Neighbors respond to school solar

Editor: Thank you for the great article, “School solar comes under fire,” that clearly updated our community on the discussion between neighbors and the Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board regarding the solar panel fields.

This discussion outlined the safety hazards and negative property values to our neighborhoods. The SVUSD responded by saying that they wanted to remedy these issues by creating landscaping screens and other measures to solve these problems.

I hope that the SVUSD embraces its promises to their neighbors in a quick and effective manner.

Anne Phillips
Sonoma

Editor: My wife and I appeared, along with other local residents, before the SVUSD board at their regular monthly meeting on August 9, 2011, to voice concerns about the installation of solar farms in the city and county.

The Adele Harrison Middle School, Sonoma High School, the Unified School District and other schools were sites of installations of solar power plants this summer. The school district sought voter approval last year of a $40,000,000 bond measure to provide funding for solar energy in an effort to make our schools more energy-independent.
None of the residents who appeared before the school board were opposed to solar power. Two of the residents work here in the teaching field, and I have taught both at San Francisco State University and College of Marin. We are not opposed in any way to public education.

Nine years ago, the middle school attempted to take our common area on Woodworth Lane by adverse possession, even though Adele Harrison’s campus is roughly 15 acres with much open space. Our small common area was to become a public gateway, which our association would have had to maintain and insure. When the Woodworth Lane residents complained to the SVUSD, the district agreed to withdraw from our property, to landscape a buffer area and to maintain the drainage pond to manage flooding. Flooding has been a problem for the school and homes near Nathanson Creek. In 2002, the school district put in the drainage pond, planted some trees and bushes and left us alone until 2011.

This June bulldozers returned to Adele Harrison for the third time since the school began construction. This time, we learned that the school planned to build a solar power plant in precisely the same spot where they had installed a buffer zone. The landscaping they had planted was taken away, along with the bluebird nests installed around the perimeter, and the pond was used for the solar panels. Incredibly, the district chose the only area in 15 acres where there were humans and where their construction would result in lowered property values – and that spot was in a water drainage pond.

Upset homeowners wrote to the district, called the district office and met with Deputy Superintendent Justin Frese. Mr. Frese advised us not to grow any trees which would block sunlight from the solar panels which were not-yet in place. The district does not want anyone restricting their land use, but they have no problem restricting ours.

We assumed, erroneously, that the bond funds would be used to pay for roof-top installations. We had no idea that the schools planned large solar power plants. The power plant at Adele Harrison is about 8,000 sq. ft. and is only 30 feet from the homes, which are each about 1,100 square feet. The installation on Railroad Avenue is much larger, but that solar plant is across the street from the residents.

Of the $40,000,000 authorized by the bond measure, only $14,000,000 has been raised. These funds have been used for the massive district office plant, the Adele Harrison power plant, the parking lot power plant at Sonoma Valley High School and various other schools. The district will need to raise an additional $26,000,000, and will target new areas and neighborhoods to place the solar power plants. A new power plant may be coming to your back yard.

As none of us (on Woodworth Lane or Railroad Avenue) had knowledge of the school district’s plan to build power plants in our neighborhoods, we asked the district why no notice was given. Mr. Frese emailed us the legal notices published in the newspapers. These notices were in 6 pt. type and appeared at the back section of the newspaper last year. One notice requested bids from solar suppliers. There were two notices of a meeting, but those only provided a date and a time for the meeting. They did not disclose the location or state clear notice of what would be discussed. Mr. Frese was satisfied that what was done was legally sufficient. SVUSD was able to keep its plans secret, legally, we guess.

When one sees the size, scope and unsightliness of the solar farms, you quickly understand why the district was so secretive about these installations. The solar panels are all you can see from the back of our house. We have planted flowers and vegetables on a tiny plot for three decades. The solar plant invades and dominates the whole rear of our two-story house.

For the second time in nine years, the SVUSD is in our pockets. The district wants a light easement from the homeowners on Woodworth Lane. There are two ways to go about getting an easement. The preferred way would be to get our agreement, but that would require being open and honest from the beginning; the other is by adverse possession, the same way the district sought to take our common area nine years ago. We were not happy when we caught the school district attempting to take our common area, but when caught at it, the school district amended its plans and chose the more neighborly approach.

This time they have broken things they cannot fix. They have invested $14,000,000 into horrible designs which created eyesores and lowered property values. It is sad when we can no longer trust public functions to honorable people. We should not need to catch the school district doing the wrong thing. They should do the right thing as a matter of course.

At Adele Harrison SVUSD chose the ONLY place where the district could make enemies and cause property damage. It was MORE expensive to plant the panels in mud. The danger of flooding to our homes increased significantly. The support poles are held in place by acres of concrete which does not drain. We will be standing in water in our homes one of these winters because of this power plant. It will be more expensive to maintain this power plant with its support structure under water for most of the year. When something goes wrong, someone has to wade in with hip boots to make repairs.

The SVUSD, in the name of better education, has selected a few families in Sonoma and Sonoma County to bear the brunt of the lowered property values, the loss of their enjoyment of their land, and the loss of peace of mind. The home, no matter how humble, is our refuge from the wind, the rain, the storms, the political and business battles, and the disappointments of a difficult world. When the district takes that away from twenty or so families to lower the PG&E bill by a million dollars, the district has lost its soul.

James Ligon
Sonoma