Wind farms lower property assessments in western P.E.I.
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 | 10:28 AM AT
CBC News
A couple from West Prince has proof from the government their property has dropped in value since wind turbines were put up near their home.
'We can't hear the surf anymore in the summertime; all we hear is windmills.'— Beverly Howard
Promoters of wind farms have fought against the notion that wind farms lower property values, but Beverly and Errol Howard had their home in West Point reassessed in October, and it came back with a 10 per cent lower property value on the retirement home they built eight years ago.
Last summer, the Howards discovered the wind farm several kilometres up the road was expanding.
Beverly Howard told CBC News Monday there are now five new turbines within sight of their home, the closest about 500 metres away.
"If you're sitting out on your deck, they're noisy, if you're out gardening they're noisy," she said.
"We can't hear the surf anymore in the summertime; all we hear is windmills."
The Howards specifically asked for the reassessment in light of the new presence of the windmills. When they announced the result at a recent public meeting on the wind farm, Howard said environmental officials at the meeting were caught off guard.
"It was said to us — not by [Environment Minister] George Webster — but by someone else in the government, that we shouldn't be making false statements," said Howard.
"When they checked into it they found out it wasn't a false statement."
A spokesperson with the tax department said a handful of other residents living next to wind farms in West Prince also received lower assessments. Although the criteria for assessing property values doesn't specify turbines, the department felt the properties near windmills should be treated the same as properties near industrial areas.
Despite receiving the lower assessment, the Howards are asking the tax department to have another look, because they feel their home has dropped in value by more than 10 per cent.
