By: Diane Benjamin
(This is part of a series being printed in the Lexingtonian Newspaper)
The Lexington-Chenoa area is being courted for a new wind project. Anyone on or near the proposed area needs to know the facts before signing contracts with the developers. Even if you aren’t approached to sign a contract, residents near the site need to know your property rights might be in danger.
The points below were compiled from various sources. All of them are from people intimately involved in past wind farm projects.
1) Tape or video ALL encounters with wind farm developers, especially in your home. Claims made to you can not be proven later without evidence. If the representative doesn’t want to be on the record, why would you trust them? Make sure somebody is taping all public meetings too.
2) If you are told not to talk to your neighbors for ANY reason – talk to your neighbors. Transparency will insure the rights of all parties are secure.
3) Older farmers and landowners are frequent targets of the developers. Make sure they are informed and not abused.
4) Never sign a contract without talking to a lawyer. These contracts can sign away your rights forever and are always written to favor the developers.
5) Rights to use your property may be in jeopardy because a turbine is located too close. An evacuation zone must exist around every turbine because of debris and fire hazards. Experts now suggest the zone should be ten times the height – the blade tip, not the tower height.
6) The evacuation zone must be measured from your property line, not the center of your house. If the property line is not used, a good portion of your property may become unusable because structures may be restricted in this zone. Even if you don’t have a turbine on your property, make sure local ordinances include your property rights. Don’t allow the developers to trespass on your property by making part of it UN-useable.
7) Refinancing your home may become a problem if you sign a contract giving tenants (wind farms) rights to your property. You may be required to obtain their permission from them before a bank will refinance.
8) Your insurance company may cancel any noise coverage.
9) Low frequency noise is causing people to leave their homes for health reasons. Wind developers will claim it can’t be proven, but they can’t prove it isn’t.
Much more on the health effects of wind turbines in Part 2.
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WOW now acting as someone with legal knowledge. Your arrogance never ceases to amaze as does your cowardice.
Sent from my iPhone
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Nice to hear from you!
Nay! Simply recommending to consult a lawyer. Excellent advice to follow before signing any contract.
Tom’s idiocy never fails to amaze me.
Hey Tom. Take a ride down to the wind farm at San Bernadino and take a photo and tell me how BEAUTIFUL California is! Not to mention they can leak oil, be a hazard to beneficial migratory birds, interrupt forms of communication , and are just a general eyesore. PLUS they are HEAVILY government subsidized! YOUR tax $$ @ work.
I’m thinking he is really a local but disguising his ip address.
My name is Ted Hartke. I lived in a perfectly wonderful home with my family up until wind turbines were constructed by InvEnergy. We endured through sleep deprivation for 11 months before finally abandoning our home in 2013. It has been for sale for over 2 years. There are numerous families being harmed with sleep disruptions inside their homes in Vermilion County. Don’t let anyone build wind turbines in your communities. Look up “wind turbine home abandonment” on the internet and read about the problems wind turbines have caused. As a licensed professional engineer and licensed professional land surveyor, I hereby provide this information and testify that wind turbine noise is a threat to public health, safety, and welfare.
That is terrible to hear Ted. Thanks for sharing though. I know that there is a lot of noise near the towers. It is shockingly loud and very creepy sounding. Was it so loud that it disturbed you even with the windows closed? Could you also feel a low pitch vibration? Can you tell us how far the tower is from your home?
Read the articles and papers written by the lawyers from Iowa State’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation, Kristen Tidgren and Roger McEowen. They vehemently warn landowners regarding wind turbine leases. I’ve spoken to people embroiled in lawsuits against these large companies. They can ruin your land because they do not understand farming, erosion or our tile system. If you sign one of their easements it is possible that you will not get a wind turbine but rather the grid for far less money.