BILL REQ. #:  H-0337.1 

Read first time 01/13/09.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to constraints on the installation of solar energy systems; amending RCW 64.32.010, 64.34.020, 64.34.240, 64.34.304, and 64.38.010; adding new sections to chapter 64.32 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 64.34 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 64.38 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that a significant number of property owners have been prevented from starting the production of renewable energy as envisioned in and permitted by chapter 300, Laws of 2005 due to inaction by boards of directors, or restraints included in documents governing homeowners', apartment, and condominium associations. The visual impact of solar collectors on roofs is similar to skylights. The legislature finds that production of renewable energy is a national security priority as well as a significant contributor to the reduction of global climate change. The legislature intends to remove unnecessary constraints on property owners who are willing to contribute their personal resources toward these global, national, and statewide priorities.

Sec. 2   RCW 64.32.010 and 2008 c 114 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     As used in this chapter unless the context otherwise requires:
     (1) "Apartment" means a part of the property intended for any type of independent use, including one or more rooms or spaces located on one or more floors (or part or parts thereof) in a building, or if not in a building, a separately delineated place of storage or moorage of a boat, plane, or motor vehicle, regardless of whether it is destined for a residence, an office, storage or moorage of a boat, plane, or motor vehicle, the operation of any industry or business, or for any other use not prohibited by law, and which has a direct exit to a public street or highway, or to a common area leading to such street or highway. The boundaries of an apartment located in a building are the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, windows and doors thereof, and the apartment includes both the portions of the building so described and the air space so encompassed. If the apartment is a separately delineated place of storage or moorage of a boat, plane, or motor vehicle the boundaries are those specified in the declaration. In interpreting declarations, deeds, and plans, the existing physical boundaries of the apartment as originally constructed or as reconstructed in substantial accordance with the original plans thereof shall be conclusively presumed to be its boundaries rather than the metes and bounds expressed or depicted in the declaration, deed or plan, regardless of settling or lateral movement of the building and regardless of minor variance between boundaries shown in the declaration, deed, or plan and those of apartments in the building.
     (2) "Apartment owner" means the person or persons owning an apartment, as herein defined, in fee simple absolute or qualified, by way of leasehold or by way of a periodic estate, or in any other manner in which real property may be owned, leased or possessed in this state, together with an undivided interest in a like estate of the common areas and facilities in the percentage specified and established in the declaration as duly recorded or as it may be lawfully amended.
     (3) "Apartment number" means the number, letter, or combination thereof, designating the apartment in the declaration as duly recorded or as it may be lawfully amended.
     (4) "Association of apartment owners" or "association" means all of the apartment owners acting as a group in accordance with the bylaws and with the declaration as it is duly recorded or as they may be lawfully amended, or the board of directors or manager acting on behalf of the apartment owners.
     (5) "Board of directors" or "manager" means the individual or body, regardless of name, with primary authority to manage the affairs of the association.
     (6) "Building" means a building, containing two or more apartments, or two or more buildings each containing one or more apartments, and comprising a part of the property.
     (((6))) (7) "Common areas and facilities", unless otherwise provided in the declaration as duly recorded or as it may be lawfully amended, includes:
     (a) The land on which the building is located;
     (b) The foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports, main walls, roofs, halls, corridors, lobbys, stairs, stairways, fire escapes, and entrances and exits of the building;
     (c) The basements, yards, gardens, parking areas and storage spaces;
     (d) The premises for the lodging of janitors or persons in charge of the property;
     (e) The installations of central services such as power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating, refrigeration, air conditioning and incinerating;
     (f) The elevators, tanks, pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and in general all apparatus and installations existing for common use;
     (g) Such community and commercial facilities as may be provided for in the declaration as duly recorded or as it may be lawfully amended;
     (h) All other parts of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance and safety, or normally in common use.
     (((7))) (8) "Common expenses" include:
     (a) All sums lawfully assessed against the apartment owners by the association of apartment owners;
     (b) Expenses of administration, maintenance, repair, or replacement of the common areas and facilities;
     (c) Expenses agreed upon as common expenses by the association of apartment owners;
     (d) Expenses declared common expenses by the provisions of this chapter, or by the declaration as it is duly recorded, or by the bylaws, or as they may be lawfully amended.
     (((8))) (9) "Common profits" means the balance of all income, rents, profits and revenues from the common areas and facilities remaining after the deduction of the common expenses.
