The National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky is currently trying to work with the Warren County, Kentucky City-County Planning Commission over issues stemming from noise complaints. We reported last week that the commission had issued a “cease all activities” notice to the track that would cover racing and ongoing construction projects, but the track has continued with construction. As reported in the Bowling Green Daily News, the track will not be receiving a citation for noise ordinance violations, according to Steve Hunter, executive director for the City-County Planning Commission, but he also warned that he is “standing firm” on a 90-day deadline from the original notice’s date that requires the park to come into full compliance with binding elements and the detailed development plan approved for the development, which includes a noise abatement structure. Hunter has said he is reserving his right to pursue other code enforcement options until he consults with the planning commission next week. What Hunter is “recommending” is that the National Corvette Museum submit an application to amend the previous development plan that would cover any variations in construction, but only after the noise abatement structure has been built per the zone change binding elements. According to Hunter, “The compliance summary submitted by Mac Yowell raises serious concerns with respect to building location and dimensions not consistent with the Development Plan approved by the Planning Commission.”
Original Photo: NCM Motorsports Park
Let’s translate this: After structures have started going up at NCM Motorsports Park, the City-County Planning Commission has taken a sudden interest in building size, and is threatening to punish the track unless the noise abatement structure is built to cover the one neighborhood and the small handful of houses that are near the track. Noise issues have been the main argument from the track’s opposition groups since the beginning, including from the homeowners that occupy Clark Circle, which is less than a mile away from the track. Okay…but that isn’t all: Another one of the binding agreements called for a maximum permanent seating capacity of no more than 500 seats. NCM Motorsports Park’s current construction plans are calling for 509. That is another issue that is coming up…nine seats? Warren County’s City-County Planning Commission is honestly going to take the track to task over nine seats? We aren’t legal experts…far from it, in fact…but there is a lot of red flags popping up regarding how Warren County is treating the new facility. To their credit, NCM Motorsports Park has hired on Bowlby & Associates, Inc. of Franklin, Tennessee to analyze the noise situation and offer insight on a solution, which is expected to take two months. Meanwhile, a planning commission meeting is slated for July 16, 2015 at the Warren County Fiscal Court Room (429 East 10th Street in Bowling Green, Kentucky) that will address development at NCM Motorsports Park and the notice of violation.
Here is government at its best. No, really, this is always about the best we can expect from government. We’re always told, yeah, the feds suck, but state and local? They’re on our side. So let me get this straight…Bowling Green confiscates about 40 million dollars of taxpayers money to build a baseball park (as if THAT is the business of government), that they have to give away the majority of the tickets just to get a few people to show up to watch, (THERE”S an economic boom for you), yet they’re going to bust GM’s balls over nine seats. Yeah. Intelligent government. I’ve said it before, GM needs to not be nice about this, they need to be absolute pricks and tell them to back off, condem and take over the homes in question, or tel Warren County they’re going to move the Corvette plant up to Muncie…