THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502030571
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Opponents of Suffolk's planned automobile race track filed suit Thursday against the city, saying that zoning changes made for the track and an industrial park violate the city's comprehensive plan and should be reversed.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of CAR - Citizens Against the Racetrack in Our Backyards - also says the actions of Suffolk were discriminatory because developers of the land were not asked to pay ``rollback'' taxes on the property.
Rollback taxes are paid to a city when property is converted from agricultural or forestry uses to a more intensive use.
The lawsuit also contends that no environmental studies were done of the proposed track site and that the track and adjoining Northgate Industrial Park are an illegal ``joint-venture'' between the city and the developer, Upton and Arnette Associates.
The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk Circuit Court by Norfolk lawyer Gordon B. Tayloe Jr., asks for a hearing to determine whether Suffolk's ordinances for the track and industrial park are valid.
No court date has been set.
The lawsuit was filed less than a day after the Suffolk City Council refused to reverse itself on the track and industrial park as track opponents openly collected legal funds in the hallway.
Suffolk city officials have said citizens had ample opportunity to challenge the track and participate in the approval process. City officials also promised residents that the city would carefully monitor noise and pollution to make sure the track does not adversely affect surrounding neighborhoods.
Although many Suffolk citizens protested against the track - saying it would ruin their neighborhoods with traffic, air and noise pollution - the majority of recent protests have come from the Jolliff Woods section of Chesapeake, where residents of a nearby subdivision have the same concerns.
Many of these residents were never involved in Suffolk's approval process and began their challenge after the track was approved Jan. 4. Track opponents in Chesapeake have said they were late because they were not informed or did not know the track would affect their neighborhoods.
In the meantime, plans for the track are moving forward, according to track operator Joe Baldacci Jr. Baldacci said Thursday that soil tests have been performed at the site and that ground was expected to be broken in about two weeks.
KEYWORDS: RACE TRACKS AUTO RACING by CNB