04-15-09 - After years of battle, the debate over the Wilzig track proposal in Taghkanic could come to a head on Tuesday, April 21.
The Town Planning Board on Monday gave conditional approval to the paved, mile-long track on Alan Wilzig’s 250-acre parcel near the Taconic State Parkway. That moves the contentious debate over the track back into the realm of the Zoning Board of Appeals, which is considering an appeal of a previous ruling that the paved racetrack is considered a recreational use under town zoning regulations. That meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. |
|
Photograph by Diane Rodriguez |
The Granger Group, which has mounted a tireless opposition campaign to the track, appealed the ruling by the Town’s Code Enforcement Officer, Dennis Callahan, that the track is considered a recreational use.
“We of course will be there,” Granger member and Wilzig neighbor Diane Rodriguez said. “We of course think the answer is clear—that it’s not a recreational use.”
Citing a court ruling, Rodriguez said previously that, “It clearly states that if a use is not listed—and 64 uses are listed—it [the track] is not a permitted use.”
Monday’s Planning Board came with pre-approved conditions that Wilzig has already largely met, such as berm placement to deflect the sound and no more than two hours of continuous racing on the track, as well as others including decibel monitoring of the site.
The Planning Board had set the stage in March for Monday’s decision, asking their attorney, Lawrence Howard, to craft for consideration on Monday a negative declaration that would relieve Wilzig of the requirement to create a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The attorney also created a list of conditions already undertaken by Wilzig to mitigate the impact of the proposal.
Monday “was a very bad night,” a dejected Rodriguez said following the meeting.
Wilzig, an collector of expensive Ducati motorcycles, initially submitted a proposal in 2007 to construct the paved one-mile, 40-foot-wide track on his Post Hill Road property. That proposal was rejected by the Zoning Board of Appeals, which ruled the paved track is not a standard accessory use on a residential property. That decision was upheld in state court.
Last year, calling the track a “recreational use,” Wilzig submitted the proposal again and received initial approval from Callahan and on Monday night got the approval of the Town Planning Board.
ZBA member Bob Rochler said his panel holds the ultimate say—at least outside of the courts—on the proposal. “If the Planning Board rules he can have the racetrack, and we say it doesn’t fit, [the Planning Board’s] ruling doesn’t mean anything,” Rochler told ccSCOOP recently. He also said that expects the ZBA will take a couple of days to make its final decision following Tuesday’s hearing.
PREVIOUS ARTICLES ABOUT THE WILZIG PROPOSAL
"Yet Another Taghkanic Panel to Hear from Public on Wilzig Proposal" - April 7, 2009
"Wilzig Proposal May Be Decided on Next Month" - March 12, 2009
"Wilzig Paving Plan Revs Up Opposition" - February 10, 2009
"Wilzig Asphalt Track Resurfaces" - December 10, 2008
|