     (((9))) (10) "Declaration" means the instrument by which the property is submitted to provisions of this chapter, as hereinafter provided, and as it may be, from time to time, lawfully amended.
     (((10))) (11) "Governing documents" means the bylaws, declaration, rules and regulations of the association of apartment owners, or other written instrument by which the association has authority to exercise any of the powers provided for in this chapter or to manage, maintain, or otherwise affect the property under its jurisdiction.
     (12) "Land" means the material of the earth, whatever may be the ingredients of which it is composed, whether soil, rock, or other substance, whether or not submerged, and includes free or occupied space for an indefinite distance upwards as well as downwards, subject to limitations upon the use of airspace imposed, and rights in the use of the airspace granted, by the laws of this state or of the United States.
     (((11))) (13) "Limited common areas and facilities" includes those common areas and facilities designated in the declaration, as it is duly recorded or as it may be lawfully amended, as reserved for use of certain apartment or apartments to the exclusion of the other apartments.
     (((12))) (14) "Majority" or "majority of apartment owners" means the apartment owners with fifty-one percent or more of the votes in accordance with the percentages assigned in the declaration, as duly recorded or as it may be lawfully amended, to the apartments for voting purposes.
     (((13))) (15) "Person" includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, trustee, or other legal entity.
     (((14))) (16) "Property" means the land, the building, all improvements and structures thereon, all owned in fee simple absolute or qualified, by way of leasehold or by way of a periodic estate, or in any other manner in which real property may be owned, leased or possessed in this state, and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto, none of which shall be considered as a security or security interest, and all articles of personalty intended for use in connection therewith, which have been or are intended to be submitted to the provisions of this chapter.
     (((15))) (17) "Percent of the apartment owners" means the apartment owners with the stated percent or more of the votes in accordance with the percentages assigned in the declaration, as duly recorded or as it may be lawfully amended, to the apartments for voting purposes.
     (18) "Solar energy system" means any device or combination of devices or elements which rely upon direct sunlight as an energy source including, but not limited to, any substance or device which collects sunlight for use in:
     (a) The heating or cooling of a structure or building;
     (b) The heating or pumping of water;
     (c) Industrial, commercial, or agricultural processes; or
     (d) The generation of electricity.
     A solar energy system may be used for purposes in addition to the collection of solar energy. These uses include, but are not limited to, serving as a structural member or part of a roof of a building or structure and serving as a window or wall.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The association may not impair the ability of an apartment owner to install, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy system on his or her apartment.
     (2) Any provision in the governing documents that impairs the ability of an apartment owner to install, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy system on his or her apartment is void and unenforceable.
     (3) If the governing documents require the association to approve the installation or use of a solar energy system, the application for approval must be processed and approved by the association in the same manner as an application for an architectural modification to the property, and application processing may not be willfully avoided or delayed with the purpose of unreasonably preventing installation or use of the solar energy system.
     (4) Treatment of solar energy systems in the governing documents must be reasonable when compared to the manner in which comparable systems are treated in the same governing documents.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   An act of the association or provision in the governing documents is deemed to impair the installation, construction, maintenance, or use of a solar energy system if it:
     (1) Unreasonably delays or prevents installation, construction, maintenance, or use;
     (2) Unreasonably increases the cost of installation, construction, maintenance, or use;
     (3) Decreases designed energy production by more than five percent; or
     (4) Precludes the use of a solar energy system.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   Any fee or cost imposed on an apartment owner by the association is deemed unreasonable if it is not reasonable in comparison to the fees or costs charged by the local government jurisdiction for the permit processing of similar systems or the value derived from system use.

Sec. 6   RCW 64.34.020 and 2008 c 115 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     In the declaration and bylaws, unless specifically provided otherwise or the context requires otherwise, and in this chapter:
     (1) "Affiliate" means any person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the referenced person. A person "controls" another person if the person: (a) Is a general partner, officer, director, or employer of the referenced person; (b) directly or indirectly or acting in concert with one or more other persons, or through one or more subsidiaries, owns, controls, holds with power to vote, or holds proxies representing, more than twenty percent of the voting interest in the referenced person; (c) controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors of the referenced person; or (d) has contributed more than twenty percent of the capital of the referenced person. A person "is controlled by" another person if the other person: (i) Is a general partner, officer, director, or employer of the person; (ii) directly or indirectly or acting in concert with one or more other persons, or through one or more subsidiaries, owns, controls, holds with power to vote, or holds proxies representing, more than twenty percent of the voting interest in the person; (iii) controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors of the person; or (iv) has contributed more than twenty percent of the capital of the person. Control does not exist if the powers described in this subsection are held solely as security for an obligation and are not exercised.
