No suggestions, but I feel your pain and I would be so upset, in your shoes. Something like that would just kill me and I have heard there are health risks of living so close to those towers.

One thought....if you have to do it, I would investigate to see if there was some way they would have to continually compensate you for the inconvience, etc. of having it in the middle of your property.

well..we have those on us.....luckily the acreage is big enough they are not too close to the house. After awhile you really don't see them. You get used to them like everything else. No, it's not fair....."for the good of the whole"...right? nope, not fair.

sorry you are having to go thru this.

xoox
duck

That really is a kick in the head, mcmann. Our property backs onto a woods and we thought we were safe, but noooooo. Seems there is an oil pipeline underground just before the woods begins. The oil company came along one day, no notice, just tearing down what they said was their easement, wrecking our grass, cutting the trees on the edge of the woods. The woods aren't ours, but still....not a thing we could do. Now we look at neon yellow marker poles, six feet high. I guess that's nothing compared to what you face. I'm very sorry for you. I'm joining you in all your cursing and muttering and sending it PPL's way. A pox upon them.

Maybe you can bury an old tombstone on your property? When they dig it up they'll be required by law to investigate and it will delay them.

I would be just sick about that, too, McMann. I wonder about reception problems, also, that might occur with such powerful lines overhead, nearby. Will it affect your reception for phones, antennaes, radios, etc?

I wish I had a suggestion for you, but other than getting a lawyer, I don't know what to say except I am so SORRY!

I would be upset too! I think Patti went through this a few years ago, but it didn't go through. Maybe she will have some advice.

Will there be an environmental impact report? If so, maybe they'll find something there, some reason to relocate the lines. Are there laws about how close people can live to those high wires? Are there others along the way who are resisting also?

This is too bad.

Sell!
Gayle

We went through this just about 4 years ago...Fight if you want...but it doesn't do much good.

They were going to put one of their huge power poles right in our front yard. In front of our livingroom window.

We did keep say no to signing the paper...but didn't do it with an attitude...they worked with us and put it across the road at the back corner of a guy who lived up the hill...He wanted them to so he could get some money.

We were told if we didn't co-operate and refused to sign they can claim emanate domain and take the house...then you don't get anything.

The bought out several homes that were right under ,where the lines would be.

They did have a road right through our front yard while the work was being done. But when they were finished they hauled in new dirt (soil was packed down ) to fill in and replanted it. No gravel.

Now that it is all finished , things seem back to normal. With the exception of the huge poles..but we have trees that hide them from view.

Sorry to say, if they have it all okayed...it's gona happen...

We were sick about it too when we first heard it...But everything has settled down for everyone now.

patti

I feel for you, but honestly, if you've done all you've mentioned, it may be time to sit back and relax and try to let go of the stress.

Our town has just had a major takeover of many homes and businesses--in the name of eminent domain, so a builder can put up a huge apartment building and luxory shopping (how that qualifies as an eminent domain issue, I can't begin to tell you--just that there are a lot of people I know who fought as hard and as long as they could and they STILL lost their homes, their stores, their offices). The really sad thing was, there was a blind man who was dispossesed--he lived where he did because the house was near the public transportation he needed, and near shopping and other services he used. And even HE couldn't win the fight to keep his home.

Wish there was something more positive I could say, but I haven't seen anyone win any of these cases. As long as you've given it a good fight, I think--for your peace of mind, there comes a time when you simply have to let go, and move on. Good luck.

My mother was in a situation like that years and years ago. Urban Renewal was taking her home and she didn't want to sell it. She kept saying no and finally spoke before the city counsel on live TV. They gave her the price she wanted, payed for her to move, let her take her carpet which was new. It helped that she was a recent widow with a minor child. If I were in your shoes, I would probably counsel with a lawyer and hold out for a complete buy out at the price you want. I don't think you would want to live there when they get finished. I talked to a woman who was in a similar situation, it was an expressway I think. She held out until the people she was dealing with found them another home in the country and it had a beautiful lake, former sand pit. She liked it better than her former home. LOL

Thank you - all of you - for commiserating with me. I think I'm still in shock. I know this has happened to so many other homeowners and it does seem like there isn't much you can do. My husband has surprised me with his somewhat resigned attitude to the whole thing. His comment is that we have a 1 in 3 chance of being selected and maybe this time we'll luck out. And he agrees with all of you who have said that we won't win against the power company, especially since the Federal government has mandated an upgraded transmission line to prevent the rolling blackouts that occured in NY and NJ.

