I think the SD itself calling it an uproar over the power lines @ Patterson qualifies it as significant- don't you ?
Text of original site report for those who have not read !
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The original location of the Patterson Elementary school in sight
of electrical power lines caused uproar over the possibility that electromagnetic radiation
might create health issues for the students, and the site was moved to its current location.
While the Patterson site created the possibility of exposure to electromagnetic radiation,
the Eola/Molitor site is somewhere between a probability and a certainty for exposure to
such radiation. Although the scientists studying the question of whether such exposures
do or do not create health concerns continue to disagree, the Board sees no advantage in
constructing a third high school in such a location if there is any possibility of
abandonment for health reasons.THE OPTIONS FOR A SITE
The Eola/Molitor parcel
This parcel is presently owned by the St. John’s African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Some have suggested that because the Church has traded parcels twice, they might be
open to selling the land to the school district and pursuing a different parcel elsewhere.
District representatives met with the Church Pastor to discuss the Church’s intentions for
the parcel. The Pastor reminded District representatives that in his meetings with them
previously, he had expressed the Church’s desire to build at this location. He reiterated
that the Church has no interest in selling the parcel, except at a price so high as to ensure
the District’s lack of interest. Part of the reason for the Church’s lack of interest in
selling stems from the fact that this parcel is now at the northern and western edges of the
area in which the Church’s members live. The Pastor (correctly, in our opinion) believes
that any replacement site would likely be substantially to the west, and therefore of
limited interest to the congregation.
The parcel is planned for residential purposes. The parcel is unplatted.
Location wise, this parcel is distant from the student population center of the School
District.
Utilities are all located adjacent to parcel.
The northeast parts of the site are immediately adjacent to two high energy electrical
switching substations. That means relatively high electromagnetic radiation would be
present at that location. The original location of the Patterson Elementary school in sight
of electrical power lines caused uproar over the possibility that electromagnetic radiation
might create health issues for the students, and the site was moved to its current location.
While the Patterson site created the possibility of exposure to electromagnetic radiation,
the Eola/Molitor site is somewhere between a probability and a certainty for exposure to
such radiation. Although the scientists studying the question of whether such exposures
do or do not create health concerns continue to disagree, the Board sees no advantage in
constructing a third high school in such a location if there is any possibility of
abandonment for health reasons.The area is nearly fully improved. The District would incur moderate road and site
improvement costs related to the construction of a high school.
The buildable part of this site is just under 80 acres, but workable. There is no exposure
to a “damage to the remainder” claim.
Access is constrained only by the fact that Eola is a relatively congested road already.
The land is very flat.
There are limited wetlands issues on the easternmost part of the parcel.
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This parcel falls within the Aurora planning area, with which the District has enjoyed
good working relationships in the past.
The price for a non-litigated acquisition of this parcel is, as noted above, deliberately at a
level to ensure a lack of interest in purchase. The Board is not entirely convinced that the
power of eminent domain (i.e., condemnation) extends to land owned by a church, but
even if it does, the Board anticipates that the jury in such a cause would look with
hostility on such a taking, making the price quite high.
There is the possibility of the School District acquiring a different parcel to trade with the
Church, but the location of this site, the proximity of potential electromagnetic radiation
and the cost of land elsewhere make such a possibility unattractive.
Wetlands
If a site includes wetlands, abatement would be required. The precise scope of what
constitutes wetlands is outside the scope of this report. It is sufficient to note that certain
areas in which water is nearly always present qualify for this status. If improving the
land requires removal or elimination of any area of wetlands, an equivalent amount of
wetlands must be established elsewhere. In large part, “abating” wetlands is the process
of securing alternate wetlands.
Beyond the environmental issues, the cost of constructing a proper base and foundation
for a building can be influenced by the presence of wetlands, which require different
degrees of effort to achieve the necessary soil compaction to support a building or
structure. To a small extent, abatement of wetlands is also concerned with the
construction difficulties such a situation can impose.
Overall, the nature and extent of the wetlands drives the cost of the necessary abatement.
