Racing will continue to go on this year at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, according to the County of Monterey. This word comes despite a lawsuit from the Highway 68 Coalition to stop motorsports events at the storied track.
Who’s the Highway 68 Coalition? Per the legal complaint filed in December, they are “an unincorporated association of property owners living …
I was talking with J.A. while I got this story ready to publish, and he made a good point: Laguna Seca's future would likely look a lot different if the track was privately owned.
In reply to Colin Wood :
Not certain. Look at the issues Arizona Motorsports Park has had out here. They're located RIGHT NEXT to an AFB which has far louder traffic and yet, they are still subject to noise complaints from nearby home owners (93db limit at track).
In reply to QuikMcshifterson :
But is it privately owned? I agree that the fact that it's a county owned track makes a big difference.
I bet all the real estate agents tell the buyers of nearby houses that the race track only has a few years left !
Probably been telling them that for 20 plus years :)
In reply to californiamilleghia :
That's something I see here in my neighborhood.
My house is just a few houses down from a railroad track, so when a train comes through, you hear it. (I personally don't mind at all. Trains are cool.)
The house across the street went up for sale a while ago, and the listing pretty much said that the tracks were rarely used, when, in reality, the train runs twice on Monday and Wednesday.
QuikMcshifterson said:In reply to Colin Wood :
Not certain. Look at the issues Arizona Motorsports Park has had out here. They're located RIGHT NEXT to an AFB which has far louder traffic and yet, they are still subject to noise complaints from nearby home owners (93db limit at track).
Hey, are you local? PM me. I run with a private group at AMP and there are occasionally some slots available: Once you're in, you are invited to future events.
The debacle at AMP is just stupid. The F35 boys do afterburner TNGs and don't pop the sound meters somehow, despite being so loud that shouted conversations at AutoX corner stations are impossible.
Hell, my turbo Miata almost popped sound there the other day. I was letting it hit fuel-cut redline on the back of an AutoX run through the timing lights and nearly tripped the dB meter. But Luke? No problem.
Don't forget that AMP existed before those homes. Asshat developers built homes there and didn't inform buyers that there was a racetrack there. Buyers moved in next to a racetrack and AFB and were surprised to hear cars and planes. They complained loudly and got AMP shut down for many years, but Uncle Sam had the last say about their own noise emissions.
There's little doubt in my mind the county owning the track is the only reason it will continue to exist.
My city of about 40,000 people is home to the State Fairgrounds which includes a 3/8 mile high banked dirt track located well inside the city limits. Every Sunday night racing during the summer from 6:00pm well into the night, sometimes until midnight, including World of Outlaws sprint car racing and with no sound restrictions. You can hear it easily from my house 1.75 miles away, not that I care and not to mention the State Fair outdoor concerts at full volume.
State owned land.
I've always thought it would be a good idea for any homebuyer to camp out in front of a house they're intent on buying for a few days, ideally a full week. Issues like this make me think that perhaps it should be mandatory. It would expose a lot of scummy real estate agents too...
As far as private ownership, I assume NCM circuit is owned by GM, and that's another track with very strict sound limits.
Sounds like the County is well aware of what benefits the track provides. I have seen this go "the other way" with the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (Pismo Dunes). State Parks 'ologists and leadership continue to submit to any challenges and roll-over without a fight, and the Park continues to shrink in size, irregardless of the greater benefits it provides.
Circle track in Dixon just shut down, but there's rumors of developers wanting to build a new race track in Northern CA, so I guess there's hope.
brandonsmash said:QuikMcshifterson said:In reply to Colin Wood :
Not certain. Look at the issues Arizona Motorsports Park has had out here. They're located RIGHT NEXT to an AFB which has far louder traffic and yet, they are still subject to noise complaints from nearby home owners (93db limit at track).
Hey, are you local? PM me. I run with a private group at AMP and there are occasionally some slots available: Once you're in, you are invited to future events.
The debacle at AMP is just stupid. The F35 boys do afterburner TNGs and don't pop the sound meters somehow, despite being so loud that shouted conversations at AutoX corner stations are impossible.
Hell, my turbo Miata almost popped sound there the other day. I was letting it hit fuel-cut redline on the back of an AutoX run through the timing lights and nearly tripped the dB meter. But Luke? No problem.
Don't forget that AMP existed before those homes. Asshat developers built homes there and didn't inform buyers that there was a racetrack there. Buyers moved in next to a racetrack and AFB and were surprised to hear cars and planes. They complained loudly and got AMP shut down for many years, but Uncle Sam had the last say about their own noise emissions.
I was racing motorcycles at AMP when they first opened back in 2003. There were houses out there, but the closest was about 3/4 mile from the track. The large developers in the Phoenix area were convinced Luke AFB was going to close, and they were salivating over the opportunity and were dead set against anything in the area that would jeopardize huge housing developments. One developer in particular chartered buses to take folks from houses 2-3 miles from the track to a county meeting to protest the noise. I'm guessing none of those folks could hear a car on the track from inside their house.
