And for now, they're only buying land voluntarily...eminent domain starts much later, and construction is decades away.

But once the county chooses a route and starts buying property, they will have painted targets on a lot of land. They won't start eminent domain (which would require them to pay damages for adverse effects such as noise, view and limited access). And once they do build the road, the property values will no doubt recover.

The problem is that by planning 25-50 years ahead instead of 10-20 years ahead, they've introduced a decades long period of limbo. Those whose properties are "in the way" will be less able to build on their land, sell their land, or justify maintenance of their pasture. Why invest in land when you know a road will be going through in 20 years?

Sure, in 30 years you'll be able to sell your land at a profit, but judging by the apparent ages of the people in the audience around me, most of us won't be alive to enjoy those profits 30 years later.

They have another study online from Arizona: Impact of Highways on Property Values: Case Study of the Superstition Freeway Corridor by the Arizona Transportation Research Center, 2001. Here's an interesting quote (emphasis mine):

While the evidence indicates that the purchase of a home adjacent to a freeway or any major street is not a good investment in most cases, buyers of homes in the Superstition Freeway study area had access to information regarding existing and pending corridor development, and thus bear the responsibility for their investment returns.

So once they corridor is announced, it is likely a bad investment for someone to buy your home if you're adjacent the the highway.

What hasn't been studied is the effect of announcing a new road in the far future. Land values along 183 went up on speculation just before the right of way was acquired. What is clear is that with completion decades in the future, land owners may have to wait a long time for their values to recover.

A modest proposal

My idea is to compensate those affected by the choice of a corridor. I can think of two options:

• Advance damages for future condemnation.
• Offer whole property buyout.

It's a value for value transaction, and would be dollar neutral since the money would be "returned" when the land is actually condemned.

Yes, I know the "dollar neutral" claim ignores the time-value of money, but then so does the statement that planning ahead saves money.

I know the county's FAQ says the county cannot buy property for such use. Perhaps the state law may have to change. But that addresses the case where putting in the road makes it impossible for the owner to use their property for its current use. This handles the issues of riparian rights, private runways that become unsafe, and issues of access, noise and sight lines.

It's not ideal, but the owner can take the fair market value and go buy land that isn't targeted for a road.

The county can keep whatever part of the land they want and sell the rest (perhaps even at a profit).

Are these even possible?

Both of these suggestions cost the county money. But remember that the reason for planning farther ahead is that the county is saving lots of money. They're doing that by preventing current owners from developing their land.

Why not offer payment for reduced development in corridor areas?

It would make the decades of limbo seem a lot less like theft, which is how most of the property owners tonight felt about the whole process.

And there is a consitutional basis: Fifth amendment: ...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. By choosing a corridor, the county has effected a kind of "taking" of the private property.

What about Noise?

From what I've seen, there are two kinds of people in Liberty Hill: the old-timers and the new arrivals. The old-timers have owned their ranches here forever, and they don't really want Liberty Hill to grow. Then there are the new arrivals (like me), who moved here to enjoy the quiet Texas Hill Country.

Neither of these groups want noise, and I can't figure out a solution to making them happy.

The numbers say that market values rise when they put in a road. You can bet your appraised value will rise, along with your property tax. My guess is that the only real answer will be to move farther away from Austin.