Property tax drop just one problem

Regarding the Oct. 3 editorial, “Horizon offers exciting future at Paine Field”:

The Herald blithely ignores the public interest in promoting a dubious proposal that will cause significant harm to the average taxpaying citizen.

As an industry analyst for Merrill Lynch, the very best outcome that occurred in my national studies when commercial aviation was added to a previously non-commercial venue was a drop in home values that averaged 22 percent. Apparently that’s fine with you, but I do have some economic questions to pose.

While the average homeowners of the area around Paine Field are seeing their home values plummet, how would you address the issue of further (and dramatic) erosion of their house values? Let’s continue. With the decline of property values goes the lower assessments the city and county rely on for property tax revenues. Applied fairly, how will these entities cope with a sharp decline in those revenues? How much will the introduction of commercial flights into Paine Field have to produce in new revenues to balance the loss in property tax revenues?

The vision of ever-expanding commercial aviation in South Snohomish County comes with additional massive costs you seem to ignore. Recent infrastructure improvements will be quickly overwhelmed by increased vehicle traffic that will ensue. Quality of life issues are too numerous to list, but one has only to recap the impacts to neighborhoods around Sea-Tac to see what the future holds for the residents of Lynnwood, Mukilteo, Everett, etc.

You refer to “limited flights and quieter aircraft” but please note that most of us were born at night but not last night. Once this door is opened, expansion of service is inevitable. The relative costs in dollars and to the quality of life in the area will far outstrip the falsely touted benefits of such a move. Do your research.

Mark S. Williams

Lynnwood