Marilyn c - we did ask about a continuing lease arrangement. That way as property values increase the payments would also. But they want a one time settlement.

Flamingo - We are worried about the effect the electromagnetic field would have. It means my husband can't erect his 40 foot Ham radio tower - it will ruin his signals. But more importantly we asked them what this would do to a pacemaker and defibrulator and would they guarantee in writing that it would not effect it. They told us to check with the manufacturer and the cardiologist. Neither the cardiologist nor the manufacturer are willing to guarentee that a third party's transmission line would not impact the effectiveness of the heart equipment. And I certainly don't blame them.

Gayle. I think we will sell. PPL should make a recommendation to the PUC in August and then there will be 1 year of hearings in Harrisburg. Construction starts in 2010 and will be online in 2012. So we can enjoy it for 2 more years at least.

Patti, Azzalea, Duck,Sherrmann, Stargazer - well since you've been through it you already know it's probably a losing battle.

Socks - We are working on an environmental study. We found out that we don't actually have to have an endangered or threatened species actually on our property. If we can show that the habitat is suitable and if there are populations of these species near - then our property could be considered as supplemental. Many of the other property owners are fighting this too but most of them probably figure there's not much they can do.

So we're praying they pick Plan B or C. And if they go ahead and pick Plan A maybe they'll consider moving the transmission lines off our property and erecting them on the undeveloped property behind us.

Thanks again everyone. I'm keeping my fingers crossed -(which of course explains my typos!)

I wish I had a good excuse for my "typos"...misspelled words...I even looked up eminent because I wasn't sure about it's spelling...and did it wrong...

I'll claim my excuse...it's this ace bandage on my hand.

I'm wearing it because I keep forgetting about my hand and it is protecting it. It does make it kind of hard to type...

patti

Friend has power lines going thru her property, and I understnad she and DH get a great supplement from the power line usage on their property.

Good luck!

Lori needs to check in, she's had a go round with the electric people in Utah. Lori, how has it turned out, I may have missed the ending to the saga or is it ongoing?

You (all) might contact your Senators and your Congressman to let them know how this plan will affect you and your community. The Governor ought to be hearing from you, too. They all should be made aware of what is happening to citizens of their state. You certainly have a right to fair compensation if your route is chosen. I don't have a problem with "takings" for a genuine public good, but the entity doing the taking shouldn't get to be involved in setting the price, do you think? Funny how property taken through eminent domain always seems to be so cheap!

Good luck.

dd1 and sil are losing a chunk of property in front of their home to widen an already busy road...what scares me are my dgds...

what annoys me is why they can't bury the darn cables...they do in newer subs, and have a budget to cut trees and ruin them...we have a cable between homes on our street...thanks be it doesn't include a road!

I like Shermann's idea about the tombstone. But I would go a step further and use many tombstones. You could create something of historical significance. A Native American burial ground could tie up PPL's project indefinitely.

Seriously, Mcmann, I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. Do any of the three plans impact fewer people? I'm also thinking you might band together with other property owners on the Plan A route. Strength in numbers, and all that.

I'm also remembering that when I was a reporter I did a photo essay on archeologists brought in by the state when a very small rural bridge was being expanded. The reason was that an old blacksmith's shop had existed at that spot, and Pennsylvania mandates that whenever anything of historical significance is about to be disturbed (by the government, I assume), an archeological dig must take place first.

I suppose the PPL line would go through forested area, and therefore it would be unlikely that a blacksmith shop once existed there, but I thought it might be worth mentioning. An old tavern, maybe? A (very primitive) brothel? Maybe it's time to visit the courthouse to look into the history of your property. (Or maybe not.)

Good luck!!

Susan