Not all the answers or questions but what was in Wednesdays paper.
Racetracks use permit revoked
Before a standing-room-only gallery of more than 300 people, the majority
from Litchfield Park and PebbleCreek in Goodyear, the Maricopa County Board
of Supervisors revoked the special use permit of Arizona Motorsports Park
Wedneday, Jan. 21.
The board took the better part of two hours to consider the matter, hearing
from county Planning Commission staff; Scott Rose, the racetracks attorney,
of the Cavanaugh law firm; Nick Wood of Snell & Wilmer, representing SunCor
Development Co.; and about a dozen citizens, some speaking for and others
against the track.
As the clock approached noon, Supervisor Max Wilson, R-District 4, made a
motion for the revocation of AMPs special use permit, which quickly was
seconded. Without further discussion, the board voted 5-0 in favor of the
revocation, after which applause broke out and the meeting adjourned.
Im very happy about it. I think it was the right thing to do; thats why
Im happy, Goodyear Mayor Jim Cavanaugh after the meeting. At this point
in time, I think the board did the right thing.
Litchfield Park Mayor Woody Thomas was equally exuberant.
I was very pleasantly surprised, he said. I was hoping to get them back
in the box to where we could have that original intention. But I think the
supervisors recognized what Id stated at a previous meeting was their [AMP]
unwillingness to follow the stipulations and play by the rules.
Rose was far from exuberant.
Were going to evaluate all of our options he said. We had tried
really, really, really hard to reach a compromise that worked out with
everybody, but the board was not interested in a compromise.
They took a very draconian action, and they put my client in a position of
having to look at all their legal remedies My client has a $6.5 million
investment in that property, and hes not just going to walk away from it.
The decision, effectively immediately according to planning department
staff, means the track cannot operate until it obtains another special use
permit.
Unless we get a court to stay the action, Rose said. We absolutely would
not rule that out.
The hearing
The supervisors heard first from staff members of the county Planning
Commission, which voted Dec. 3 to recommend a major amendment to the use
permit that includied imposing stringent noise-level standards.
They showed a videotape of the Dec. 19, 2001, supervisors meeting at which
the original special use permit was granted for Arizona Motorsports Park.
P&Z staff advised the supervisors they had several possible courses of
action they could take, among them:
Accept the P&Zs recommendations for a major amendment to AMPs special use
permit.
Accept the foregoing recommendations with some additional provisions
regarding noise and hours of operation that were proposed by Wood.
Go back to the original stipulations of AMPs special use permit and add
noise-level restrictions and/or a requirement that all cars using the track
be street-legal.
Revoke AMPs special use permit altogether.
Surprising just about everyone in the room, the Board of Supervisors chose
the latter course of action.
Your client has not lived up to the things required of it now. How do you
explain that? Supervisor Don Stapley, R-District 2, asked Rose.
Many of those things have been resolved, Rose replied. Such as the shade
structures getting building permits. And with other items, there are
questions whether they ought to be done, given proposed restrictions on days
of operation and the number of people to be allowed on site.
Its your clients obligation to be in compliance [with the special use
permit stipulations], not the county to make sure you are, Wilson told
Rose. The county has taken a lot of time with this thing And this is a
big county, with a small staff.
Youve had ample opportunity to be in compliance with what the county gave
you. Its ludicrous to think that if youre behind the podium [as a party]
that we dont think what you say youre going to do.
I made the motion, Stapley said, referring to the original motion Dec. 19,
2001, to approve AMPs special use permit. The term street-legal was
important then I would have voted differently if that was not the case.
Noting that she had two racetracks in her district, Manzanita and Phoenix
International Raceway, Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, D-District 5, said, I
always was concerned that this track might turn commercial, after being
advised that AMP received money from race clubs and auto manufacturers that
tested their vehicles there.
I camped with my daughter in the White Tanks last Saturday [Jan. 17],
Chairman Andy Kunasek, R-District 3, said. Sunday morning, I definitely
heard noise from the track And if I could hear it that loud, maybe six
miles away, what must the neighbors be hearing?
I stopped and visited the track that morning, and the cars that were
running definitely were not the same ones that Id heard earlier. And it
looked like there were more than 200 people there at that time.
Arizona Motorsports Park has another application for a major amendment to
its now non-existent special use permit pending; no hearing date had been
set as yet before the Planning Commission. AMP now will have to amend its
paperwork to be application for a new special use permit, starting the
process from the beginning once again.
Darryl Henning can be reached at dhenning@westvalleyview.com.
) 2004 West Valley View-Material may be copied for private, non-commercial
use only. No material may be copied for commercial use. All Rights
Reserved.
Don-reminding to thank GOD for his gift of Jesus-Kline
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