January 19, 2012
Letters, Massachusetts

How will I recoup the value of my property?

www.southcoasttoday.com 19 January 2012

I would like to add another letter in regards to the Fairhaven wind turbine project.

As a homeowner, anything that devalues my home is of the utmost importance to me, especially when it comes time to sell my property.

I am not necessarily against wind energy, only when it is being put so close to our homes, and with not one, but two turbines.

When it comes to selling a home, we all know it’s all about Location, Location, Location! Seventeen years ago when I bought my home it was in a prime location. Right near a school (with a new Wood School coming soon), close to the bike path, grocery stores, restaurants, etc.

My home was looked at as a good investment, with great resale potential down the road. My husband and I spent many years fixing our home, ncreasing its value.

That’s all gone now, isn’t it? With the economy tanked and two wind turbines going up, I’ll have to give my house away. We don’t know what the long-term effects will be living close to two turbines, but isn’t it reasonable and smart to learn from those who have been there and done that?

This has already happened in Falmouth and proved to be a mistake, but yet the Fairhaven selectmen continue onward, assuring us that what happened there won’t happen here. Wow! Not the kind off response that makes any of us feel better. Falmouth residents got sick, Falmouth spent money they can’t recoup and the project is now shut down. What a waste of taxpayer dollars!

As Fairhaven citizens, we need to think about town leaders who arrogantly walk in the footsteps of a community that has already made this mistake, a community that has shown the folly in jumping off the cliff because everyone else has. The intelligent decision is to learn from the missteps of others.

So, what I wonder is this: Are my taxes going to go down because my home is now being devalued because of the turbines?

Sharon Howarth

Fairhaven


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/01/19/how-will-i-recoup-the-value-of-my-property/