Post by jdrag on Aug 9, 2008 0:50:40 GMT -5
From the Press Enterprise newspaper.
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10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, August 7, 2008
CASSIE MACDUFF
Weekends at Sal and Elizabeth Lopez's home in Fontana changed drastically in 2006, when Auto Club Speedway moved its drag strip from the south side of the oval to the north property line, 570 feet from their home.
Now the family is treated to roaring engines and squealing tires, and clouds of tire smoke and exhaust fumes -- 15 times an hour, from dawn to dusk Saturdays and Sundays, sometimes Fridays, too.
No more backyard barbecues, no more kids running around outside. The Lopezes say they've been deprived of the enjoyment of the home where they've lived since 1992.
They've pleaded with county planning commissioners to revoke the drag-racing track permit, or at least move it back to the south side of the speedway.
They've asked the redevelopment agency to buy their home so they can move somewhere quieter. Short of that, they'd like a sound wall between their home and the drag strip, and dual-pane windows to muffle the noise.
On Tuesday, they'll ask the Board of Supervisors to overturn the Planning Commission's permit allowing the speedway to build the drag strip so close to their home.
Their lawyer, Amy Minteer, alleges the county should have required a full environmental impact report before allowing the drag strip to be moved, because it significantly altered conditions there.
County planners say the report wasn't necessary because county supervisors knew the speedway would affect noise, air quality and traffic when they approved it in 1995. The supervisors decided the benefit to the local economy outweighed those harmful impacts.
NASCAR weekends bring in an estimated $200 million a year, as thousands of race fans stay in local hotels, patronize local restaurants and gas up at local service stations.
Speedway officials aren't terribly sympathetic to the Lopez family. Spokesman Otis Greer said the area already is noisy because of trucking businesses and railroad tracks nearby.
Noise consultants "found the ambient noise in our area is constantly high because it's an industrial area," he said, adding that drag racing takes place only 86 days a year.
The speedway is authorized to operate 24/7/365, county planner John P. McGuckian said.
Greer said the operators maximize its use with car-, truck- and ambulance-driving schools in the 30,000-space parking lots, a go-cart track, drag strip and other events.
Street-legal drag racing was started at the speedway in 2001 by AAA to help curb illegal street racing, Greer said.
It's a laudable goal. But shifting the track closer to homes doesn't seem, well, neighborly.
The Lopezes aren't the only ones who've complained. A petition signed by dozens of neighbors was submitted. And the noise disturbs children at Redwood and Live Oak elementary schools, said Redwood Principal Sergio Chavez.
NASCAR race noise exceeds allowable levels, so the speedway is applying to raise the limit from 85 decibels to 100 decibels.
Now, the county will require an environmental impact report, planner McGuckian said.
The speedway could be asked to install the sound wall and noise-proofing the Lopezes and their neighbors deserve.
Speedway owners would be smart to invest in such a simple goodwill gesture.
Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 909- 806-3068 or cmacduff@PE.com
------------------------------
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, August 7, 2008
CASSIE MACDUFF
Weekends at Sal and Elizabeth Lopez's home in Fontana changed drastically in 2006, when Auto Club Speedway moved its drag strip from the south side of the oval to the north property line, 570 feet from their home.
Now the family is treated to roaring engines and squealing tires, and clouds of tire smoke and exhaust fumes -- 15 times an hour, from dawn to dusk Saturdays and Sundays, sometimes Fridays, too.
No more backyard barbecues, no more kids running around outside. The Lopezes say they've been deprived of the enjoyment of the home where they've lived since 1992.
They've pleaded with county planning commissioners to revoke the drag-racing track permit, or at least move it back to the south side of the speedway.
They've asked the redevelopment agency to buy their home so they can move somewhere quieter. Short of that, they'd like a sound wall between their home and the drag strip, and dual-pane windows to muffle the noise.
On Tuesday, they'll ask the Board of Supervisors to overturn the Planning Commission's permit allowing the speedway to build the drag strip so close to their home.
Their lawyer, Amy Minteer, alleges the county should have required a full environmental impact report before allowing the drag strip to be moved, because it significantly altered conditions there.
County planners say the report wasn't necessary because county supervisors knew the speedway would affect noise, air quality and traffic when they approved it in 1995. The supervisors decided the benefit to the local economy outweighed those harmful impacts.
NASCAR weekends bring in an estimated $200 million a year, as thousands of race fans stay in local hotels, patronize local restaurants and gas up at local service stations.
Speedway officials aren't terribly sympathetic to the Lopez family. Spokesman Otis Greer said the area already is noisy because of trucking businesses and railroad tracks nearby.
Noise consultants "found the ambient noise in our area is constantly high because it's an industrial area," he said, adding that drag racing takes place only 86 days a year.
The speedway is authorized to operate 24/7/365, county planner John P. McGuckian said.
Greer said the operators maximize its use with car-, truck- and ambulance-driving schools in the 30,000-space parking lots, a go-cart track, drag strip and other events.
Street-legal drag racing was started at the speedway in 2001 by AAA to help curb illegal street racing, Greer said.
It's a laudable goal. But shifting the track closer to homes doesn't seem, well, neighborly.
The Lopezes aren't the only ones who've complained. A petition signed by dozens of neighbors was submitted. And the noise disturbs children at Redwood and Live Oak elementary schools, said Redwood Principal Sergio Chavez.
NASCAR race noise exceeds allowable levels, so the speedway is applying to raise the limit from 85 decibels to 100 decibels.
Now, the county will require an environmental impact report, planner McGuckian said.
The speedway could be asked to install the sound wall and noise-proofing the Lopezes and their neighbors deserve.
Speedway owners would be smart to invest in such a simple goodwill gesture.
Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 909- 806-3068 or cmacduff@PE.com
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