Stephentown Motocross Application Deemed Incomplete

by David Flint
Continuing their deliberations on a proposal to construct a Motocross sports park at a field off of Webster Hill Road, the Stephentown Zoning Board has determined that Howard Commander’s application for a zoning variance is still not complete. The Board’s engineering consultant, Michael Bianchino of Clough Harbour Associates (CHA) summarized the situation to date at their meeting on Thursday, April 7. He indicated that further information is still needed on a number of issues and until they are resolved he was not prepared to make any recommendation to the Zoning Board regarding a SEQR determination. The wetlands in the proposed area need to be more precisely delineated; additional information is needed on how construction will be handled with slopes exceeding 15%; more research is needed on the historical/archeological sensitivity of the area, and a more thorough and data-based noise study is required. In addition to that, the Board is waiting to hear from the State Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding their concerns about traffic control at the intersection of Webster Hill Road and State Route 20. Board Chairman Roland Barth also wanted a more complete description of just how the motocross track would be operated, what sorts of events for what levels of riders would be sponsored and the amount of visitors and traffic these events might attract.
Bianchino said Commander had a traffic study done by Creighton Manning Engineering, and this had been forwarded to the offices of the two DOT regions that have jurisdiction in the area. He had not yet received any response from DOT but would follow up on that in the coming week.
Bianchino said that even though Commander’s engineering consultant, Patrick Prendergast, has advised that the motocross track will be moved up to higher ground than was originally planned, he must still work with DEC and possibly the Army Corps of Engineers to precisely delineate the wetlands at the site. He understood that this work has been delayed by the weather. Prendergast said that DEC had been contacted and has offered to come out and assist with this.
Although the site is in an area considered archaeologically or historically sensitive by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Prendergast believed that since the proposed site for the track has already been disturbed by farming and will not be close to the Kinderhook Creek, they would probably not be required to do any investigation of what is in the ground.
Bianchino said that in response to the applicant’s statement that there will be noise when the track is in operation, “but it won’t be loud,” he had recommended that a scientific noise study be done comparing the ambient noise when the track is not operating with the noise generated by a similar existing track. The study would also include a measure of noise when both the motocross track and either the adjacent race track or dragstrip is operating. Prendergast said it would be difficult to measure the noise at some other existing track and instead proposed to do the study on site by bringing in some racing motorcycles and measuring noise levels both with and without additional noise from the adjacent drag strip. Commander’s attorney, Francis Roche, rejected a request from Attorney Lewis Oliver, representing concerned neighboring residents, that he be notified of when the test would be so residents could have their own noise expert take independent readings. Roche said they had enough problems scheduling these things “without scheduling in the – quote – opposition. It ain’t gonna happen.”  Board Member Freling Smith agreed, saying it is not a joint project and each side does its own thing.
A number of the concerned residents who were present at the meeting submitted letters outlining their concerns and reasons for opposing the granting of a use variance. Alan Cote and Lydia Davis noted the absence of a noise study and pointed out, too, that “Such tracks produce a very loud, irritating and sustained noise. It is different from, and worse than, the noise produced by the present Speedway and drag strip, both of which offer intervals of silence.” They expressed concern about possible expansion of times of use, perhaps even to year round use with snowmobiles. Other concerns included plummeting property values causing increased property taxes in other areas of Stephentown, leaking of motor oil and gas into the soil and the Kinderhook Creek, increased traffic and accidents putting an increased burden on local emergency crews and law enforcement agencies and lack of consideration for crowd control, food handling, water supplies and sanitation. Finally they asserted that although the Town’s Land Use Regulations require that the Zoning Board must find that not granting a variance would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of his land, Commander has not demonstrated any such financial hardship. If the land was not suitable for residential purposes, they said, that was due to his own noise producing facilities, but he could still use the land for farming. The land is zoned residential, they said, and, “There must be a compelling reason to grant a use variance.”
Alice Caton in her letter challenged Commander’s contention that the motocross use is compatible with the neighborhood. “It is absolutely NON-COMPATIBLE with all of our lives and families,” she wrote. “The noise of ATVs is annoying, deafening and intolerable. It will change my entire way of life – making it impossible to enjoy any outdoor activity. For me, no more gardening, no walking in the woods, no swimming, no tennis and no teaching my grandchildren about the wonders of nature.”