Hello

Greetings.

Being a neophyte to this forum and a new home owner (bought my first house 1 year back), I am really gratified to see this forum which actually is quite welcoming.

Here is a question which is nagging our household for the past couple of days:

Will a school + baseball/football ground replacing a quiet,serene swathe of woods in your backyard increase or decrease your home value.

Our Backyard:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=81688378403.736757440303.1131394240659&photoid=636757440303&view=1&page=1&sort_order=0&albumsperpage=&navfolderid=2005

http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoView.jsp?collid=81688378403.736757440303.1131394240659&photoid=108747440303&;

http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoView.jsp?collid=81688378403.736757440303.1131394240659&photoid=641257440303&;

Here are some facts:

My neighborhood is a block (nearly a cul-de-sac) located on a country road in the suburbs of Boston. Here are some vital stats on Our town, Stow,MA 01775

-30 miles western suburbs of Boston

-Top 10% of mass in terms of school ranking

-Top 5% of mass towns in terms of per capita income

-Total population 5000 (~2000 families)

-http://www.mass.gov/dhcd/iprofile/286.pdf

Our house located on a acre lot in a quiet block has its backyard overlooking a privately owned 64 acres of woods recently acquired by the town for the purpose of building school and play ground.Previously the land was eyed by private developers who periodically tried to see if the land would 'perk' to develop into housing neighborhood.But the town reserved the right to buy and finally bought. Though we are relieved that the 64 acres are not to be converted into thickly settled neighborhood, we are really sad that the town plans to cut all or most of the trees to create play grounds. The town is planning to give just 20 feet buffer zone between the abetting houses and the planned play grounds.Being Naturalists/Tree-huggers we are (me and my wife) particularly saddened that the swathe of trees are going to be cut down. Imagine,I had a lump in my throat when a couple of trees in my thickly wooded lot fell down in the recent storm!We particularly fell in love with the house for the serene thickly wooded backyard.Though it was not a conservation land we were hoping that the trees/view would stay with us for some time (kiddish!).SIGH.

Alright.I guess we will have to deal with the emotional impact.Now I have look into the economic impact.Here we are .Stuck with a question. What will happen to my property value (apart from us losing all those beloved trees). With my prime mover in my buying decision (paid a premium for the view ..paid 15K extra after CMA over comparable houses in the neighborhood) vanishing, what should i do?

Option1: Bail out- Look out for another house with a view? (We were planning to upgrade to a near by town after 10 years after saving some money .Should I advance that move by 9 years ;-)Apart from that we faced ZERO buyer's remorse or post purchase dissonance after buying this house. The house has been and IS AWESOME..

Option2 :Stay put and see what really is going to materialize in the next couple of years in our backyard?

Your esteemed/experienced views are welcome please!

Thanks

JK