04-22-09 - Racetrack or recreational trail to be used for a long list of recreational purposes?
That was the debate Tuesday at the Taghkanic Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, where speaker after speaker offered an opinion on the proposed Wilzig motorcycle course during a marathon public hearing at the Taghkanic Firehouse.
Opponents to Alan Wilzig’s mile-long course focused on the opinion of the crafters of the town’s nearly 40-year-old zoning legislation that it was not the intention of the zoning regulations to permit a paved, motorcycle course.
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Warren Replansky, attorney for the Granger Group, addresses members of the Taghkanic Board of Appeals |
“We discussed recreational uses . . . [and] very large, professional-scale projects definitely were not to be allowed,” said resident Tony Gravett, reading a letter to the ZBA from John King, a member of the original town zoning commission.
Meanwhile supporters of the proposal contended that many town residents use their property to ride ATVs and other motorized vehicles and that, with the restrictions imposed by the Planning Board last week, Wilzig could potentially have less impact on the community than those riders. On April 13, the Planning Board approved a site plan for the 40-foot-wide, approximately mile-long paved course on Wilzig’s Post Hill Road property with a series of conditions.
Wilzig attorney Dave Everett maintained that there is no difference between his client’s proposal and the use by many in the town of their own property for riding dirt bike and ATVs.
Tuesday’s hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals was the result of an appeal brought by the Granger Group, who oppose the motorcycle racetrack, of a previous ruling by Town Code Enforcement Officer Dennis Callahan that the paved racetrack is a recreational use under town zoning regulations. More than 100 residents packed the hearing to participate in or listen to the debate.
If the ZBA—which in 2007 ruled that the track was not a standard accessory use on a residential property—agrees with the Granger Group that a paved racetrack it is not an allowed recreational use, the decision of the ZBA would nullify the Planning Board site plan approval. It would also likely send the project back to court, where the State Supreme Court has previously weighed in on the matter, upholding the ZBA’s 2007 ruling that the track was not a standard accessory use for a residential property.
Citing the previous court case, Wilzig attorney Everett told the ZBA on Tuesday that “Justice Hummel has already decided that this is a recreational use.”
However, Granger Group attorney Warren Replansky reiterated his position on Tuesday, saying “it’s not a permitted use. . . . The application should not have been referred by your ZEO to the Planning Board in the first place.”
Addressing the argument that the course is not a racetrack and that it fits the zoning requirements for a “sporting club,” Replansky said, “You are not to be misled by Mr. Wilzig’s claim that he is building a sporting club. . . . You can put spats on a pig, and it’s still a pig.”
Resident after resident at the hearing decried the impact the proposed track would have on their property values and their quality of life. Neighbor Diane Rodriquez recounted an incident last summer in which she ended up wishing for rain in the hope that it would force Wilzig to stop using his track that day in order to reduce the “annoying noise.”
“Obviously, the presence of a race track impacts selling price. Would you like to build a house next to one?” asked resident Michael Brenner.
Arthur Baker asked the Zoning Board to conduct noise tests before making any ruling.
Another resident, Mary Evans, made a more emphatic statement to the board. “The very future of the special qualities of Taghkanic which we all love is in your hands,” she said.
She also cited numerous Internet postings and interviews in which, she contended, Wilzig claimed to be building a racetrack—with various estimates of costs from $1 million to $75 million—in Taghkanic. If those statements were accurate, they would be in direct contradiction to his attorney’s statement that the “sporting course shall be used for personal recreational uses only, including, among other uses, jogging, skateboarding, and cross-country skiing.”
The ZBA will make a decision on the appeal at a future meeting.
PREVIOUS ccSCOOP ARTICLES ABOUT THE WILZIG PROPOSAL
"Taghkanic Track Debate Shifts to ZBA Following Planning Board OK" - April 15, 2009
"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
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