developmental concerns for our communities
Is this the best development type for our lands?
Our land is our own. We all believe in the right to fair use of our property. Yet, if you own property for very long you find out that your rights are curtailed in many ways. To use my own ranch as an example, I recently had to sell an easement for road expansion (I could say no, to a point, then eminent domain)-and there are restrictions on use of some of my land as "highly erodible". I cannot dam a stream without considering the regulatory law-and there is zoning coming for half my land for the new lakes to plan for use around them. So we all get to deal with some restrictions on how we use and enjoy our land. Goes with the territory, literally.
And so it follows that we have to ask ourselves as a community whether it is in our common interest to allow an Industrial Power Generation plant to take up residence in our midst-and on what terms. While I described our support of property rights-you may ask "then what about my right to do as I please with my property?" My response is from a set of old quotes, "You have no more right to establish a nuisance next door to my home than I have to cause one to be located in your neighborhood." I don't think a logical argument exists that placing 500-800 foot, noisy power towers is anything other than a nuisance.
The main problem with this type of development is all of the other options it eliminates for our community.
- Fewer people will want to live in these areas. Decreased tax base and dying towns.
- Fewer students for our schools, and so less money from the State to help fund better schools.
- Loss of aviation businesses like crop-dusters, and our local plane maintenance jobs.
- Less opportunity to have hunting and recreational use growth and revenues with these two lakes. I know farmers who rent single ponds for duck hunting for more than these leases pay.
- The option to have an air ambulance save your life. This could kill someone. How many terrible wrecks have we seen on HWY 82 and HWY 34 in the last couple of years that needed a helicopter?
Of all of the developmental costs, we believe that our lands should produce benefits for our local citizens first. The more of our property to disappear under water, solar panels and turbines, the less chance we have to thrive as a county. And who knows what we will be left with when the wind incentive spigot gets shut off?
What can you do? Contact your Comptroller and School Superintendents, and make sure that any request for a free ride on taxes from any developer requesting it is denied. Send a letter to your Chief Appraiser and Appraisal Board that tells them you expect that these types of investments are treated fairly for tax purposes. Turbine plants have to pay their fair share of taxes, just like you and I do.
