Studies: Power lines drain property values
Decreases could affect schools, services
By Elizabeth Cooper
Building a high-voltage power line through South Utica, New Hartford, Frankfort or communities to the south is likely to reduce property values, an expert who has studied such cases says.
Kent Sick, one of the authors of a 1999 paper on the impact of power lines on real estate prices, said his research showed there was a clear reduction in property values. Reductions have ranged from just a few percentage points to as much as 53 percent, Sick found.
"The market evidence was undeniable that power lines affect property values," said Sick, an eminent domain attorney from Texas.
If the New York Regional Interconnection line is built and property values go down, it could affect municipalities and schools, which depend on property-based taxes. Officials said that could lead to decreases in services or property tax increases to offset the losses.
New York Regional Interconnect spokesman Jonathan Pierce declined to comment on Sick's paper because he had not seen it.
He said it was impossible to say what impact the line would have on property taxes until it was constructed, and there were studies that showed such projects had no impact on property values.
But local officials are worried.
"It would be a complete disaster for New Hartford," New Hartford Town Supervisor Earle Reed said. "I think it would greatly diminish the property values, but also the aesthetics, and it passes by our schools. There's all kinds of concerns."
Among those concerned is Dave Kalies, who loves his home in rural Paris Station. His house looks out on a valley with railroad tracks passing through it.
"We figured our land and the house was something we could pass on to our kids or use as retirement," he said. He's done extensive remodeling on the house and built his business, Kalies Collision body shop, just down the road.
Now he's afraid the property might not be such an asset if the proposed 1,200-megawatt power line is placed along the tracks.
In interviews all along the Oneida County portion of New York Regional Interconnect's proposed power line route, people expressed similar sentiments. Some even said they might move.
The privately owned power company is pitching a plan to build a series of 115-foot-high transmission towers along the right of way of the New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad tracks.
The line would start near Edic Road in Marcy and extend south wards to the Binghamton area on its way to Orange County down state.
There are two possible routes that largely bypass the city of Utica:
•One would pass through Frankfort and Schuyler before looping back into Oneida County and heading south through Chadwicks, Sauquoit, Clayville and Waterville.
•The other would go along Commercial Drive and then cut into a portion of South Utica before following the tracks south through the Sauquoit Creek communities.
National perspective
In their paper, "Power Lines and property Values: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Sick and co-author David Bolton examined studies performed by other researchers in urban and more rural communities in areas including Vancouver, Oregon, California, Texas and Missouri.
The studies compared the values of homes near power lines to those of comparable homes where there were no power lines.
Some of the studies were done by researchers hired by power companies, and even those found reductions between 0 percent and 10 percent.
Others said values plummeted between 18 percent and 53 per cent, although Sick said he thought those numbers were too high.
Still, Sick said, most of the property near power lines does sell in the end.
"It's not so much a question whether property won't sell, but how much of a discount are purchasers going to demand because of the fact there is an unsightly power line in the backyard," he said.
Power company response
Power company spokesman Pierce said it wasn't possible to say how the line would affect property values, since it didn't exist yet.
"Anecdotally, in some case property values are not impacted at all," he said.
Hearing of the studies that indicated a diminished home values, he said power lines might not be the only reason.
"There are a lot of variables that impact property value, and any study has to be looked at very carefully," he said. "They can be impacted in many ways, from what's happening in the neighborhoods to the structure of the house."
Pierce said there likely would be instances in which the company would try to acquire property along the right of way, and would do so at or above fair market value.
Of other instances of property devaluation, Pierce said those would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Local perspective
There already are areas in Oneida County, such as Marcy, where power lines crisscross the landscape.
Jerry Orsaeo, owner and broker at Weichert, Realtors, Campion-Weeks, said he thinks having power lines near a home discourages some buyers, but not all.
"It discourages buyers because they have heard so much negative about it, even if it's not true," he said, mentioning possible health effects. "Some people don't care, but a lot of people do."
And the more competition there is over a house, the more likely the owner will get the asking price or better. If fewer people are interested, it's more likely to stay on the market longer. That's when owners start thinking about lowering their expectations, he said.
Patricia Mody of Signature Realty agreed that some buyers are put off by power lines and others aren't.
"It depends where, it depends who," she said.
Ripple effect
The power line ripple effect could go beyond individual property owners who live near the line.
If the assessed values of numerous properties go down, municipalities and schools that depend on property-based taxes also could suffer.
Paris Town Supervisor Joseph Jerzak said even a small drop in average assessed values could have an impact.
"Say your total assessments dropped by, lets say 5 percent, it's got to be picked up some other way," he said. "It would be picked up by an increase on what's left, or cutting services."
New Hartford Assessor Paul Smith declined to give a projection of the possible decrease in town property values. One of the proposed routes would take the power line behind New Hartford's Little League fields.
"Just based on the public concern, I would definitely think a buyer would be a little leery," he said. "A lot of things impact value, if it's cosmetically undesirable, or possible health risks, any of those things could affect value."
Observer-Dispatch May 21st, 2006 |