     (2) "Allocated interests" means the undivided interest in the common elements, the common expense liability, and votes in the association allocated to each unit.
     (3) "Assessment" means all sums chargeable by the association against a unit including, without limitation: (a) Regular and special assessments for common expenses, charges, and fines imposed by the association; (b) interest and late charges on any delinquent account; and (c) costs of collection, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the association in connection with the collection of a delinquent owner's account.
     (4) "Association" or "unit owners' association" means the unit owners' association organized under RCW 64.34.300, or the board of directors acting on behalf of the unit owners.
     (5) "Board of directors" means the body, regardless of name, with primary authority to manage the affairs of the association.
     (6) "Common elements" means all portions of a condominium other than the units.
     (7) "Common expenses" means expenditures made by or financial liabilities of the association, together with any allocations to reserves.
     (8) "Common expense liability" means the liability for common expenses allocated to each unit pursuant to RCW 64.34.224.
     (9) "Condominium" means real property, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. Real property is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners, and unless a declaration and a survey map and plans have been recorded pursuant to this chapter.
     (10) "Contribution rate" means, in a reserve study as described in RCW 64.34.380, the amount contributed to the reserve account so that the association will have cash reserves to pay major maintenance, repair, or replacement costs without the need of a special assessment.
     (11) "Conversion condominium" means a condominium (a) that at any time before creation of the condominium was lawfully occupied wholly or partially by a tenant or subtenant for residential purposes pursuant to a rental agreement, oral or written, express or implied, for which the tenant or subtenant had not received the notice described in (b) of this subsection; or (b) that, at any time within twelve months before the conveyance of, or acceptance of an agreement to convey, any unit therein other than to a declarant or any affiliate of a declarant, was lawfully occupied wholly or partially by a residential tenant of a declarant or an affiliate of a declarant and such tenant was not notified in writing, prior to lawfully occupying a unit or executing a rental agreement, whichever event first occurs, that the unit was part of a condominium and subject to sale. "Conversion condominium" shall not include a condominium in which, before July 1, 1990, any unit therein had been conveyed or been made subject to an agreement to convey to any transferee other than a declarant or an affiliate of a declarant.
     (12) "Conveyance" means any transfer of the ownership of a unit, including a transfer by deed or by real estate contract and, with respect to a unit in a leasehold condominium, a transfer by lease or assignment thereof, but shall not include a transfer solely for security.
     (13) "Dealer" means a person who, together with such person's affiliates, owns or has a right to acquire either six or more units in a condominium or fifty percent or more of the units in a condominium containing more than two units.
     (14) "Declarant" means:
     (a) Any person who executes as declarant a declaration as defined in subsection (16) of this section; or
     (b) Any person who reserves any special declarant right in the declaration; or
     (c) Any person who exercises special declarant rights or to whom special declarant rights are transferred; or
     (d) Any person who is the owner of a fee interest in the real property which is subjected to the declaration at the time of the recording of an instrument pursuant to RCW 64.34.316 and who directly or through one or more affiliates is materially involved in the construction, marketing, or sale of units in the condominium created by the recording of the instrument.
     (15) "Declarant control" means the right of the declarant or persons designated by the declarant to appoint and remove officers and members of the board of directors, or to veto or approve a proposed action of the board or association, pursuant to RCW 64.34.308 (4) or (5).
     (16) "Declaration" means the document, however denominated, that creates a condominium by setting forth the information required by RCW 64.34.216 and any amendments to that document.
     (17) "Development rights" means any right or combination of rights reserved by a declarant in the declaration to: (a) Add real property or improvements to a condominium; (b) create units, common elements, or limited common elements within real property included or added to a condominium; (c) subdivide units or convert units into common elements; (d) withdraw real property from a condominium; or (e) reallocate limited common elements with respect to units that have not been conveyed by the declarant.
     (18) "Dispose" or "disposition" means a voluntary transfer or conveyance to a purchaser or lessee of any legal or equitable interest in a unit, but does not include the transfer or release of a security interest.
     (19) "Effective age" means the difference between useful life and remaining useful life.
     (20) "Eligible mortgagee" means the holder of a mortgage on a unit that has filed with the secretary of the association a written request that it be given copies of notices of any action by the association that requires the consent of mortgagees.
