by David Flint
Howard Commander’s Motocross course has been put on hold for another month. The world class MX track that Commander proposes to put in a corn field in the southwestern corner of Stephentown was tabled again by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) at their meeting on June 3 after hearing additional protests from neighbors and a demand from an attorney for a lot more information.
Commander and his partner in this endeavor, Sean Sermini, President of Superior Events Racing & Management, reported that they had received a SPDES (State Pollution Discharge Elimination System) permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Commander said he would like to get a zoning variance as soon as possible so that they could get in one race this year leading to a big American Motorcycle Association sanctioned event later on. He said he
had received numerous emails that are very enthusiastic about this place “for kids to race and have fun.” There will be some noise, he said, but he felt it would be minimal, especially with drag racing and go-kart running in the vicinity at the same time.
In response to questions from people in the audience, about 20 attending, Sermini said that the average 450cc bike puts out about 100 decibels at 100 feet. AMA events would be for various ages from little kids up to over age 50. He expected they would run only on Sundays, maybe once or twice a month, starting with practice at 9 am and finishing up by 7 pm. Outside of race days the track will be quiet except for some bulldozer maintenance a day or two after each race. An engineering map of the course showed two detention ponds for trapping storm water, which would be subsequently recycled to water down the track. There will be no lighting. Most of the track will be on the existing cornfield or through the trees but some trees will be removed from a 60 foot swath. Port-a-potties will be available for participants’ and spectators’ use. Erosion will be controlled as the track will be constantly manicured, stopping a race for such attention if need be. A race might have anywhere from five or six contestants up to 30 or 40. On any one day there would be a maximum of between 300 and 400 entries, with an average of 300 machines using the track. Security will be present along with some uniformed officers. Entrance to the track will be from Route 20 and every effort will be made to keep traffic off of Webster Hill Road.
Although it was not a public hearing, those who signed up to speak were allowed to have their say. One person, Robert Cummings, spoke up in favor of the track, saying it seemed an ideal location to have a controlled environment for dirt racing close by an area where racing already takes place. He spoke of the emphasis Motocross places on safety for kids and how the noise of the newer 4-stroke engines is lower pitched and less noisy than the 2-stroke engines that are being phased out.
Eleven people spoke up in opposition.
Brian Baker said the ZBA should have the kind of data on this proposal that was required from the Beacon Power company in seeking a special use permit for their frequency regulation plant. That was a ten month process, he said, involving extensive State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) and requiring a noise study by a sound engineer. He noted that the sound expected from the Motocross track would be astronomically higher than what Beacon was required to adhere to. Baker suggested that in order to avert expensive law suits down the road the ZBA should require at least the long version of the Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) and they should hire engineers, including a high quality sound engineer, and a lawyer, all at the applicant’s expense. The proposed track, he said, would have a significant and lasting impact on both Stephentown and New Lebanon and the ZBA should not vote haphazardly and quickly without gathering the needed data from experts.
People residing near the area of the proposed track were concerned about noise, traffic, real estate devaluation and environmental damage. Allen Honeyman noted that dirt bikes and ATVs have smaller engines that make a higher pitched noise that penetrates farther and is more damaging to hearing, so that the continuous Motocross noise would actually be more objectionable than the intermittent and lower pitched drag racing noise across the line in New Lebanon. Some said they had become accustomed to the race track and drag strip, though the noise has become progressively worse over the years, but adding a new noise would be intolerable. “To say that there is already noise, so we should just put up with more, that’s outrageous,” said Alice Caton. That the louder noise from New Lebanon would drown out the noise of the Motocross in Stephentown, as Sermini suggested, was treated with scorn by others. There was concern also for wildlife in the area and the possible damaging effects of silt and pollution going into the Kinderhook Creek.
A number of people, including Robert Henrickson, Mayor of the Village of East Nassau, were skeptical as to how traffic would be kept off of Webster Hill Road, a narrow road with a sharp curve, not designed for any heavy traffic. People wondered, too, how 30,000 spectators, the number that Commander and Sermini estimated might be attracted to future events at the Stephentown Motocross, could possibly be controlled. At a minimum people wanted more information about the plan, and if a variance were to be granted they wanted at least some clear restrictions.
Lewis Oliver, an attorney from Albany representing Alice Caton and other abutting landowners, submitted a 15-page letter with attachments. Oliver contended that any action the ZBA might take at this time would be illegal because they had not complied with Stephentown’s Land Use Regulations. Under the Regulations both the Stephentown Planning Board and the Town of New Lebanon – since the boundary lies within 500 feet of the land involved – should have been notified about the public hearing held last month. Furthermore, the EAF was not made available to residents prior to that hearing. Oliver insisted that a new public hearing should now be required to receive input from the Stephentown Planning Board and public and from the Town of New Lebanon.
He further contended that considering space for parking, spectators and vendors, the impacted area would total well over ten acres, thus making it under SEQR a Type I Action and requiring the long form EAF and most likely an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as well.
Oliver pointed out that the site is in both a wetland and a flood plain with the Kinderhook Creek, a DEC protected trout stream, running alongside it, an additional factor making the proposal a Class I Action under SEQR.
Oliver rejected the notion that there would be no increased noise from the operation of the motocross race course because the races would be held at the same time as the drag strip races. He submitted a letter from a Professional Engineer, John A. Serth of Clifton Park, who has previously testified in court on the subject of race track noise. Serth wrote that, “It appears quite likely that the equivalent noise level will significantly increase due to the proposed expansion of racing. However, without much more information it is impossible to say exactly how much of an increase there will be.”
Oliver pointed out that the land in question is zoned residential and under the Land Use Regulations a “Commercial Recreation Park” is prohibited in a residential zone. Therefore he contended that the ZBA does not have jurisdiction to grant a use variance. In any case, he noted that the Regulations further specify that no such variance can be granted unless the applicant can show financial hardship under the existing zoning. The applicant, he said, has not submitted any evidence of this. Finally, the Regulations also say that granting of any variance “will not represent a radical departure from (the Zoning Law), will not be injurious to the neighborhood or change its character and will not otherwise be detrimental to the public welfare or the environment.” Oliver said none of this had been demonstrated so far.
Oliver also pointed to a memo sent to the Zoning, Planning and Town Boards of Stephentown by Eric Valdina, a licensed real estate broker with experience attempting to sell properties in this area. Valdina stated that, “I can state unequivocally that this type of activity and proposed land use has a negative effect on residential property values, lowering the market value for current area residents who live within a certain radius of such activity and depressing the future value of property held for residential investment purposes.” Oliver suggested that motocross might result in decreased assessments for homeowners within the affected area while at the same time result in increased property taxes for landowners in other parts of the Town.
Jim Ayling, an Alternate Zoning Board Member sitting in because Chairman Jack Liebenow was absent, asked if there was an engineering report to go along with the map the applicant had submitted. Sermini said there was but he didn’t have it. Ayling asked about other plans such as a business plan. Sermini said there was one but he had not submitted it. Ayling said, “This doesn’t tell us a lot. I agree that we need a lot more information before I can make a decision.” He then proceeded to offer a motion that the Board table the proposal until they have received more in the way of plans and engineering reports and have had the opportunity to consult with an attorney and an engineer. Joe Champion, chairing the meeting, eventually seconded the motion, and it was passed by three votes with Bob Mittnight, Sr. adding the third vote and Dick Sime abstaining.