Vote shouldn’t affect home values

Incorporating Black Forest and Falcon into cities wouldn’t affect home values, some experts say.

Even if they incorporate, these areas will remain desirable for city dwellers seeking a peaceful, rural place to live, said El Paso County Assessor Mark Lowderman.

“The rural lifestyle and the area trumps the fact that it’s a city of its own,” Lowderman said.

Residents in Black Forest head to the polls April 24 to vote on becoming a city. Falcon residents decide their fate May 29.

Advocates for incorporation in both areas say it’s necessary to protect the area from being overdeveloped.

That rural nature is what makes a community desirable, not its status as a city, said Lowderman, who has lived north of Falcon for several years.

“The typical home buyer would be looking at the lifestyle rather than whether it’s incorporated as a home-rule city,” he said.

Property values vary with location, Lowderman said. For example, the same house sold in Falcon might be cheaper elsewhere, he said.

Doug Barber, president of the Rawhide Company, which has offices in Black Forest and Falcon, also thinks incorporation wouldn’t affect home values.

“People are still going to want to live out there,” Barber said.

Barber does see some potential buyers taking a “wait and see” approach as they consider buying property in Black Forest.

Some developers want to wait until the incorporation election is over before making final decisions, he said.

They’re concerned about potential development fees that might be levied by the city as well as zoning guidelines, Barber said.

“Nobody knows what the rules will be until they get made,” Barber said.

But some real estate agents say incorporation would be a bonus for the area.

Agent Gloria Mendoza, whose office is in Falcon, said the infrastructure of a city — including parks, police and more — would make living there more desirable, thereby increasing property values.

Incorporation opponents say forming cities would cost taxpayers too much and create an unnecessary layer of government.

Falcon incorporation advocates proposed funding the city through a 1.6 percent sales tax.

Black Forest incorporation advocates say the majority of funding would come from an 11.7 mill property tax.