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Racetrack given noise allowance
Published: Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
By CORINNE REILLYMERCED SUN-STAR
MERCED The Merced County Board of Supervisors gave another green light to the
Riverside Motorsports Park on Tuesday, formally adopting last week's tentative
decision to allow noise and traffic from the raceway to exceed county standards.
Like last week, the board split over whether plans for the 1,200-acre racing
complex should move forward, with Supervisors Deidre Kelsey and John Pe-drozo
voting against the project.
Kelsey repeated many of the concerns she previously has raised about the
raceway proposal. Kelsey again said she believes the raceway's environmental
effects haven't been adequately studied, that the board has failed the public
by approving the project, and that plans to route raceway traffic through
nearby rural roads is an 'exploitation' of area farmers and ranchers.
Kelsey moved to send the project's proposal back to the county Planning
Department for further study and revision. Pedrozo voted in favor of the
motion, but the rest of the board rejected it.
On Dec. 13, the board voted to approve environmental reviews of the project and
to overrule a finding by the Airport Land Use Commission that the racetrack's
site is too close to Castle Airport's runway.
The board also made a temporary decision last week to amend the county's
general plan and zoning code to allow raceway noise and traffic to exceed the
county's standards during major events. But because the board can legally amend
the county's standards just four times a year, it had to wait to formally adopt
the change.
Six residents spoke against the amendment; none spoke in favor of it.
'I'm strongly against setting aside our standards that are here to protect
us,' Merced resident Tom Grave said.
Racetrack supporters have hailed the project's approval for the economic
benefits it's expected to bring. Opponents have called its approval an assault
on the environment and local agriculture.
First proposed in 2003, the $240 million raceway complex is planned to cover
1,200 acres near Castle Airport. It's set to contain eight racing venues, a
shopping mall, restaurants, an arcade and a lake.
The project now must survive a 30-day appeal period, when those affected by the
raceway can ask the board to reconsider whether the project has been adequately
studied.
Racetrack developers still have to outline zoning standards for the park,
finalize plans to manage traffic and sign financial agreements with the county.
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