By Kiera Riley | State Affairs
Homeowners in San Tan Valley are suing the Salt River Project for constructing power lines in their neighborhood without providing compensation to homeowners to cover the resulting decline in property value.
Residents of Circle Cross Ranch claim SRP sought to buy, then litigated and took possession of stretches of the community’s common area to build power lines.
“This is an area they paid for as HOA members, they paid for it. They pay every month to maintain it as part of their dues. This is property that they have a direct interest in,” attorney John Thorpe said.
The lines, constructed in the community’s green belt, now stretch visibly across residents’ backyards.
But because SRP litigated the issue with the Home Owners Association and failed to name the homeowners themselves, residents were not offered and did not receive any compensation for the alleged degradation of their property values.
Thorpe noted the case relies on an Arizona Supreme Court ruling from last year in State of Arizona, et al. v. Foothills Reserve Master Owners Association, Inc.
In this case, the state sought to condemn a common area in a master-planned community in Phoenix to construct the Loop 202 and ended up in a legal battle over homeowners’ entitlement to compensation.
