THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040400
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Three race cars gunned their engines in a Suffolk cow field last week to test how much noise could invade homes near the site of a proposed race track and industrial park.
From the tester's perspective, things were fairly quiet.
The results, released Tuesday, gave track supporters encouragement that their proposal was less audibly intrusive than previously thought. As a result of the privately conducted tests, the city staff has written the City Council that the ``noise generated from the race track should not present a problem.''
That's good news to developers Upton and Arnette Associates, who have come up against strong opposition by local residents, many of whom said noise from the track would interrupt their lives.
The Suffolk City Council holds final sway over the two projects. The council will debate the merits of the proposed track and industrial park tonight during its regular meeting.
City Manager Myles E. Standish said Tuesday he was not sure where the council stood on the issue.
The proposed race track and 684-acre industrial park would be located at Nansemond Parkway and Shoulders Hill Road, both two-lane roads near the Chesapeake border.
The Suffolk Planning Commission deadlocked on a zoning request for the race track, technically sending a recommendation for denial to the council. Planning commissioners unanimously recommended approval for the adjoining industrial park.
Joe Baldacci Jr., the promoter at Langley Raceway, announced in July that he wanted to bring Suffolk the proposed Suffolk International Speedway, a half-mile oval seating about 7,500. Baldacci has said he would move his operation from Langley to Suffolk for the 1995 season if Suffolk approved his plan.
An estimated 65 percent of the audience at Langley comes from South Hampton Roads, according to Suffolk city officials and Baldacci.
Baldacci said Saturday that noise or traffic from the track would not interrupt the lives of local residents.
The track site will be about 7,200 feet from Nansemond Parkway and would be surrounded on three sides by woods. The open side of the track would contain the grandstand, which Baldacci said would deflect noise away from nearby homes.
Baldacci also said race days would be every Friday or Saturday, but never two days in a row. There will also be a maximum of six Sunday races, all to be held after 3:30 p.m. Practice would take place from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Gates are expected to open at 3 p.m. on race days. If approved, the venue is expected to draw an average of 3,200 people per event.
The noise tests, conducted by Hearing Evaluation & Noise Protection Associates Inc. of Newport News, found that most noise from the track would be ``within acceptable limits'' at 2,800 feet from the track and would ``not be discernable to the human ear'' at 4,200 feet from the track, according to the staff report.
``The great deal of land which surrounds the site offers numerous opportunities to control extraneous noise levels,'' wrote Eric Hecker, the audiologist who conducted last week's tests. by CNB