And on the subject of good neighbors vs bad, no one trusts large projects..commercial or public. People trust homes, schools, and even business/shopping centers regardless of any safety claim the MTA can make. This trust translates to market value for homes in a community.

We have to look at this carefully because each case is different. In general, does mass transit increase property value? Yes, I think the statistics show it. But a maintenance yard will have more impact on a neighborhood’s property values than the rail line or rail station that that maintenance yard brings to the community.

Lets look at a proposed site for the Gold Line Foothill extension. One of the sites for a rail maintenance yard sits on the Irwindale/Duarte border (technically in Irwindale) directly adjacent to a Duarte community and in front of a Duarte Elementary school and community park. Now the train station/stop for Duarte is located near City of Hope. Regardless of where this rail maintenance yard goes, whether its further west in Monrovia or across the freeway on the Millier-Brewing site where there are no homes or residential property, the Duarte stop will remain at City of Hope. So will having the rail maintenance yard in their backyard do any good to the property values for those Duarte residents? I don’t think so.

The rail maintenance yard would have much more influence on the property value than the Gold Line in general. And in the case of these Duarte residents, getting the Gold Line is not contingent on this one site…the MTA is considering 9 other sites.

I’m all for mass transit..the enormous economic benefits it’ll bring, the change in culture..I’m all for it. But I can’t justify damning a community when there remain viable sites that, although may increase the cost to the MTA, will not harm any community or any kids.

Lets also not forget that in this case, the property could be developed into something that would be much more beneficial to the residents and Duarte in general. Its prime property sitting between the 605 and 210. There’s that loss we have to consider as well.

If the Irwindale/Duarte site were the only site, then that’s a completely different question. Fortunately, I hope, for the residents of Duarte, that’s not the case.

All I know is that it’s better to have a neighbor you know will be as quiet as possible, keep things clean, and not bother anyone. This is the case with the maintenance yards I saw.

Another question to ask is is there a possibility that property values will increase because homes are so close to a Metro stop?

After doing a little bit of research, I came up with this reference:

How does Mass Transit Effect Property Values

Home/property values.

People are afraid that maintenance yards will lower property value and I think it’s rightly justified…if I were buying a house, I would MOST definitely consider a maintenance yard into my decision.

The difference between your green line and the situation some folks are facing with a proposed gold line maintenance yard is that the condos adjacent to the facility in your pictures were built after…so people buying them were aware of what they were getting into.

Some of the sites proposed for the gold line maintenance yard are smack dab in otherwise residential areas.

Can you justify to those homeowner, who are already paying for the Gold Line in taxes, even a dime’s worth of loss in their property value?

Its a tough subject, no doubt. I just don’t think the picture you paint is being completely fair, although you did do a good job.

peace,
mike
livelife365

As usual great coverage and photos. Very informative also.