the land.
3 Section 4. Injunctive relief.
4 Any owner of land may bring an action in equity to restrain
5 any construction or activity on adjacent land which would
6 obstruct the line-of-sight path of sunlight for a solar
7 collector existing at the time of commencement of the
8 construction or activity.
9 Section 5. Effective date.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
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