Laserfiche WebLink
Enterprise Park to Crooked Lake 115 kV Transmission Line March 2012 <br />Environmental Assessment <br />There will also be some long-term beneficial impacts from the new transmission lines, <br />including an increase to the county's tax base resulting with incremental increase in <br />revenue from utility property taxes. The availability of reliable power in the area will <br />have a positive effect on local businesses and residents. <br />5.3.2. Property Values <br />Property values generally are determined by a combination of individual property <br />characteristics and local market trends. These characteristics may include, but are not <br />limited to, size, age, condition, and amenities. These characteristics are associated with <br />both residential and non-residential properties. Local market trends typically are <br />determined from detailed analyses of property sales within a given geographic area. <br />Residents living near existing or proposed overhead transmission lines often are <br />concerned about how the proximity to the line could affect the value of their properties. <br />Research on this issue, however, does not identify a clear cause and effect relationship <br />between the two variables. Instead, the presence of a transmission line becomes one of <br />several factors that interact to affect the value of a particular property. <br />Effects of transmission lines on property values are difficult to quantify as numerous <br />variables may influence the final value of a property. These variables may include the <br />type and size of power lines, the distance to the power lines, and amenities offered by the <br />property. Researchers have not been able to isolate a leading variable that could predict <br />the impact of transmission lines on property values. A summary of recent research for <br />residential and non-residential properties is presented below. <br />Since the 1950's, researchers have evaluated the impact of high voltage transmission <br />lines on property values. Many of the early studies, however, were contradictory and <br />unsupportive in regard to the selected research methodologies. In the 1970's, research <br />became more systematic, including attitudinal and statistical evaluations. These types of <br />studies continue today (Kroll and Priestley, 2003). <br />In 2000, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin evaluated the results of 30 papers, <br />articles, and court cases covering the period from 1987 through 1999. The authors of this <br />research were interested in determining the impact of a transmission line on property <br />values for inclusion in a Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Arrowhead — <br />Weston Electric Transmission Line Project (PSCW, 2000). Their analysis identified two <br />types of property value impacts that property owners may experience, which include <br />potential economic impacts associated with the amount paid by a utility for a ROW <br />easement and the value regarding the future marketability of the property. The first type <br />of property value typically refers to the market price of the land with a transmission line <br />and one without (PSCW, 2000). The second type of value refers to a combination of the <br />sale price, the amount of time required to sell a property, and the debt amount carried <br />over that period (PSCW, 2000). <br />The Wisconsin FEIS included six general observations from the studies evaluated, which <br />are as follows: <br />54 <br />