Woods Cross refineries (St. George, Hurricane: sales, houses, neighborhood)

[whodouluvrn]

Hello all!
Well we have found two houses that we like in the Woods Cross area. One is in a nice area with houses all around but the other one is just across the street, in a nice neighborhood, from a metal yard and small recycle refinery. There is a nice white fence around the whole site so there is no eyesore. My question is, do you think the fact that the house is so close to a refinery that our chances of reselling in perhaps 10 yrs will be nil?


Thanks!

Tamara

[cedarite]

I would be careful about moving near an industrial area anywhere in Utah because if the industry decides to do something that seriously damages your quality of life, if the business has good connections, you'll have no rights to do anything about it. Here in southern Utah there's the recent case of a helicopter tour company that set up 40 feet from a housing development, and the constant noise of helicopters has destroyed the resale value of the homes and the quality of life of the residents. Yet since the area is zoned industrial, it's legal and many people attack the home owners for complaining because "they should have known what they were getting into when they bought near a commercial zone." There is often no recourse when stuff like that happens in this state.

[sp2007]

They did have a pretty big explosion in 2010 I think. Some houses were damaged. Is this normal? No, but the potential always exists.

Close to commute to SLC and FrontRunner train.

[irman]

Originally Posted by cedarite

"they should have known what they were getting into when they bought near a commercial zone."

Should they have not ??

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I certainly would not even look at that house. There should be a big price difference but it WILL be harder to sell.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[cedarite]

Originally Posted by irman

Should they have not ??

I think most people probably assume a regular business with a normal noise level would be approved to go in to a business area in a neighborhood , not a helicopter port, especially with homes as close as 40 feet from the landing pad and 14 takeoffs and landings a day 6 days a week. The hit to property values is estimated to be in the millions, but some people agree with you and some have attacked the homeowners for complaining.
People should always ALWAYS do extensive news archive searches, look up geology of an area, etc. before buying in Utah to avoid houses in flash flood zones, blast areas of refineries, developments built on landslides that are slowly falling off the cliff because often the developers and sales agents will not tell you about these things. You can't assume the developers or cities will look out for the interests of buyers, who will be attacked and called whiners who didn't do due diligence once they complain about problems that arise. This happens over and over in Utah.

[irman]

Regarding the Heliport set-up about (40) feet from a housing development ...
I would take that statement with a bag of salt. !!!

I would like to know the address of that heliport, so we can stay away from it !

[cedarite]

1150 west state street, Hurricane, Utah. There have been lots of articles about this. The recent one with the distances and property value loss was in the St. George Spectrum, I'm going by their article.

[cedarite]

Google "Hurricane helicopter business stirs up whirlwind of controversy" to find the article.

[irman]

Thanks for the heads up.
We will stay away from that area.
Still question the 40 feet distance.
That is really bloody close !

We often fly in or out out of Dick Stout Field.
I seem to remember that the closest home there, is about 100 feet away from any noise producing aircraft.
(Right at the entrance -- West 2300 )



Back to the Woods Cross Refineries.
I would NOT settle down there.
Just my opinion ...
Why would any housing development built so close to an existing large industrial complex ?
Even worse, why did they (the development entity) even get a permit to build homes there ?
Other Industrial entities, small or large, OK!
But homes ????