Avigation
Easements And DeKalb County
CEO’s
Proposal Could Cost Homeowners $150 Million
And
Lay Foundation For Massive Airport Expansion
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vernon Jones’ proposed
Airport Compatible Use Overlay District (ACOD)
would require property owners to sign an avigation
(air rights) easement in order to make material
changes to their property. Under an avigation
easement one gives up the right to sue for
damages resulting from aviation. The
very need for a noise related avigation easement
is an admission that quality of life is being
diminished by PDK operations. It appears
to PDK Watch that the adoption of an ACOD is
laying the foundation for expansion – larger
jets, more operators, greater runway capacity,
etc.
In many cases across the nation, governmental
avigation easements are purchased. The
Fulton County (Georgia) Commission Chairman
has prepared a plan seeking money to compensate
residents near Hartsfield Airport (where there
is no ACOD) for lower property values and noise
mitigation. CEO Jones’ ACOD demands
our rights just be given to the County. It
appears he does not care for the rights of
citizens nor the value we add to the County.
If our county commissioners adopt the ACOD, a
property owner would be required to give a permanent easement,
recorded with his/her deed, to obtain the required
building permit for property improvement or
repair. Some in DeKalb County regard
this as blackmail! As one California
airport watcher remarked, “Some might
call this theft.”
Meacham Field in Fort Worth, Texas, has an
FAA-approved noise compatibility measure to
soundproof existing homes. The city will attempt to
obtain an avigation easement as part of a soundproofing
agreement. It is not a specific requirement
as it is in the proposed DeKalb County ACOD. In
conjunction with the avigation easement discussion
at the El Toro (California) airport, a spokesman
for the FAA indicated that the only situation
where avigation easements are recommended is
when soundproofing has been funded by the federal
government.
All of this relates to the diminution of our
property values without compensation and at
the same time polluting the air above our homes
with noise, vibrations and fumes. A study
performed under FAA contract around the Los
Angeles airport compared the value for similar
and moderately priced homes in a quiet neighborhood
and in the noise area and found “an average
18.6 percent higher property value in the quiet
neighborhood.” A study funded by
the Washington State Legislature concerning
the Seattle airport found that nearby cities
would lose $500 million in property values. It
found that the same house in the immediate
vicinity of the airport would sell for 10.1
percent more if located elsewhere. A certified
real estate appraiser found communities near
major Southern California airports have a diminution
in value of 27.4 percent.
It is clear that property owners and DeKalb
would lose property value unless the ACOD is
defeated. How much value would be lost? Assuming
there were 3000 homes at an average home value
of $250,000 included in the ACOD initially, then
a diminishment of 20% yields an average
loss of $50,000 per home or a total loss in
real estate value of $150,000,000 for homeowners
in DeKalb. Since the airport
establishes the map of the overlay district
and there are no defined procedures for establishing,
changing, or contesting the impacted area,
property owners could suddenly find their property
value diminished by its inclusion in the district.
RIGHT NOW - It is most important that citizens
personally speak to each commissioner and
request his or her assurance of opposition
to any version of the
ACOD. Click on Elected
Officials in the menu to the left
to contact the commissioners.
Back to Information
on ACOD
