As an update, we received the permit and began construction on the large berm on August 25. The berm will be built on property between the Motorsports Park and the Clark Circle neighborhood. We do not own the land where the berm is being built, but we are in the process of purchasing about 10 acres of the optioned property for this purpose. The land owner has given us immediate access. We have approved an expedited construction plan to get it completed within a few short weeks.
The Motorsports Park has continued to be open for operations and all events have continued and are expected to continue as planned. The process and plan we are following is the same plan agreed to by a committee including neighborhood representatives in a meeting on June 29.
We are honest and sincere in our efforts to get this issue resolved.
Some additional information to address concerns we have been hearing:
- In 2013 before construction on the track facility began we had a sound study performed by experienced acoustical engineers. Their report indicated that track operations would not cause a “substantial increase” in the noise as compared to the existing noise from I-65. So we did not feel that it was necessary to build a berm or noise abatement structure. The Binding Elements for the property indicate that the intent of the Binding Element was that the property not create a “substantial increase” in the noise.
- We did not obtain a certificate of occupancy before starting operations of the track because there were no buildings at that time. We did not feel, nor were we told that a certificate of occupancy was required. We did obtain a certificate before opening the first building – our garages and pavilion.
- We have had some events over the last year that are racing events which cause a higher level of noise. This was not modeled in the original sound study. Outside of that, we believe that all of our normal events are not causing a substantial increase in the noise.
- We truly had received only a handful of noise complaints prior to May 18, 2015. It appears that the neighbors had complained to local government officials, but we were not made aware of that until May 18.
- We hosted a neighborhood meeting on June 9th to help us understand the problem better. As a result, we hired a new reputable acoustic engineering company. This company met with us and with representatives of the neighborhood. They have been monitoring the noise 24/7 and are developing a sound abatement design to keep us within the substantial increase levels based on the worst case racing event. The neighborhood representatives agreed at that time that we did not need to close the park, even though we had received a notice of violation. They agreed that we needed to take sound readings and develop the acoustical plan to resolve the problem, and that could not be done if we did not have track events to measure.
- We expect to have the final report in mid-September and we plan to build those additional sound abatement structures. These structures are not required by our Binding Elements, but our goal is to be a good neighbor and not cause a “substantial increase” in noise.
In summary, the National Corvette Museum and the NCM Motorsports Park are genuine in our desire to be good neighbors and to address and resolve the noise issues for the neighbors.
