Letter to the Editor: What is Peters Township, Pennsylvania?

Peters is an attractive premier suburban residential community that attracts families because of its superior housing stock, excellent schools and recreational amenities. Peters is the most populated community in Washington County and is not a rural agricultural area as it once was.  

Did anyone purchase their home to benefit from natural gas drilling? I believe not. The unconventional high pressure hydraulic fracturing gas drilling method is a major polluting and dangerous industrial process that does not belong near homes and schools. Did we purchase our homes to have this near us? I believe not. There may be other less populated communities that can support the drilling industry with its drill pads, impoundment ponds, compressor stations and pipelines. Every community has to make those decisions. 

Let’s look at property values in Peters Township. 

The Twp. web site states that the 2011 assessed value of the Twp. is $319,819,969. The county uses a 25% ratio between assessed value and “county value” or market value, but the county assessment office also estimates that assessed values are actually closer to 17% of market value. An analysis of recent sales in Peters Twp. shows an even lower number. There were 22 residential sales (lot sales and bank sales not included) between 7/13/11 and 10/10/11. The total sales price was $7,509,550 with an average house price of $341,343. The assessed value of these properties was only $1,057,984 which is 14% of total sale prices. There were also 12 new residential sales which were not included because they have not been assessed; their average value was $423,125. Therefore, using this 14% rate the total market value of Peters Township is over 2.3 billion dollars using the $319,819,969 assessed value.  

2.3 billion ($2,300,000,000) is a lot of value here in Peters and most of this is residential properties. Should the gas industry and the several hundred people with gas leases control our community of over 21,000 residents? I believe not.  Will your property value be negatively affected with drilling nearby? Probably. Will all of our property values be positively affected if drilling is banned? I believe so. 

The ordinance adopted by Peters Township permits drilling on parcels 40 acres or more in size. This is actually about 12% to 15% of our Twp. (not .2% as identified in a Twp. mailer) and it is possible to combine parcels to produce many additional 40 acre parcels thereby leaving much of the Township vulnerable to drilling. But, it appears that House Bill 1950 passed last week, if eventually made into law, would eliminate all local ordinances that regulate drilling and provide a state wide ordinance which will be heavily influenced by the gas industry. Our state government is not going to protect us. What can we do to protect our property, our health and our quality of life? The answer is to vote “yes” to the question on the ballot to amend our home rule charter to ban this dangerous industrial process from our community. This is a constitutional rights issue to protect our community. Brave residents will vote “yes” and strive for this protection; others will follow the gas industry and antiquated laws that do not protect us. 

-Dennis Ceccarelli, 21-year resident of Peters Township