Manufactured home residents called for a meeting Wednesday to discuss a situation some feel has the Canyon Country neighborhood facing hundreds of solar panels without a say.

The owner of Canyon View Estates property, Kerry Seidenglanz, said he was tired of a six-digit utility bill to operate the manufactured park, providing the lighting, power for the common areas, etc. He was hoping to lower it to five digits, he said, and “go green.”

At least a few residents though, feel cheated. Some of them “bought” manufactured homes on the property on 99-year leases. They were given notice of the construction in February, and Phase I of the panels is looking to be completed by the end of the month, Seidenglanz said. The panels jut up against their property, covering a hillside that was once covered with wildlife.

Ben Turner said he received notice in February, but a series of concerns prevented him from being able to address the concerns until there was construction taking place near his backyard.

The speed at which the project has been greenlit, started and now nearly completed, has those put off by the panels scratching their head at how their ridgeline got “ruined” so quickly.

Several residents have gone to the city, but as both the city and Seidenglanz have noted, there’s little Santa Clarita can do.

“The city doesn’t have jurisdiction to enforce city or building code in a mobile home park,” said Santa Clarita city building official John Caprarelli, who has to direct the residents he’s heard from to the state agency responsible.

Permitted construction for mobile home or manufactured home parks, which Canyon View Estates is zoned as, is approved through the Department of Housing and Community Development, a state agency headquartered in Sacramento.

A picture of the hillside taken a few years ago, when the land was still being maintained.

Part of this department’s responsibility is to oversee mobile home parks and to, “protect families and individuals who live in mobile homes by inspecting mobile home parks for health and safety violations in areas where the local government has not assumed enforcement,” according to their website.

In February, homeowners of the Canyon View Estates Homes received a flier detailing the commencement of a solar panel system that would stretch across the back hills of their property. Based on what’s already being constructed, panels will reach down to a few feet from the borders of residents’ property lines.

“The world wants everyone to go green,” Seidenglanz said.

However, Ben and Susan Turner say they don’t want to “go green” at the expense of their view of a hillside that was once lush and green, which has now browned, and is about to be covered in solar panels. 

The meeting is being called for residents to discuss their options going forward.

A call to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development for comment on the story was not immediately returned.

The meeting will take place Wednesday, at 7 p.m. at 20001 Canyon View Drive, Santa Clarita.

As of now, complaints can be filed to the California Department of Housing and Community Development on their website or by calling (800) 952-5275, option 4.

Perry Smith contributed to this report. Photo/video credit: Andrew Menjivar