flyin#5
03-12-2006, 08:35 PM
cedar lake speedway got the approval to make an indoor mx track. this place is about 10 minutes away from me, so this is exciting and should be for all those riders waiting for the snow to melt. next year, you shouldnt have to.
Motocross facility gets green light
Friday, March 10, 2006
By Andrea Geddes, News staff reporter
Cedar Lake Speedway officials drove over their first speedbump Monday night and may be on their way to building an indoor motocross facility.
After two nights of sometimes heated debate over the operations of the outdoor race track, the Town of Star Prairie’s planning commission voted unanimously to rezone the 145-acre Speedway property from agriculture to commercial.
However, commissioners also accepted a list of concerns from area property owners that will be the basis of ongoing discussions when the Speedway returns to the commission in the future to apply for conditional use permits.
“I want you to know this is a difficult decision for us,” planning commissioner Mike Burke told the audience before the vote. “We see both sides. The race track itself has left a sour taste in the mouths of many neighbors.These concerns need to be addressed.”
After partnering with Sandbox Motorsports, Speedway owners approached the township in January with their proposal to build the indoor riding facility. Co-owner and president Steve Kaufman inquired about rezoning the property from agriculture to commercial.
Because the property was developed in 1957, long before zoning laws took effect, Kaufman said they really didn’t have to rezone the grandfathered property. But he said it was the right thing to do.
When the issue came before the planning commission Monday, Feb. 28, several property owners voiced their objections not necessarily to the new project but to the way the outdoor race track events are handled.
Their list of complaints included noise, traffic, garbage, security and camping regulations.
Because emotions were running high and the commission’s agenda was long, planning commission chair Scott Counter tabled the Feb. 28 meeting until Monday, March 6, to give both parties time to list concerns and solutions before the zoning process continued.
When the meeting reconvened Monday, Speedway project engineer Roger Humphrey of Humphrey Engineers in Hudson explained that the zoning process was actually an opportunity for area property owners to voice their concerns and perhaps reach a compromise regarding the operations of the Speedway.
While rezoning the land to commercial paves the way for the indoor motocross facility to be built, it also allows Speedway neighbors to speak up when the owners apply for special exception or conditional use permits, he said. These permits will be necessary to acquire to operate special events during the racing season, he added
“That’s the time to discuss curfews, camping and traffic concerns,” he said.
“Just because the property is rezoned doesn’t mean they can do anything they want on it,” he said. “You have four businessmen very concerned about your issues.”
Property owner James Munson said he didn’t feel he and his neighbors had enough time to digest the rezoning request and what it meant.
He and some of his neighbors had compiled a list of concerns mostly involving the Speedway’s campground, track curfew hours and ongoing garbage issue that he thought should be addressed before the property was rezoned.
“Our goals are not that much different than yours,” Kaufman assured him. “Our goal is to bring the campground up to another level - make it more park-like. And attract more families.”
Sandbox’s Rob Murphy, track consultant and race organizer, said that by building the motocross facility, their intention is to make friends in the area.
“We don’t want hostile neighbors,” he said.
“This is just a place for the kids,” he said. “I’ve known a lot of kids whose lives have changed by picking up a hockey stick or a bike.”
The current plans for the indoor motocross facility call for construction of a 300x400 foot insulated metal building that will contain roughly 90,000 square feet of dirt floor. It will offer a wide range of motorcycle and ATV activities including:
• Open riding and practice
•American Motorcycle Association sanctioned competitive events
• Dirt bike riding school
• ATV safety training courses
Several fathers and their motocross racing children were in attendance Monday supporting the new project.
“I would have cut a finger off to have had a facility like this,” Tom Emerson of New Richmond told the crowd Monday night. “With land use the way it is now, kids don’t have a place to ride except two to three hundred miles away. Our kids here could have this right in their back yard.”
And by building the motocross facility, Kaufman said it is their intention that even more families will visit the Speedway year-round.
By rezoning to commercial, property taxes from the Speedway can increase to nearly $50,000 annually, Kaufman said.
“Three thousand will go to the town, $720 will go to the county, $3,966 will go to the technical college, the state will see $12,000 and the schools will receive $26,000 - the equivalent of an entire teacher’s salary,” he said.
The rezoning request is scheduled to go before the Town of Star Prairie Tuesday, March 7, then St. Croix County officials Wednesday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Ag Center in Baldwin. Once the property is officially rezoned to commercial, Speedway officials will have to apply for special use permits which defines how the property is operated.
“That’s when we get into concerns,” he said.
