Official: Wind farm didn't hurt home values

Jan 26 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - David Giuliani Daily Gazette, Sterling, Ill.

Lee County's first wind farm doesn't appear to have affected nearby residential property values, the county assessor said Tuesday.

County Assessor Wendy Ryerson counted the number of home sales and measured the median sales prices in the townships of Brooklyn, Willow Creek, Viola and Wyoming. Those townships would have been the ones affected by the Mendota Hills wind farm, which started in 2004.

She presented her findings to the county's ad hoc wind farm committee.

In 2002, the four townships recorded 45 sales, with a median home price of $102,400. The sales prices increased over the years to $150,000 by 2007, with annual home sales ranging from 43 to 72.

But in 2008, the median sales price dropped to $107,500, with only 30 sales. In 2009, the assessor's office recorded the same number of sales, with the median price further falling to $101,000.

In 2010, the median price increased to $139,000, with only 13 sales, but Ryerson warned that she had incomplete data for that year and that a home selling for more than $370,000 may have skewed the results.

She attributed the drop in home values to the economic downturn, not the nearby wind turbines.

Committee member Tom Fassler, however, urged the county to provide protection to homeowners near wind farms.

"The windmills are affecting a lot of homeowners," he said.

He argued that the county should provide a homeowner protection program, in which the owners of wind farms would compensate nearby landowners for the drop in their home values.

But Ryerson said it would be hard to attribute the decline in a home's value to one factor. And she said it would be unfair to expect the wind industry to foot the bill when home values decline because of general economic downturns.

During much of the meeting, Mark Wagner, another committee member, presented articles about how wind farms hurt home values. He said arguments that wind farms increase tax revenue for schools didn't convince him.

He said there were no assurances the levels of taxation would continue. He also said home-schooled children wouldn't benefit from the increased taxes.

Member Keith Bolin, a Bureau County resident, called such arguments "silly." He said a single turbine can bring the government $30,000 a year in tax revenue.

"It's a pretty steady revenue source," Bolin said.

He disagreed with Fassler's proposal for a home protection plan, saying that would be unfairly targeting one industry. It was unnecessary because the county doesn't have evidence that wind farms cause home values to drop, he said.

The committee agreed to keep holding meetings.

In September, the Lee County Board enacted a moratorium on new wind farm development while the Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals drafted a new ordinance for wind turbines. The ad hoc committee was formed to present recommendations to Planning and Zoning.

The moratorium is set to expire Feb. 15.

Opponents of the wind industry have asked the county to extend the moratorium by six months. They want greater regulations, arguing that turbines are bothersome, noisy and unsightly.