Both an expert in the field and community members were all in agreement at Wednesday’s Henderson City-County Planning Commission public hearing: property near wind farms decrease in value.
In the third of a scheduled seven public hearings to gather public comment, expert testimony and data—that will eventually be used to draft a recommended wind energy conversion systems ordinance—the planning commission heard a presentation by Kurt Kielisch, the president of Forensic Appraisal Group and a certified general appraiser in numerous states who has testified as a wind farm expert in court cases nationwide.
Kielisch’s study concluded that residential properties lose 17% of their value if located within one mile of commercial wind turbines.
He also concluded that homes located closest to wind turbines—in the ¼- to ½-mile range—would decrease 28% in value. The average of homes overall in the 0.3- to 2-mile range from a wind turbine would lose 21.5%, and agricultural land would decrease 8.5%, according to his study.
In his own study, Kielisch used 11 impact studies of areas near wind farms around the country, including in Wisconsin, New York, Wyoming, Illinois, Texas and two covering the entirety of the United States. There was also a study of property near a wind farm in Ontario, Canada. In all the studies he used, real estate property values decreased—the most at an average of 38%, with the least loss at 8%.
The numbers were one part of Kielisch’s study. Also added to the equation were qualitative findings—what the public believes—which found that media coverage of wind turbines emphasizes health, noise shadow flicker and viewshed fears. He defined viewshed as when a person who can stand at his or her house and see a wind turbine.
His study also said that given two identical homes—one with a turbine in the viewshed and one without—the one without will sell first and for more.
Two other pieces of his study are that assessors have decreased values to homes with turbines nearby and local governments have added property value guarantees to wind ordinances that developers oppose.
His study was comprised of wind farms with turbines that had heights less than half of what has been proposed for Rock Bluff Energy Park, which if approved would be located in eastern Henderson County.
Different numbers of the proposed turbine height were spoken at Wednesday’s meeting with 720 feet being the highest. A Cordelio Power representative told the Hendersonian last year that the height proposal was 697 feet. Kielisch, in his study, used 550-650 feet as the base for comparison in Henderson County. The wind farms in his study, though, were all less than 400 feet tall.
He said the wind turbine height proposal for Rock Bluff is “much larger and you would expect a greater impact.”
After Kielisch spoke, representatives from a local group, The Henderson KY Responsible Land Use Coalition, presented findings from their own research which echoed what the expert said.
Researchers concluded that what people can see matters and taller turbines will have a greater impact, said Rick Thompson of Robards.
Rebecca Wood of Henderson said wind turbines would lower local property values as has occurred in other places.
“The value of something is what a buyer is willing to pay for it,” she said.
Melody Thompson of Robards said good ordinances are built on “careful evaluation of the best available evidence.” She asked that the planning commission “build an ordinance that serve future generations of Henderson County.”
Airline Road Deirdre McConathy read a letter from Carrie March, a Missouri woman who came to the previous public hearing regarding wind energy conversion systems in May. At that meeting, she spoke about shadow flicker, vibration and noise problems she had experienced after a wind turbine was built near her family’s farm. In the letter, though, she wrote about the problems she had when trying to sell the farm. The farm was finally sold, but at a $300,000 loss.
The lone dissenting opinion of the night came from Henderson resident Herb Pritchett, who in the past served as the chair of the Hopkins County Joint Planning Commission and is also a property value expert who has been certified in state and federal courts. Pritchett told the planning commission that property values will “change regardless of what you do.”
He said property valuation is not the most important concern in this issue. He said the regulations regarding wind farms that have been proposed by planning commission staff are a “growth inhibitor.”
“It’s telling a lot of businesses that you’re not welcome here in Henderson County,” he said.
A couple of other points of interest from Wednesday’s public hearing were comments from planning commissioners.
Frank Boyett said that he’s interested in ensuring there is a balance between competing interests throughout the process of the public hearings, but he asked where representatives from the Rock Bluff Energy Park are.
To his point, representatives of the energy park have not been at the last two public hearings. “If they’re not here to present their case, what are we to do?”
Also, planning commissioner Curt Hamilton asked if he could propose an ordinance. Planning commission attorney T.J. Fridy said that Hamilton could not propose an ordinance at the public hearing, which is a special meeting that did not advertise that an ordinance would be discussed.
After the meeting, Hamilton said he would discuss his proposed ordinance with Fridy before the next meeting.
As a member of the planning commission board, Hamilton can propose an ordinance, said planning commission Executive Director Brian Bishop. Meanwhile, Bishop has written his own draft ordinance, but because he’s on the planning commission staff, he can’t propose that without the approval of the members of the planning commission, he said.
The planning commission will meet again for its regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m., Aug. 4, in the third-floor meeting room of the Municipal Building.
The next scheduled public hearing regarding WECS is scheduled for 6 p.m., Sept. 16, in the Fiscal Court Courtroom in the old courthouse.
