NationStates Jolt Archive

Drag strip debate concerns neighbors
10/03/2007 12:36 PM
By: Johnell Johnson

CONCORD, N.C. -- When city leaders voted Monday night to deny Lowe’s Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith a drag strip he was planning to build, the billionaire said he would be willing to spend $350 million to shut down the racetrack and move it somewhere else.

The Concord City Council heard from neighbors living near the site of the proposed drag strip who said it would be too noisy, disrupting their sleep and lowering property values. They agreed and put the brakes on the plans.

Neighbors were pleased with the ruling, but following Smith’s threat to relocate somewhere else in the Charlotte area, they say they are worried that a compromise to keep the track could include buying their homes.

“I think it’s completely unfair. You don’t have a right to buy out somebody’s houses,” speedway neighbor Sarah Litaker said. ”Even though there’s a price for it, this is our environment and where I grew up and where I went to school and there’s so many memories associated with this.”

The sound from the drag strip would most affect a couple of hundred homes in two Concord neighborhoods.

News 14 Carolina called Lowe’s Motor Speedway about the possibility of buying people’s homes to make room for the drag strip, but those calls have not been returned.
Link (http://news14.com/content/top_stories/587938/drag-strip-debate-concerns-neighbors/Default.aspx)

I'm of two minds about this, the land that this drag strip is going to be built on is private property and is owned by Bruton Smith, so if he wants to build a drag strip on his land, then he has every right to. Not only that, the neighbors that are complaining are also living next door to Lowe's Motor Speedway, a Dirt Track, Concord Mills Mall, and Concord Regional Airport, so it's not exactly the quietest place in the world. As of right now, Concord cannot lose the Nascar business, Lowe's Motor Speedway has been pumping business into this town since 1960. If we lose the business of Nascar and Lowe's Motor Speedway, then we may head into an economic collapse because this is the second major source of income for this town behind Phillip Morris which is already moving out of their Concord plant.

However, at the same time I can see why no one would want to live next door to a drag strip, it's noisy, pollutes a lot, and it will decrease property values, etc.

Hopefully a compromise can be reached before we actually lose Nascar and Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Well, it is private property....but the complaint about noise is perfectly valid. He has no right to damage the hearing and disrupt the lives of others through noise pollution any more than the neighbors would have a right to allow clouds of teargas to drift onto his property.

On the other hand, the gall of the idiots that move into a place that is already noisy and then file complaints is astounding.

Well, it is private property....but the complaint about noise is perfectly valid. He has no right to damage the hearing and disrupt the lives of others through noise pollution any more than the neighbors would have a right to allow clouds of teargas to drift onto his property.

On the other hand, the gall of the idiots that move into a place that is already noisy and then file complaints is astounding.

Yea....it's quite a pickle.

Drag strip. Neighbors can eat it or move. To be honest, I doubt a drag stip will add much more noise pollution than is already at the location. If it does, I'm sure Bruton could always send out complementry http://www.earinc.com/images/products/p1/classicfoam.jpg followed by a nice fat check delievered by thugs with bats. ;)

I wonder if it would help if he put sound dampening walls around the drag strip.

I say let him build the drag strip..if you move into an area near an airport and a race way..you have no room to complain about noise..thats like those people suing McDonald's for making them obese

I say let him build the drag strip..if you move into an area near an airport and a race way..you have no room to complain about noise..thats like those people suing McDonald's for making them obese

Don't forget the big ass mall. Concord Mill Mall has a one mile oval, with other stores and complex near the area. Like I said, this isn't the quietest place to live.

I wonder if it would help if he put sound dampening walls around the drag strip.
:D

Have you ever been at a drag strip? I went last weekend, and I don't think they have something capable of keeping a nitro dragster quiet. Wouldn't have helped that I stood right next to the thing without ear plugs, but I couldn't hear anything until well after it had finished its run.

It's a classical case of negative externalities. And the beautiful thing is that it is a good application for the Coase Theorem too: the effect is geographically limited, there is enough money in play for negotiations to take place without affecting the cost of the whole thing significantly.

I say the house owners and the drag strip operator sit down together and negotiate on how to handle it. Someone will most likely pay the other side, whoever values their particular project more ends up paying. Problem solved.

:D

Have you ever been at a drag strip? I went last weekend, and I don't think they have something capable of keeping a nitro dragster quiet. Wouldn't have helped that I stood right next to the thing without ear plugs, but I couldn't hear anything until well after it had finished its run.

It's a classical case of negative externalities. And the beautiful thing is that it is a good application for the Coase Theorem too: the effect is geographically limited, there is enough money in play for negotiations to take place without affecting the cost of the whole thing significantly.

I say the house owners and the drag strip operator sit down together and negotiate on how to handle it. Someone will most likely pay the other side, whoever values their particular project more ends up paying. Problem solved.
The Doctor Doom Principle again? Man...

