"High Point, N.C., Neighborhood Grapples with Noise Implications of FedEx Hub"

Monday, February 10, 2003

High Point, N.C., Neighborhood Grapples with Noise Implications of FedEx Hub
High Point Enterprise, N.C.


In the two years Jamie Pickard has lived in his two-story house in the
Frazier Downs subdivision, he's never been woken in the middle of the night
from one of the dozen or so small cargo planes flying over his house. 

His windows don't rattle, the walls don't shake and the sound of modern
transportation only melds into background noise. It's like a fine but heavy
whirring overhead or falling asleep to music on the stereo. 

Others may disagree, including former neighbors of Pickard. Some people have
a natural heightened sensitivity to noise. They only can imagine what
they'll be hearing once the proposed FedEx cargo hub opens. 

Built at the intersection of Sandy Ridge and Gallimore Dairy roads, Frazier
Downs is the city's northernmost neighborhood and closest to the airport.
The narrow strip of houses lies about three miles from the proposed third
runway at Piedmont Triad International Airport that will accommodate FedEx
Corp.'s plans for a regional cargo hub. 

Frazier Downs is the city's only development sliced by the airport's noise
contours, meaning owners on the edge closer to PTIA conceivably would have
the option of soundproofing their homes. No one in Frazier Downs has been
selected for a buyout. 

Until recently, residents believed airport officials had identified the
subdivision for its noise abatement program. Now, it seems the airport's
tune has changed slightly. 

"The airport authority has taken such a tough line saying our houses are
already well insulated," said one resident who asked not to be named because
neighbors have agreed to stop speaking to the media. "In the beginning of
last year, some of us went to a meeting of the airport authority board. We
were told that in their view, our houses had already been built to a certain
code. 

"They're all about waiting for a Part 150 (noise impact) study. It was point
blank - there will be no compensation," the resident said. 

Neighbors stopped talking publicly to the news media because all the FedEx
publicity effectively has hurt their chances of selling their homes, the
resident said. 

Pickard signed a waiver, or disclosure statement, when he purchased his home
in 1999. To his knowledge, his next-door neighbor was the only homeowner on
the street who didn't sign a waiver because documentation wasn't ready at
the time of the closing. The neighboring couple were vocal FedEx critics and
have since moved to Raleigh specifically because of the hub project,
according to Pickard.

Today, half a dozen "for sale" signs have sprouted up in the 56-lot
neighborhood. Harbingers of FedEx? Not hardly, says Pickard, who put his own
home on the market for an entirely different reason. 

He's moving to a less expensive, smaller house that better fits his current
lifestyle. He says he intends to stay in High Point because the location and
proximity to the airport make it easy to commute to work in Winston-Salem. 

For some people living in Frazier Downs, "It's just a wait and see
attitude," he says. 

The anonymous resident agrees with the "wait and see" sentiment, but
contends people are moving because they don't intend to stay there forever.
Whatever their reasons for relocating, their houses sit on the market for
eight months at a time with no visitors looking at making a purchase. 

"People are not happy with the way the possibility of any problem was
presented to us when we bought our properties and built our homes. It was
significantly downplayed by the real estate agents," the resident said. 

The resident says any publicity only has worked against the neighbors who
put their homes on the market. 

"Our homes are not selling well here. They're not selling at reasonable
prices. It's a shame considering the newness of the area," the resident
said. 

The resident's own house previously was for sale, but was taken off the
market after almost a year went by and prospects repeatedly lost interest
because of the hub concern. 

According to the city's planning records, Frazier Downs was developed by
several different builders. The last plat was built by Westminster Homes
around 1999, after FedEx and PTIA announced their plans. The subdivision was
not developed to maximum build-out. 

In 2000, City Council adopted the "Johnson Street/Sandy Ridge Road
Plan,"putting a moratorium on any new residential development in the
proposed flight path of the hub. Another developer, Ashton Oaks LLC, has
been waiting in line with plans to build a major subdivision at Kendale and
Sandy Camp roads in the same "Area of Concern" restricted by the city. 

Council won't vote on the Ashton rezoning proposal until they adopt a highly
contentious airport area land-use plan for High Point, which Councilman Bill
Bencini anticipates will be on the March 3 agenda. 

The word Frazier Downs residents are hearing from Realtors, says the
anonymous resident, is that the very term "FedEx" has diminished resale
values and virtually stopped all home sales in the airport's noise cone. 

Harold Craven, president of the local real-estate firm
Craven-Johnson-Pollock Inc., said he realizes people are concerned with the
noise factor. 

"But resale value? That's the $64,000 question," said Craven, a Realtor
since 1956. "That will have to be answered by the minds of the potential
buyers." He acknowledged his firm hasn't seen the same demand in all housing
ranges in north High Point. 

"There's been a leveling off. The higher end has slowed down a
little,"Craven said. "The economy has taken a hit, and there's a threat of
war that I think has affected the buying mood of the public." He also said
the FedEx project has not made an impact on his agency. 

Pickard says he knows the houses in his neighborhood that eventually did
sell were a "total steal" because the owners lost a lot of money in just two
years time. 

Homes in Frazier Downs range from $200,000 to $250,000. 

"I know one couple had their house on the market for 16 months that was
listed at $246,000 and sold for $215," said Pickard, who tried with a
Realtor to sell his own house for eight months. He gave up and listed the
house himself. 

City Councilwoman Laura Wiley, who represents north High Point's 6th
district, says she's heard from neighbors on both sides of the fence. 

"Some say they've had a very hard time selling their home, others say theirs
sold quickly," Wiley said. "Logically speaking, if a buyer is looking for a
home near the airport and hears about FedEx, and has a choice between a home
in another neighborhood in a different part of town, I would have to imagine
they'd consider the other home." Wiley also has heard a lot of concern from
residents in north High Point about the impact on resale values. She and
many others have not been able to find any official marketing survey of
homebuyers in that district. 

Last month, Frazier Downs became another statistic: Preliminary findings of
a noise study contracted by the city place the subdivision squarely in a
distinct 3 percent of the population projected to be disturbed an average of
1.5 times a night by a mixed fleet type of cargo planes. The sound they're
likely to hear is a level above 90 decibels, comparable to a food blender 3
feet away. 

PTIA Executive Director Ted Johnson said the airport authority hasn't yet
identified any neighborhood or resident in High Point that will be
compensated with federal funds for noise mitigation. 

"We hope and assume that the contractors put in proper insulation but we
have not made a study of it," Johnson said. "They're definitely out of an
area for purchase. I would assume these issues will be addressed in the Part
150 study." Westminster Homes officials couldn't be reached for comment by
the High Point Enterprise. 

The anonymous resident said neighbors aren't seeking compensation because
they felt they've been wronged. It's the value of their homes they want to
protect. 

Pickard maintains Frazier Downs is a desirable neighborhood with children
playing on the street. 

"The only time it felt strange was after Sept. 11," he said. "It was eerie
with no planes flying at all."


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