quote:

Originally posted by bkmooney:
Is you have neighbors that could be impacted, I'd check with them too.

There's strength in numbers.

Yes, the new proposed electrical easement will run along the property line between my mom’s house and her neighbor. The neighbor’s house is vacant as they moved and are trying to sell it. I have a feeling once the power lines make it up the hill, they will then just run along with the existing power lines along the street.

The view from my mom’s backyard is amazing and it looks like right near the top of the hill there will be a power pole and depending on the height of it, it might now be an eye sore to the view she has.

If your mom is elderly and on a fixed income, maybe also reach out to the state attorney general consumer protection division. While not considered a scam, they may be able to suggest a low cost or not profit that deals with this?

No discussion about buried underground electric lines? In our neck of the woods the lines are all underground so that our vista is not spoiled.

quote:

Because she lives on top of solid rock with only a few feet of soil she has a special septic drain field and no vehicles can drive on it or it will cause major damage.

Because of this, you're looking at the complete, or almost complete, elimination of the value of the property. Once the power line is in (if it goes in), the company will reserve the right to drive vehicles on the property, bring in construction crews, build pads, etc. Have your mom post her land; the proposed line may run along the property line, but she's not obligated to allow them on her property. Contact the people selling the adjacent house and ask whether the power line would affect their ability to use septic - there is power in numbers. Contacting other affected neighbors would certainly make sense as well.

But yes, sadly, hire a lawyer who's not only familiar with eminent domain but power lines in general - Mom had the same problem in Mason County and got the power company to back the hell off. The odds are that there is already at least one lawyer in the area who's fought this company or a company like it, so ask around there. Unfortunately, there may not be much you can do about the view.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
No discussion about buried underground electric lines? In our neck of the woods the lines are all underground so that our vista is not spoiled.

It is listed as overhead power lines, but I don’t know if they ever gave underground a consideration. I am not aware of any underground lines in this area. Not sure why as they make sense.

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
No discussion about buried underground electric lines? In our neck of the woods the lines are all underground so that our vista is not spoiled.

It is listed as overhead power lines, but I don’t know if they ever gave underground a consideration. I am not aware of any underground lines in this area. Not sure why as they make sense.

I think this sentence in your first post is a good reason why:

quote:

she lives on top of solid rock with only a few feet of soil

Contiguous trenching in rock or rocky soil is much more expensive than installing posts

On a side note, to extend what TT said... I am on the Board for our local community water system. We have an existing easement for a water storage tank. We need to build a new one. We have zoning restrictions of 35 feet for height. We wanted a 43' tank. A neighbor on an adjacent property objected.

As part of the variance process we had to go in front of the planning & zoning commission. I learned something at the hearing. In our area, COST DOES NOT MATTER. i.e., it is not enough to say a project is "too expensive" to go a certain way. You are not obligated to use or accept a "cheaper" method to save the utility money. It does not factor into the equation at all...in our area. The objecting land owner wanted us to bury the tanks, install pumping stations, etc. In the end we went with a 35' tank so we didn't have to deal with the variance.

The utility wants poles because they are cheaper than using rock softener (blasting). If the line has to be installed, you may be able to force them to bury it. They may not be able to say poles will cost us $50k to install. Burying the line will cost us $500k. We are forcing you to accept the poles. In our area, it doesn't matter.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
No discussion about buried underground electric lines? In our neck of the woods the lines are all underground so that our vista is not spoiled.

It is listed as overhead power lines, but I don’t know if they ever gave underground a consideration. I am not aware of any underground lines in this area. Not sure why as they make sense.

I think this sentence in your first post is a good reason why:

quote:

she lives on top of solid rock with only a few feet of soil

Contiguous trenching in rock or rocky soil is much more expensive than installing posts

Good point.