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8 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | SEPTEMBER 2024 | Avoid SoCal Edison Electric Bill Increases for 25 Years The State of California's interest in solar panels is best demonstrated by the California Solar Mandate which went into effect January 1, 2020. It requires all new residential construction projects to have solar. Of course, this does not apply to us. Southern California Edison costs increased 17% in 2022, 9.5% in 2023, 7.21% in 2024; and will increase 10.3% in 2025. If you pay cash for Solar Panel Installation, you will recover your investment over 5-10 years in energy savings. If you finance the purchase, or sign up for a power purchase agreement, start saving money from year one. The California Solar Right Act of 1978 prohibits HOAs from prohibiting the installation of solar energy systems. HOAs, however, can impose reasonable restrictions and require an architectural application for approval, as with any architectural modification to your home. Four Seasons' Architectural Standards and Regulations comply with this Act and support Solar Panel Installations. Your solar company may tell you that you do not need approval from your HOA, but this is not true. They may also tell you that they will take care of all paperwork, etc., but many do not follow through, creating a problem for the homeowner. The homeowner, only, is responsible to submit the ARC application for approval of any project. You must apply for a Solar Panel Installation to the Architectural Review Committee (ARC). The Standards, pages 19-20 are few, but important. Surprisingly, submitted applications or projects completed without an application often don't comply with them. Make sure you know what is required, before you begin your solar installation. Conduit to the panels must be run in your attic, not on your roof or exterior walls. The company's Plan must show this. The company will want to place the panels to maximize production, but they must also be placed "in as inconspicuous location as possible", per the Standards, to minimize visibility from public spaces. Include the Company's Plan in your Application to the ARC. A City of Hemet Permit, obtained by the Installer, is required for solar panel installations. Talking with your architectural support staff, Maria Donti, can be very helpful. The 24 page "California Solar Consumer Protection Guide" at www.cpuc.ca.gov also provides an outstanding description of all aspects of solar. The sooner you decide to install solar panels, the sooner you'll start saving money. Architectural Review Meet Everthrive – our community's new watermaster While Four Seasons has excellent irrigation systems, there is always room for improvement. With that in mind, the Four Seasons Board has engaged Everthrive to audit our current irrigation systems. You may have seen trucks and personnel from Everthrive as you walk through our community. As a part of their contract, Everthrive will map and label our current irrigation systems and help refine settings to prevent overwatering. A key area in the audit is the East Legends area where excess water has caused damage to the streets. Since the East Legends is also one of the few neighborhoods using potable water for landscaping, the savings are twofold. Everthrive will also help management produce more meaningful and targeted water usage reports. These reports will help identify areas where relandscaping could maximize water savings. These reports will also let us compare year-to-year usage so that we can better quantify water savings through relandscaping and better irrigation settings. Additionally, Everthrive will provide training for both Artistic employees and our management team. What's that plant? You may have noticed the emergence of a new plant in the Lodge parking lot area. It's a heat lover – and one that's water wise and easy to care for: dwarf westringia. Westringia is a genus in the Mint Family endemic to Australia. The dwarf version is a compact evergreen shrub that grows two to three feet tall and has small white flowers in the spring. Thriving in full sun to partial shade, it prefers to grow in average to dry locations. After a test period, we are using westringia to fill places where nandina, star jasmine, and pittosporum have started to show evidence of leaf burn and failure to thrive. So, the next time you drive up to the Lodge, take a look and see if you can spot this new plant in our landscape. Questions or concerns about public landscaping? Residents are welcome to attend the Landscape Committee meetings. Please contact Maria Donti for more information. Landscape Committee