     (21) "Foreclosure" means a forfeiture or judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure of a mortgage or a deed in lieu thereof.
     (22) "Fully funded balance" means the value of the deteriorated portion of all the reserve components. The fully funded balance for each reserve component is calculated by multiplying the current replacement cost of that reserve component by its effective age, then dividing the result by that reserve component's useful life. The sum total of all reserve components' fully funded balances is the association's fully funded balance.
     (23) "Governing documents" means the bylaws, declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions, rules and regulations of the association, or other written instrument by which the association has authority to exercise any of the powers provided for in this chapter or to manage, maintain, or otherwise affect the property under its jurisdiction.
     (24) "Identifying number" means the designation of each unit in a condominium.
     (((24))) (25) "Leasehold condominium" means a condominium in which all or a portion of the real property is subject to a lease, the expiration or termination of which will terminate the condominium or reduce its size.
     (((25))) (26) "Limited common element" means a portion of the common elements allocated by the declaration or by operation of RCW 64.34.204 (2) or (4) for the exclusive use of one or more but fewer than all of the units.
     (((26))) (27) "Master association" means an organization described in RCW 64.34.276, whether or not it is also an association described in RCW 64.34.300.
     (((27))) (28) "Mortgage" means a mortgage, deed of trust or real estate contract.
     (((28))) (29) "Person" means a natural person, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, trust, governmental subdivision or agency, or other legal entity.
     (((29))) (30) "Purchaser" means any person, other than a declarant or a dealer, who by means of a disposition acquires a legal or equitable interest in a unit other than (a) a leasehold interest, including renewal options, of less than twenty years at the time of creation of the unit, or (b) as security for an obligation.
     (((30))) (31) "Real property" means any fee, leasehold or other estate or interest in, over, or under land, including structures, fixtures, and other improvements thereon and easements, rights and interests appurtenant thereto which by custom, usage, or law pass with a conveyance of land although not described in the contract of sale or instrument of conveyance. "Real property" includes parcels, with or without upper or lower boundaries, and spaces that may be filled with air or water.
     (((31))) (32) "Remaining useful life" means the estimated time, in years, that a reserve component can be expected to continue to serve its intended function.
     (((32))) (33) "Replacement cost" means the current cost of replacing, repairing, or restoring a reserve component to its original functional condition.
     (((33))) (34) "Residential purposes" means use for dwelling or recreational purposes, or both.
     (((34))) (35) "Reserve components" means common elements whose cost of maintenance, repair, or replacement is infrequent, significant, and impractical to include in an annual budget.
     (((35))) (36) "Reserve study professional" means an independent person suitably qualified by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education to prepare a reserve study in accordance with RCW 64.34.380 and 64.34.382.
     (((36))) (37) "Solar energy system" means any device or combination of devices or elements which rely upon direct sunlight as an energy source including, but not limited to, any substance or device which collects sunlight for use in:
     (a) The heating or cooling of a structure or building;
     (b) The heating or pumping of water;
     (c) Industrial, commercial, or agricultural processes; or
     (d) The generation of electricity.
     A solar energy system may be used for purposes in addition to the collection of solar energy. These uses include, but are not limited to, serving as a structural member or part of a roof of a building or structure and serving as a window or wall.
     (38) "Special declarant rights" means rights reserved for the benefit of a declarant to: (a) Complete improvements indicated on survey maps and plans filed with the declaration under RCW 64.34.232; (b) exercise any development right under RCW 64.34.236; (c) maintain sales offices, management offices, signs advertising the condominium, and models under RCW 64.34.256; (d) use easements through the common elements for the purpose of making improvements within the condominium or within real property which may be added to the condominium under RCW 64.34.260; (e) make the condominium part of a larger condominium or a development under RCW 64.34.280; (f) make the condominium subject to a master association under RCW 64.34.276; or (g) appoint or remove any officer of the association or any master association or any member of the board of directors, or to veto or approve a proposed action of the board or association, during any period of declarant control under RCW 64.34.308(4).
     (((37))) (39) "Timeshare" shall have the meaning specified in the timeshare act, RCW 64.36.010(11).
     (((38))) (40) "Unit" means a physical portion of the condominium designated for separate ownership, the boundaries of which are described pursuant to RCW 64.34.216(1)(d). "Separate ownership" includes leasing a unit in a leasehold condominium under a lease that expires contemporaneously with any lease, the expiration or termination of which will remove the unit from the condominium.
