National Survey Contradicts Worcester’s Report About Smart Meters
Monday, July 07, 2014
According to the NISLPP survey, 94-percent of the 1,000 people survey said that cell towers or antennas in a neighborhood or on a nearby building would impact their interest in a property and the price they were willing to pay for it. Additionally, 79-percent of participants admitted they would under no circumstances purchase or rent a property within a few miles of an antenna or cell tower.
“The proliferation of this irradiating infrastructure throughout our country would never have occurred in the first place had Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 not prohibited state and local governments from regulating the placement of wireless facilities on health or environmental grounds,” said Betsy Lehrfeld, Executive Director of NISLPP. “The federal preemption leaves us in a situation today where Americans are clearly concerned about risks from antennas and towers, some face cognitive and physical health consequences, yet they and their families increasingly have no choice but to endure these exposures, while watching their real property valuations decline.”
The survey did not evaluate any sort of price declines that would happen due to having a nearby cell tower or antenna. Even so, many activists in the Worcester area are using the survey as fuel for the Smart Grid debate that has occurred in the city.
City Assessor’s Report
In an effort to understand how nearby antennas and cell towers could affect real estate value, the Worcester City Council commissioned a report to be completed by the City Assessor, at the beginning of the year.
In order to complete the report, Worcester City Assessor William J Ford, examined other cities and states where smart meters had been implemented to determine the effects they had on the local real estate values. After looking at states like Maryland, Texas, Florida, and Maine, Ford determined that the concerns over a decrease in real estate value weren’t warranted.
The Smart Grid Debate
Using the NISLLP survey as yet another piece of information to oppose the Worcester Smart Grid system, activist HaltMAsmartmeters, says that enough is enough.
As the city continues to support the program by issuing reports contradicting concerns of local citizens, HaltMAsmartmeters says that people need to begin to look at the various reports, studies, and surveys issues on a state and national level to see the whole picture.
“The DPU continues to pursue smart meters as the cornerstone to grid modernization, despite lack of quantifiable results from the $48M Worcester Pilot financed by ratepayers, which has not yet begun to implement behavior-modification pricing structures,” said Patricia Burke of HaltMAsmartmeters in a press release. “The pilot began gathering private usage data from residents in 2012 without informed consent.”
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