The day many parking lot users have been dreading has finally come: the construction of solar panels in the parking lot of Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech). Originally installed in the summer of 2025, the panels have served as a reliable and economically efficient energy source for the school. However, lining the perimeter of the campus, these solar panels have received complaints from residents in the surrounding residential community. This has resulted in reconstruction, set to be completed this summer.
During the 2024-25 school year, Foothill Tech faced repeated power outages due to the Santa Ana winds, which placed the school at a fire risk. The prolonged periods without electricity proved to be a hiccup in the day-to-day operations of the school, and as a result, solar panels provided a seemingly easy solution.
However, the panels proved to be problematic. One of the main reasons behind the construction were complaints from the residents living near Foothill Tech.
“They had the [solar panels] too high, too tall … [and they] were upset and are upset about the way it obstructs their view,” Foothill Tech Principal Courtney Johnson said regarding neighborhood complaints.
As a result, a decision was made to lower the solar panels.
“Originally, they were going to lower the solar panels over winter break. The idea there is that it would take about six weeks,” Johnson said, elaborating on the original plan.
Although the solar panels were originally supposed to go under construction during December, work was delayed and started May 27. As a result, many students and staff have now lost their assigned parking spots since the panels are over the school’s parking lot.
“I haven’t been on time to school since this whole thing started. Why couldn’t they wait a single week until the seniors got out of the parking lot?” Samantha Jacobson ‘26 said. Jacobson is one of many students who have had to find alternative parking arrangements due to the construction.
As the school year ends and construction continues into the summer, the installation of solar panels at Foothill Tech has proven to be a double-edged sword. The solar panels were initially built aiming to provide a reliable energy source for the school; however, complaints from nearby residents have led to both temporary inconvenience and permanent changes to the original plan. Although parking loss has caused frustration on campus, Foothill Tech is hoping the new alterations, set to be completed after roughly six weeks, will satisfy neighboring residents while still serving as a reliable energy source on campus.
Marilyn Cook • Jun 1, 2026 at 10:11 am
As one of the neighboring residents, I can tell you that we have no scenic view from our backyard. Our backyard is a view of Foothill Technology High School and their buildings. The scenic view is not our primary complaint.
When they built the School in the year 2000 they agreed to plant trees and build an 8 ft block wall to try to aesthetically blend the building of the school into the neighborhood as much as possible. The school is built in an R 1 7 residential neighborhood, which is contrary to the argument that was given to us by one of the school board members, who insisted it was in a Commercial Zone. I believe that was their first mistake. The structure is approximately 20 ft tall, with its highest point directly over our back yard, making us feel as though we live under bleachers.
The school did not follow government code 53096(a) which states that mailed notice of the public hearing shall be provided at least 10 days prior to the hearing to the owners of all property within 300 ft of the location of the proposed facility. If they had notified us of this by mail and given us a chance to voice our feelings before construction was started, they would not be putting out all this extra money which our schools cannot afford at this time.
The first thing that was done was they cut down the promised trees, which were now 25 years old, and they bypassed the city and County requirements of height and location. The bypassing of these city and county ordinances were not done until November, with the structure being started in June and completed in July. Our complaint is, and has always been, the fact that we feel like we’re under bleachers, it Shades approximately 1/3 of our yard, which deprives our fruit and flowering vegetation from the sun that is necessary for their health, the fact that it opens up the cameras (no trees for our privacy) on the school so that they can record not only in our backyards but all the way into the back of our homes, and anyone doing any cleaning or repairs on these arrays can also see into our home and our bedrooms. Combine that with the fact that during fire drills we have pictures of the students all congregating underneath these arrays, and if there really was a fire at the school it only makes sense that the smoke would hold under those arrays and be detrimental to the health safety and life of those children.
We would be very happy with thinking that they are greatly lowering or relocating these arrays, but one worker told my husband that they were only lowering it two feet, and another worker told my neighbor that they were only lowering it about a foot. Somehow that doesn’t make any sense to the neighbors and we cannot get anyone from the school to answer our questions as to what exactly is being done. There is a complete lack of transparency with this school district and a feeling that they do not have to follow the law, (such as mailing required notification). Also, why is it that members of the board feel as though it is okay for this one school to benefit from these arrays at the expense of and while lowering the property value of all of the neighbors whose properties are within 4-5 ft of the structures. I do hope that voters consider this when it comes time for their re-election. We definitely need transparency in our schools so that we can not only have harmony with the neighbors, but save money for the school district.