     (((39))) (41) "Unit owner" means a declarant or other person who owns a unit or leases a unit in a leasehold condominium under a lease that expires simultaneously with any lease, the expiration or termination of which will remove the unit from the condominium, but does not include a person who has an interest in a unit solely as security for an obligation. "Unit owner" means the vendee, not the vendor, of a unit under a real estate contract.
     (((40))) (42) "Useful life" means the estimated time, in years, that a reserve component can be expected to serve its intended function.

Sec. 7   RCW 64.34.240 and 1989 c 43 s 2-111 are each amended to read as follows:
     Subject to the provisions of the declaration and other provisions of law, a unit owner:
     (1) May make any improvements or alterations to the owner's unit that do not affect the structural integrity or mechanical or electrical systems or lessen the support of any portion of the condominium;
     (2) May not change the appearance of the common elements or the exterior appearance of a unit without permission of the association;
     (3) After acquiring an adjoining unit or an adjoining part of an adjoining unit may, with approval of the board of directors, remove or alter any intervening partition or create apertures therein, even if the partition in whole or in part is a common element, if those acts do not adversely affect the structural integrity or mechanical or electrical systems or lessen the support of any portion of the condominium. Removal of partitions or creation of apertures under this subsection is not a relocation of boundaries. The board of directors shall approve a unit owner's request, which request shall include the plans and specifications for the proposed removal or alteration, under this subsection within thirty days, or within such other period provided by the declaration, unless the proposed alteration does not comply with this chapter or the declaration or impairs the structural integrity or mechanical or electrical systems in the condominium. The failure of the board of directors to act upon a request within such period shall be deemed approval thereof;
     (4) May install, construct, maintain, and use a solar energy system on the owner's unit. If the governing documents require the association to approve the installation or use of a solar energy system, the application for approval must be processed and approved by the association in the same manner as an application for an architectural modification to the property, and application processing may not be willfully avoided or delayed with the purpose of unreasonably preventing installation or use of the solar energy system.

Sec. 8   RCW 64.34.304 and 2008 c 115 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, and subject to the provisions of the declaration, the association may:
     (a) Adopt and amend bylaws, rules, and regulations;
     (b) Adopt and amend budgets for revenues, expenditures, and reserves, and impose and collect assessments for common expenses from unit owners;
     (c) Hire and discharge or contract with managing agents and other employees, agents, and independent contractors;
     (d) Institute, defend, or intervene in litigation or administrative proceedings in its own name on behalf of itself or two or more unit owners on matters affecting the condominium;
     (e) Make contracts and incur liabilities;
     (f) Regulate the use, maintenance, repair, replacement, and modification of common elements;
     (g) Cause additional improvements to be made as a part of the common elements;
     (h) Acquire, hold, encumber, and convey in its own name any right, title, or interest to real or personal property, but common elements may be conveyed or subjected to a security interest only pursuant to RCW 64.34.348;
     (i) Grant easements, leases, licenses, and concessions through or over the common elements and petition for or consent to the vacation of streets and alleys;
     (j) Impose and collect any payments, fees, or charges for the use, rental, or operation of the common elements, other than limited common elements described in RCW 64.34.204 (2) and (4), and for services provided to unit owners;
     (k) Impose and collect charges for late payment of assessments pursuant to RCW 64.34.364(13) and, after notice and an opportunity to be heard by the board of directors or by such representative designated by the board of directors and in accordance with such procedures as provided in the declaration or bylaws or rules and regulations adopted by the board of directors, levy reasonable fines in accordance with a previously established schedule thereof adopted by the board of directors and furnished to the owners for violations of the declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations of the association;
     (l) Impose and collect reasonable charges for the preparation and recording of amendments to the declaration, resale certificates required by RCW 64.34.425, and statements of unpaid assessments;
     (m) Provide for the indemnification of its officers and board of directors and maintain directors' and officers' liability insurance;
     (n) Assign its right to future income, including the right to receive common expense assessments, but only to the extent the declaration provides;
     (o) Join in a petition for the establishment of a parking and business improvement area, participate in the rate payers' board or other advisory body set up by the legislative authority for operation of a parking and business improvement area, and pay special assessments levied by the legislative authority on a parking and business improvement area encompassing the condominium property for activities and projects which benefit the condominium directly or indirectly;
     (p) Establish and administer a reserve account as described in RCW 64.34.380;
     (q) Prepare a reserve study as described in RCW 64.34.380;
     (r) Exercise any other powers conferred by the declaration or bylaws;
     (s) Exercise all other powers that may be exercised in this state by the same type of corporation as the association; and
     (t) Exercise any other powers necessary and proper for the governance and operation of the association.
