ACP, property values overblown

You may have read in The Nelson County Times’ letters to the editor recently about the concern of property values loss due to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

The truth may be that in the last several months, property values have fallen, but as a fellow property owner in Wintergreen, our values have been struggling to withstand a downward economy for many years. For areas like our community, we are one of the last real estate types to turn around.

However, let’s be clear that pipelines historically do not impact property values. Look at the many localities in California that have had pipelines along side some of the most valuable properties in the country. Closer to home, just north in Loudoun and Arlington counties, there are pipelines running through those areas; recently they were identified as some of the most expensive places in the country. Many communities throughout the country have had pipelines, many since the 1960s, and home values have not been impacted due to the pipelines in those areas.

Just last week, after three years of review, based on literature reviews and discussions with real estate appraisers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission conclude that ACP would not result in decreased property (Executive Summary, ES-13). Further, in the same summary by the FERC, they state that the hotel at Wintergreen Resort and further development of the resort and surrounding areas would not be adversely impacted and could continually be successful.

This project will be built safely; it will not impact our properties negatively; and the visual impacts will be so minimal that in a year or so we won’t even remember what the fuss was all about. In the meantime, studies have shown this project will give an economic boost to Virginia. My hope is that this economic boost will once again encourage a boost in vacationers to Wintergreen, every season, and others to seek resort living for their retirement or second homes. I know I love Wintergreen and look forward to sharing this beautiful area with many others.

STUART HARVEY
Roseland

Read the full letter to the editor in the Nelson County Times