Opponents says CFOs drop neighboring property values

One of the key questions in the ongoing debate over confined feeding operations is whether they impact neighboring property values.

The latest proposal for a CFO in Bartholomew County is by farmer Scott Templeton, who goes before the Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals at 7 p.m. Monday in the first floor meeting room at Columbus City Hall.

Templeton is requesting a conditional use permit to build a swine facility at 20530 E. County Road 700N near the intersection of 700 North and County Road 1150 East. That’s in Hawcreek Township in the northeastern Bartholomew County.

When John O’Halloran of the Bartholomew County Residents Alliance addressed the Hope Town Council last month, he said a CFO negatively impacts neighboring property values for up to a two-mile radius.

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Asked whether that is true, Bartholomew County Assessor Lou Wilson said no one is capable of giving a blanket yes or no answer to that question.

Variables ranging from land use and natural barriers to topography and prominent wind directions differ in every case, so the impact of a CFO on neighboring property values will also differ, the assessor said.

There is no standard procedure to evaluate all variables, so conclusions regarding the impact made by property appraisers and assessors will likely not be consistent, Wilson said.

But opponent Nancy Banta said she plans to present her own situation as evidence during Monday’s public hearing on the Templeton request.

Banta lives about five miles west of the Templeton property. Her century-old family homestead northwest of Hope near County Road 800N dropped 49 percent in value after a nearby CFO was constructed a few years ago. Additionally, her neighbors’ properties were devalued by 15 to 26 percent, she said.

Wilson said a CFO has a unique impact on property values.

While a neighbor who collects outside junk or doesn’t maintain his yard can negatively impact property values, it’s a situation that can be addressed by outside influences including regulators, the assessor said.

In contrast, a CFO can pose a permanent influence that outsiders cannot address, Wilson said.

In Banta’s case, Wilson said it is unusual that most of the variables worked against her during the most recent reassessment.

The Hope woman sees her property’s declining value, as well as related health and odor consequences, as undeniable proof that a CFO can permanently injure other property or uses within its district.

She and other opponents are expected to use her predicament to convince the BZA to deny Templeton’s application.