If all goes well, Speedway officials hope to break ground the end of May or early June for the new building with completion scheduled for November.
Motocross facility gets green light
Friday, March 10, 2006
By Andrea Geddes, News staff reporter
Cedar Lake Speedway officials drove over their first speedbump Monday night and may be on their way to building an indoor motocross facility.
After two nights of sometimes heated debate over the operations of the outdoor race track, the Town of Star Prairie’s planning commission voted unanimously to rezone the 145-acre Speedway property from agriculture to commercial.
However, commissioners also accepted a list of concerns from area property owners that will be the basis of ongoing discussions when the Speedway returns to the commission in the future to apply for conditional use permits.
“I want you to know this is a difficult decision for us,” planning commissioner Mike Burke told the audience before the vote. “We see both sides. The race track itself has left a sour taste in the mouths of many neighbors.These concerns need to be addressed.”
After partnering with Sandbox Motorsports, Speedway owners approached the township in January with their proposal to build the indoor riding facility. Co-owner and president Steve Kaufman inquired about rezoning the property from agriculture to commercial.
Because the property was developed in 1957, long before zoning laws took effect, Kaufman said they really didn’t have to rezone the grandfathered property. But he said it was the right thing to do.
When the issue came before the planning commission Monday, Feb. 28, several property owners voiced their objections not necessarily to the new project but to the way the outdoor race track events are handled.
Their list of complaints included noise, traffic, garbage, security and camping regulations.
Because emotions were running high and the commission’s agenda was long, planning commission chair Scott Counter tabled the Feb. 28 meeting until Monday, March 6, to give both parties time to list concerns and solutions before the zoning process continued.
When the meeting reconvened Monday, Speedway project engineer Roger Humphrey of Humphrey Engineers in Hudson explained that the zoning process was actually an opportunity for area property owners to voice their concerns and perhaps reach a compromise regarding the operations of the Speedway.
While rezoning the land to commercial paves the way for the indoor motocross facility to be built, it also allows Speedway neighbors to speak up when the owners apply for special exception or conditional use permits, he said. These permits will be necessary to acquire to operate special events during the racing season, he added
“That’s the time to discuss curfews, camping and traffic concerns,” he said.
“Just because the property is rezoned doesn’t mean they can do anything they want on it,” he said. “You have four businessmen very concerned about your issues.”
Property owner James Munson said he didn’t feel he and his neighbors had enough time to digest the rezoning request and what it meant.
He and some of his neighbors had compiled a list of concerns mostly involving the Speedway’s campground, track curfew hours and ongoing garbage issue that he thought should be addressed before the property was rezoned.
“Our goals are not that much different than yours,” Kaufman assured him. “Our goal is to bring the campground up to another level - make it more park-like. And attract more families.”
Sandbox’s Rob Murphy, track consultant and race organizer, said that by building the motocross facility, their intention is to make friends in the area.
“We don’t want hostile neighbors,” he said.
“This is just a place for the kids,” he said. “I’ve known a lot of kids whose lives have changed by picking up a hockey stick or a bike.”
The current plans for the indoor motocross facility call for construction of a 300x400 foot insulated metal building that will contain roughly 90,000 square feet of dirt floor. It will offer a wide range of motorcycle and ATV activities including:
• Open riding and practice
•American Motorcycle Association sanctioned competitive events
• Dirt bike riding school
• ATV safety training courses
Several fathers and their motocross racing children were in attendance Monday supporting the new project.
“I would have cut a finger off to have had a facility like this,” Tom Emerson of New Richmond told the crowd Monday night. “With land use the way it is now, kids don’t have a place to ride except two to three hundred miles away. Our kids here could have this right in their back yard.”
And by building the motocross facility, Kaufman said it is their intention that even more families will visit the Speedway year-round.
By rezoning to commercial, property taxes from the Speedway can increase to nearly $50,000 annually, Kaufman said.
“Three thousand will go to the town, $720 will go to the county, $3,966 will go to the technical college, the state will see $12,000 and the schools will receive $26,000 - the equivalent of an entire teacher’s salary,” he said.
The rezoning request is scheduled to go before the Town of Star Prairie Tuesday, March 7, then St. Croix County officials Wednesday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Ag Center in Baldwin. Once the property is officially rezoned to commercial, Speedway officials will have to apply for special use permits which defines how the property is operated.
“That’s when we get into concerns,” he said.
If all goes well, Speedway officials hope to break ground the end of May or early June for the new building with completion scheduled for November.