Racetrack code change mulled
SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners are revisiting a proposal to conditionally allow racetracks on larger tracts in agricultural/forestry zoning districts.
A public hearing on the proposal is set for Wednesday, March 2. The hearing starts at 1:30 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building.
If the commission approves the proposed code change, conditional use permits could be sought for racetracks in unincorporated areas located within Ag/Forest zoning districts with minimum lot size of 20 acres.
The code change would allow development of racetracks for both motorized vehicles and animals.
The county currently allows racetracks in Rural and Ag/Forest zoning districts with 10-acre minimums. But racetrack developers contend it’s nearly impossible to situate tracks in those zones while maintaining separation from neighbors.
The county’s Planning & Zoning Commission recommended against permitting racetracks in A/F-20 zoning districts in 2009 on grounds that such facilities are not appropriate land uses for zoning districts established for farming, forestry, ranching and residential uses.
Anthony Eppers, a developer from Post Falls, later initiated a code-change proposal to allow racetracks in AF-20 zones served by a fire-protection district.
“The person who wanted to explore the possibilities of 20s had found some property he thought would work for this, but it was not allowed because of the Ag/Forest-20 designation,” said Planning Director Clare Marley.
Marley said there are no racetrack proposals currently under consideration by the county. The property Eppers was eyeing for the racetrack was not disclosed to county officials.
Bonner County commissioners adopted a racetrack definition late last year and a list of items to be addressed in considering racetrack proposals.
The definition covers motocross, car races, mud bog events and demolition derbies. It also includes dog and horse racing. Applicants would have to submit operation plans which address air quality control, emergency response and access, noise abatement, traffic control, crowd control, hours of operation, fire mitigation and spill containment.
Another applicant proposed an off-road sports complex south of the Pend Oreille River in Priest River in 2007, but the proposal was dropped after it was met with overwhelming opposition from neighboring landowners.
Eppers pursued the citizen-initiated code change because there were areas of the county zoned A/F-20 which were no longer being used as productive timber or agricultural lands.