The end result was a multi-year shutdown before the track re-opened with a 95db sound limit. In this case, we were very fortunate that Luke AFB did not close, because I'm 100% sure we would have lost the track if it did. We were also fortunate the owner had the means to fight the legal battle to at least a compromise. I always get a laugh when they have to shut down the sound checks to let the jets take off... stupid.
Back to the topic of Laguna Seca... the track has been there for decades. Lawsuits about noise are absurd and should be dealt with as such by judges, but we live in Clown World, so who knows how this will go... I do think if it was privately owned (by anyone other than Elon), it would already be closed.
In reply to VolvoHeretic :
IIRC less than 15 miles away you have BUFFS and F15's stationed and flying out of Minot AFB. Those are definitely not quiet.
I grew up a block away from the local stadium. Minor league baseball 60+ times a year, most of the local high schools played football there. Stadium lighting made my street so bright, we played stick ball at night. My favorite was the battle of the bands, fife and drum marching bands would practice one day, and compete the next day every year. The only complaint we ever had was a new team owner came in and turned the PA up to 11. You couldn't talk in our house. They were asked to turn it down, they did, and life went on. The stadium was there when we moved in, it was there when we left, it's still there now, only we were smart enough to realize it would affect us when we moved in.
Well then. Laguna Seca should have planned better when they built the track in 1957.
*sigh*
Invite the locals to the track to watch the races. Thats all I got.
I watched a video today saying the "Highway 68 Coalition" is ONE GUY. Who has obscured his identity.
It is this one. He is also named. He's also brought a lot of other unsuccessful suits against things.
Have you looked at a Google map overview of the racetrack? There is nothing around it except one housing complex around a golf course. Part of their complaint says "water demands" , I would think a golf course there would have very high water demands! 80% of the surrounding area is scrub brush desert. Check out the area before you build your house! If you don't like the noise or the floods, or the Heat, or the mountain roads, or the cold, or other problems; don't move there. They are just trying to shut down the track for a couple of hundred people who live there and not considering the thousands who enjoy the track and benefit from it. Sounds like the homeowners association had a meeting and decided to put a stop to all that noisy racing. Someone should look into the impact on the environment from all those lost golf balls.
My 2-cents LOL
I would opine that any 'neighbor' to Laguna Seca that moved in after November 1957 should be forced to sit in the proverbial corner and color. So sorry you moved next to an existing race track, but it's a lot like buying a house near the airport and then complaining about the noise etc. after the fact. I am happy to contribute to a 'Highway 68 Coalition can go f%& themselves' go fund me campaign to cover legal expenses...where do I sign up??? Unfortunately, this problem is not unique to Laguna; Road Atlanta was surrounded by miles of car pastures when it was built in 60/70. The multitude of subsequent, adjacent, housing developments now complain about the noise. Unless us gear heads band together to support our favorite tracks, the 'Karens' will win and we will be forced to follow them at 45mph in the fast lane.
These problems and variations of them have been ongoing at LS for year. The developers in the area will not be happy until the while area is razed and turned into condos.
Then those people will REALLY have some concerns about traffic, overcrowding and water shortages.
I have started a Twitter (X) Group call Gearheads against Hwy 68 Coalition and my username is @against_hwy68co. Please come join and share the group. We need to stop this Guy from going any farther with this lawsuit.
I know this is a minority viewpoint among car enthusiasts, but as density increases, noise (and other) restrictions are the only way to allow the most people to live and enjoy their property.
The track didn't purchase a fully noise abating buffer zone of land around the track.
It's not their land.
It's a story as old as time, when cities grow and consume the farms spreading dust and odors, factories raining chocolate production fallout, etc.
Personally I think if you are dumb enough to buy a house close to any existing noise source and then bitch about it afterwards, you deserve what you got.
My brother lived in Boulder for a while. Depending on which way the wind blew you could smell a cattle ranch. He complained to us about and moved as soon as he could. Never thought he could have the ranch closed down.
Sounds to me like "I bought a nice house near something loud and or smelly and id not think about it before. since I am the most important person(s) here you have to stop." I here this kind of stuff all the time in the mid-west about people buying houses near farms then complaining when the farmer fertilizes of harvest til late at night.
My in-laws have a farm that is now completely surrounded by suburbs. I've noticed that houses up against the field tend to sell when the pigs aren't around. Then the year's pigs come in and the new owners are shocked. But hey, the farm was there first.
Best part was when one of the neighbors kept throwing their dog crap over the fence into the field. My brother in law asked them to knock it off. It wasn't until he pointed out he had cows, pigs and a tractor with a bucket that they stopped.
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