     (2) The declaration may not impose limitations on the power of the association to deal with the declarant which are more restrictive than the limitations imposed on the power of the association to deal with other persons.
     (3) The association may not impair the ability of a unit owner to install, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy system on his or her unit.
     (a) An act of the association or provision in the governing documents is deemed to impair the installation, construction, maintenance, or use of a solar energy system if it:
     (i) Unreasonably delays or prevents installation, construction, maintenance, or use;
     (ii) Unreasonably increases the cost of installation, construction, maintenance, or use;
     (iii) Decreases designed energy production by more than five percent; or
     (iv) Precludes the use of a solar energy system.
     (b) Any fee or cost imposed on a unit owner by the association is deemed unreasonable if it is not reasonable in comparison to the fees or costs charged by the local government jurisdiction for the permit processing of similar systems or the value derived from system use.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   A new section is added to chapter 64.34 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Any provision in the governing documents that impairs the ability of a unit owner to install, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy system on his or her unit is void and unenforceable.
     (2) Treatment of solar energy systems in the governing documents must be reasonable when compared to the manner in which comparable systems are treated in the same governing documents.

Sec. 10   RCW 64.38.010 and 1995 c 283 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     For purposes of this chapter:
     (1) "Homeowners' association" or "association" means a corporation, unincorporated association, or other legal entity, each member of which is an owner of residential real property located within the association's jurisdiction, as described in the governing documents, and by virtue of membership or ownership of property is obligated to pay real property taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance costs, or for improvement of real property other than that which is owned by the member. "Homeowners' association" or "association" includes the board of directors acting on behalf of the owners of residential real property under this chapter, but does not mean an association created under chapter 64.32 or 64.34 RCW.
     (2) "Governing documents" means the articles of incorporation, bylaws, plat, declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions, rules and regulations of the association, or other written instrument by which the association has the authority to exercise any of the powers provided for in this chapter or to manage, maintain, or otherwise affect the property under its jurisdiction.
     (3) "Board of directors" or "board" means the body, regardless of name, with primary authority to manage the affairs of the association.
     (4) "Common areas" means property owned, or otherwise maintained, repaired or administered by the association.
     (5) "Common expense" means the costs incurred by the association to exercise any of the powers provided for in this chapter.
     (6) "Residential real property" means any real property, the use of which is limited by law, covenant or otherwise to primarily residential or recreational purposes.
     (7) "Solar energy system" means any device or combination of devices or elements which rely upon direct sunlight as an energy source including, but not limited to, any substance or device which collects sunlight for use in:
     (a) The heating or cooling of a structure or building;
     (b) The heating or pumping of water;
     (c) Industrial, commercial, or agricultural processes; or
     (d) The generation of electricity.
     A solar energy system may be used for purposes in addition to the collection of solar energy. These uses include, but are not limited to, serving as a structural member or part of a roof of a building or structure and serving as a window or wall.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   (1) The association may not impair the ability of an owner to install, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy system on his or her property.
     (2) Any provision in the governing documents that impairs the ability of an owner to install, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy system on his or her property is void and unenforceable.
     (3) If the governing documents require the association to approve the installation or use of a solar energy system, the application for approval must be processed and approved by the association in the same manner as an application for an architectural modification to the property, and application processing may not be willfully avoided or delayed with the purpose of unreasonably preventing installation or use of the solar energy system.
     (4) Treatment of solar energy systems in the governing documents must be reasonable when compared to the manner in which comparable systems are treated in the same governing documents.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   An act of the association or provision in the governing documents is deemed to impair the installation, construction, maintenance, or use of a solar energy system if it:
     (1) Unreasonably delays or prevents installation, construction, maintenance, or use;
     (2) Unreasonably increases the cost of installation, construction, maintenance, or use;
     (3) Decreases designed energy production by more than five percent; or
     (4) Precludes the use of a solar energy system.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13   Any fee or cost imposed on an owner by the association is deemed unreasonable if it is not reasonable in comparison to the fees or costs charged by the local government jurisdiction for the permit processing of similar systems or the value derived from system use.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 14   Sections 3 through 5 of this act are each added to chapter 64.32 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 15   Sections 11 through 13 of this act are each added to chapter 64.38 RCW.