An article in Phillyburbs describes PPL using eminent domain to place high tension towers on the land of a Richland Family.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-09192007-1409981.html
I’m sure the Real Estate agents and supervisors of Bucks County Townships aren’t too happy to hear this discussed. Property values are one of the things driving the Bucks County Economy. People are willing to spend millions for homes here, especially in Central and Upper Bucks.The nightmare would be to spend a million or so of your life savings to find the perfect farm or property with just the right setting…. and then have ugly towers plopped right in the middle of things.In addition to the esthetics of the situation, there is also concern that the high tension wires cause health problems. That idea is, of course, poo-pooed by the power companies.. (remember at one time tobacco companies promoted smoking as a healthy thing to do). On the other hand, there are books and articles that point to powerline-cancer links.One of the things driving the need for powerlines is the rampant development. A 6000 foot McMansion needs a good bit of ‘lectricity to keep the heat pumps going. The little munchkins from the Mcmansion need to go to a school, which needs plenty of ‘lectricity to keep the kiddies in light and a nice comfortable environment.
So, as people are buying up houses, they may be faced with their home being under the shadow of a transmission line in order to provide additional power for those who buy homes after them.
One thing that did strike me was the apparent unwillingness of PPL to follow the railroad lines instead of going through people’s homes. I have no knowledge of the engineering involved so I can’t make a judgement. However, it would seem that it should be possible to situate the power lines along railroad rights of ways.Eminent domain is scary. The governement can come in and enforce the taking of all or part of your property with the muzzle of a gun.What can be done to lessen this in the future? For one thing, if we cover Bucks County with a spiderweb like netting of high tension wires, I would think that would have a negative effect on property values and tourism. “Gee dear, don’t those power lines just look lovely this time of year in the valley?”.. Yeah right…Here are some thoughts..
- Let’s stick to the comprehensive plans in the townships. Over and over again, developers are coming and and threatening lawsuits if they can’t take R2 zoning and change it to High Density age restricted housing.. Simple math and common sense says that when you stick more people on an acre, you will need more electric…
- Make sure that the people who have the power to stick a butt ugly transmission pole smack dab in the middle of your horse pasture have incentive to try to find less obtrusive routes.
- Look into alternative energy, incentives to make things as energy efficient as possible and perhaps other ways of bringing electricity besides towers. However, the geography of Bucks County with it’s glacial rock will probably preclude underground high tension wires.
- Oh, just for fun, every proposed route should be audited to see if the people responsible for the route have chosen a path away from their homes at the expense of other’s homes..
- Let’s make sure that the people who are forced to give easements are fairly compensated for their land. There have been a lot of national stories about eminent domain abuses where the owners are paid a fraction of their economic losses. That just is not fair.
Bucksview Blog – Bucks County Pa: Buy a pastoral farm in Bucks County, Spend 1 Mill, Get High Tension towers
An article in Phillyburbs describes PPL using eminent domain to place high tension towers on the land of a Richland Family.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-09192007-1409981.html
I’m sure the Real Estate agents and supervisors of Bucks County Townships aren’t too happy to hear this discussed. Property values are one of the things driving the Bucks County Economy. People are willing to spend millions for homes here, especially in Central and Upper Bucks.The nightmare would be to spend a million or so of your life savings to find the perfect farm or property with just the right setting…. and then have ugly towers plopped right in the middle of things.In addition to the esthetics of the situation, there is also concern that the high tension wires cause health problems. That idea is, of course, poo-pooed by the power companies.. (remember at one time tobacco companies promoted smoking as a healthy thing to do). On the other hand, there are books and articles that point to powerline-cancer links.One of the things driving the need for powerlines is the rampant development. A 6000 foot McMansion needs a good bit of ‘lectricity to keep the heat pumps going. The little munchkins from the Mcmansion need to go to a school, which needs plenty of ‘lectricity to keep the kiddies in light and a nice comfortable environment.
So, as people are buying up houses, they may be faced with their home being under the shadow of a transmission line in order to provide additional power for those who buy homes after them.
One thing that did strike me was the apparent unwillingness of PPL to follow the railroad lines instead of going through people’s homes. I have no knowledge of the engineering involved so I can’t make a judgement. However, it would seem that it should be possible to situate the power lines along railroad rights of ways.Eminent domain is scary. The governement can come in and enforce the taking of all or part of your property with the muzzle of a gun.What can be done to lessen this in the future? For one thing, if we cover Bucks County with a spiderweb like netting of high tension wires, I would think that would have a negative effect on property values and tourism. “Gee dear, don’t those power lines just look lovely this time of year in the valley?”.. Yeah right…Here are some thoughts..