Understanding the impact of Richmond Glen / Serenity Ranch on property values

Since the April 14 Council meeting when the Council was requested to rubber stamp the Richmond Glen / Serenity Ranch easement in exchange for $10, I've been asking questions and getting ignored by the Council leadership.

My overarching concern is how this "easement grant" benefits the town. And since the Council was told the development would be a "tax positive," I've tried to understand the underlying assumptions. I even compiled a fiscal impact analysis that included a reduction in taxes as I expect property values will drop for some households.

But again, the Council Chairman and Budget Committee Chairman ignored my requests for the free flowing nature of a Budget Committee meeting. So the myriad of concerns that exist will probably be swept under the carpet. But what's new with this Council? After all, there certainly are no droids in this vote.

Anyway, I give the Council Chairman credit for at least getting the PZC minutes / documents for the Council. And some of those documents speak directly to my concern. For instance (in the following March 14, 2005 document) I learned that property values always increase! And new housing is quickly absorbed in the market!I now understand why the Council wants to rush this vote. They want to increase property values in town!



But on a serious note, please keep in mind that it was the Federal Reserve's policies of easy credit and cheap money that brought you Cheshire's own housing bubble. And there was also the no-questions-asked policies of both Rs and Ds in Washington that enabled the Federal Reserve to do the damage it has done.

Tim White