KS homeowners allow easement for upgraded power poles in their yards. shocked by HUGE metal towers
WICHITA — Pained words of Pastor William Vann inside Iasis Christian Center competed against industrial clamor of electric transmission line crews operating heavy trucks in the front yard.
Timing of the mid-April intrusion was ironic, because Vann was in a meeting with a Wichita City Council member, a Kansas House member, several local residents and a reporter to discuss the controversial power-pole modernization project initiated by Westar Energy — now known as Evergy — in a low-income residential neighborhood of northeast Wichita.
The church stands amid dozens of metal transmission poles that soar 105 feet above the ground, dwarfing wood poles typical of older neighborhoods without buried lines. Size and location of the double-deck poles fueled anger among residents convinced such giants would never be deployed in an affluent part of the city. Some were planted in front yards a stone’s throw from entrance doors.
Vann wasn’t alone in accusing Westar of engaging in a bait-and-switch approach to placing the poles on private property. He agreed to a new pole in front of the church, but was unaware of actual dimensions. He was recently informed Westar intended to add a transformer in the easement next to the street.
“I was approached ... a year and a half ago about Westar buying some easement of our church property in order to upgrade the power grid,” Vann said. “They did tell me it would be a silver pole. I was not aware how tall it would be or that they would actually bring two more poles along with it. Now, in my 150-foot span of property, I have one, two, three, four, five — five poles out there, because they haven’t taken the old ones down either.”
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And, Finney said, the influx of massive transmission poles were directly responsible for falling residential property values.
“The chances are, if you were to have an opportunity to buy a house, you probably wouldn’t want to buy a house with a 105-foot pole in your yard,” the state legislator said. “As far as property values, recently our appraisal values came out from the county. My property is 5 blocks over and my house is only 9 years old. It went down $5,000 since last year.”
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Westar representatives had moved through the neighborhood a couple years ago buying easements. They apparently paid a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars to homeowners.
“They actually gave me a little piece of money for a wooden pole,” said Abdul-Raheem, a resident and child care provider. “The next thing I know, I have one of these big, huge things on the property. It looked like a monster. When I open my curtain in the morning, that’s the first thing that I see. I didn’t even want to work in my flower bed this morning.”
https://www.cjonline.com/news/20190421/capitol-insider-podcast-mega-utility-poles-lightning-rod-of-controversy-in-wichita-neighborhood
https://www.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article217919675.html
Westar Energy said Monday it would pay more to compensate homeowners upset about larger electrical poles, or even buy their homes, in northeast Wichita.
UPDATED — Westar Energy is upgrading a transmission line that connects three substations in northeast Wichita, but residents aren’t looking at new electric poles as an improvement.
“People are very disturbed about this,” says state Rep. Gail Finney.
Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson organized a meeting with Westar representatives, area residents and community leaders on Thursday.
“It got very intense,” Finney says.
She says issues include “monumental towers that are in people’s yard,” lost home value, improper compensation and a lack of transparency.
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Retiree Phyllis Peete, who lives near 21st and Piatt, says she and a neighbor were driving down the street when she first saw the poles.
“I said, ‘What is this?’ I thought it was horrible. They were so big, and they’re just blocking everything.”
That’s not her only frustration, Peete says.
“I hadn’t hear anything about it. That’s what gets me.”
= new reply since forum marked as read
as ugly as they are my main concern would be what the long term health effects are. 
That is - the easement restrictions.
Power line easements restrict the installation of any elevated item including trees, fences and structures. The higher the voltage of the lines, the wider the easement and increasing probability of enforcement of the restrictions. Technically, a high melon mound in a garden would be a violation if the utility wants to be a bad-ass. Low fences may be allowed with approval of the utility and they sometimes are required to have special grounding provisions.
A good example is a good friend that owns a home in the city with a high-voltage transmission line with huge towers that has an easement going through his back yard, along with a parallel gas line easement. For that line which I estimate is 500kV, the easement could be up to 300-ft. wide, which is likely right up to the back wall of his house. Easement rules therefore would negate the building of swimming pools, tall fences, sheds or garages and any plants taller than low shrubs. Many residents have grown trees on the easement, but they are subject to severe butchering by the utility every few years (they could legally require their removal).
These residents should demand a copy of the easement description and restrictions because it could affect the resale value of these homes. Unfortunately, that may require a complete title search which requires a lot of research for older properites and I was told a profession search would cost around $200 if you pay some guys that do that every day.
Usually when a home sells, it must satisfy all existing easement conditions or else changes must be made prior to sale. For example, my friend (above) has a neighbor that built a garage on the above described easement. The family has been told the garage will have to be demolished prior to reselling the home.
From what I see in the OP's photos, some of these residents may have to remove fences and/or sheds prior to selling their homes unless legal documents are providing the exempt any existing items in violation of the easement conditions.
On the lighter side, perhaps the residents could convince the utility to paint the poles to look like tree trunks....