Hi Everyone! Thanks to all who signed & shared the petition, it’s now up to 1,450 signatures in just 3 days. 🚀 

We've shared these numbers with local, county, and regional officials, and reached out to the Morgan Hill Times to hopefully help get more eyes on our story but have yet to hear back. 

Here are the critical issues called out in the email which have also have also been updated on our petition.

Critical Issues for Regional Review:

Agricultural Destruction: The proposed site is currently designated as Green Space/Agricultural Land. AES has suggested they will "opt-in" to a state-level approval process (AB 205) that bypasses local zoning and permitting, effectively stripping the county of its protected agricultural resources for private industrial gain.
Evacuation Safety Trap: CSMH is a single-access campus. Adding a high-hazard facility to the most congested part of our corridor is a recipe for disaster. If a fire requires shutting down Monterey Road, the "seconds" that save lives will be lost in the chaos. Over 650 students, 60+ staff members, and the school's livestock would be trapped while emergency responders are forced to close the only access road to stage equipment. 
Furthermore, As documented in the City’s 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) Maps, significant portions of Morgan Hill—specifically the western and eastern hillsides—are officially designated as High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones within the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). While the proposed site itself sits on the valley floor, its proximity to these high-risk zones creates a critical "Compound Risk." A battery event during a high-wind wildfire scenario would result in a catastrophic "double-threat" for emergency responders already focused on hillside protection, leaving more than 650 students at CSMH in an untenable safety position.
Toxic Plume vs. Shelter-in-Place: BESS fires release toxic gases (Hydrogen Fluoride). If traffic is gridlocked, "evacuation" becomes a health hazard. Furthermore, the school’s HVAC systems are not equipped to filter chemical off-gassing for students forced to shelter in place.
Destruction of the "Living Laboratory": Siting a high-hazard facility here threatens the permanent loss of our instructional livestock and science curriculum due to chemical fallout and noise. This violates educational equity for our students, particularly those with sensory sensitivities and IEPs.
The 3,200-Foot Safety Mandate: We are demanding a setback consistent with AB 303, ensuring high-hazard industrial sites are not placed within a toxic plume radius of "sensitive receptors" like our students and faculty.
Railroad & Transit Risk: The site across from CSMH is directly behind the Caltrain/Union Pacific corridor. A thermal runaway event would release conductive soot, risking electrical arcing in 25,000V lines and paralyzing regional transit.
Fiscal Risk to MHUSD: The fear of a "Hot Zone" at the gate is already causing families to reconsider enrollment. A mass exodus of students would result in a multi-million dollar loss in ADA funding, destabilizing the entire school district’s budget.
Inadequate Community Engagement: To our knowledge up to this point, AES has only engaged with CSMH leadership, leaving the City of San Jose, the City of Morgan Hill, and County Fire in the dark. AES has explicitly declined to host a community town hall, stating they are "not prepared" for such a meeting. Instead, they will present at the February 24th CSMH Board meeting. However, due to Brown Act regulations, this setting prohibits the interactive dialogue and "back-and-forth" questioning required for a project of this magnitude. This "information-only" approach leaves parents with no formal venue to voice safety concerns, making your regional oversight even more vital. A developer confident in their safety protocols would welcome a public forum; AES’s refusal to meet with the community alongside our city and fire officials suggests they are prioritizing project speed over public safety.