I remember back when I raced Quarter Midgets they were going to build a track in my home town, even actually built most of it until people found out what it was (well, sort of-they heard 'race track' and assumed, you know, race track-not a tiny little oval to race single cylinder cars driven by kids under the age of 15 like maybe 15 weeks out of the year if it was busy...) and threw a tizzy.

So they turned it into a helicopter landing pad. Not shitting you.

Ultimately it turned out to be a good thing because they built a better suited track in a better suited area (a nearby off road vehicle park...why they didn't try there first, fuck if I know, I was 8).

If the motor speedway didn't already exist there might be a stronger case. There is nothing louder than a dragster. Well, there is, but not much.

But even in San Jose on a given night you can hear the sprint car track from across town. And Lowes runs Outlaws. Not to mention NASCAR (granted the NASCAR event is only one weekend out of the year and who knows how often the sprint cars/midgets/modifieds etc run. A drag strip can theoretically run constantly. Sears Point (Infenion Raceway) runs drags every Wednesday night. And there is jack shit around that race track. It's a race track, and then miles of nuthin'.

It seems like residential property might be worth more as commercial property in this case. I wouldn't like to live that close to that active a race track and I like racing. But evidently it draws a fuck load of people with money to spend. I think what's being suggested, Lowes buying the houses, is likely whats going to happen, but they should hold out realistically, he's getting good commercial property and should be buying based on that, not on shitty residential property. If he's buying the properties based on the reduced value because of his drag strip, well, the Doctor Doom Principle triumphs again. I would at least hope he has the decency to wring his hands and cackle.

Neighbours sucks ass, i can't undertand why anyone still watches it. racing rocks however.

Don't forget the big ass mall. Concord Mill Mall has a one mile oval, with other stores and complex near the area. Like I said, this isn't the quietest place to live.

all the more reason to tell the people to stfu and gtfo :)

Do the neighbors get to use the drag strip?

Who the fuck spends $350m on a drag strip?

It's all about the zoning, babe.

It's all about the zoning, babe.

I love it when you talk real-estate.;) /cliche

Who the fuck spends $350m on a drag strip?

I think it's for the whole racetrack, dirt, oval and all.

If he's buying the properties based on the reduced value because of his drag strip, well, the Doctor Doom Principle triumphs again. I would at least hope he has the decency to wring his hands and cackle.
Well, what other price is he gonna use? There's only one price that we know reflects the actual value of the land to the people involved, and that's the market price incorporating the fact that there's a drag strip next door.

Speaking of drag strips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSDGiW57SHc

Yay, one-front-wheel burnout!

I think it's for the whole racetrack, dirt, oval and all.

Even still...the Shanghai International Circuit cost $450m a few years back and it has pretty much the most advanced everything, with incredible facilities. $350m's gonna get you a hell of a lot of race track.

If either side has a brain in their skull, they'll sit down and talk it out.

City of Concord needs to sit down, including the mayor, who I hate criticizing because he's a family friend, with Bruton and see if they can't work out a deal to keep Lowe's Motor Speedway as well as Nascar's business.

Bruton needs to stop acting like a spoiled brat and comply with City of Concord regulations on zoning, permits, as well as doing noise and sound testing before he finish his drag strip.

Well, what other price is he gonna use? There's only one price that we know reflects the actual value of the land to the people involved, and that's the market price incorporating the fact that there's a drag strip next door.

Speaking of drag strips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSDGiW57SHc

Yay, one-front-wheel burnout!
You'll make an excellent super villain.

Read the rest of it-as a commercial property the value is up because of the traffic created by the race track, as a residential property it's down because of the added noise and traffic. If all he has to do is show up, build another track to drive down prices, pick up a bunch of houses at the new low prices he created and then convert those properties to commercial ones and reap profits, that's fucking dick.

The properties should be valued at what they are as commercial properties because that's what he can and will use them as now, he shouldn't have the ability to lower values and then rape the tenants because he is buying them not as residencies but as commercial properties. Unless of course you're an adherent to the Doctor Doom Doctrine...

Update on the story

Rowan would welcome speedway
Updated: 10/04/2007 11:44 AM
By: Lisa Reyes

SALISBURY, N.C. -- Lowe’s Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith threatened to move the racetrack out of Concord earlier this week after the city council denied his plans to build a drag strip, citing neighbors’ concerns over too much noise.

While Rowan County leaders say they hope Smith can reach a compromise with the city, they admit if he cannot, they intend to send a letter telling him they are ready to talk.

“We would love to chat with him if he is serious about relocating,” Skip Wood, chairman of Rowan Jobs Initiative, said. “We have other motorsports-related projects that we are in the process of talking to folks about and this would be a wonderful opportunity to continue our growth.”

Wood says the county has seven sites with at least 100 acres to offer. He also notes that a compromise with residents on noise and other issues would be easy to reach.

Rowan County already receives an economic boost having the speedway in nearby Concord.

“We see a significant number of overnight travelers that come here and spend money in the local economy, which helps support our jobs and support the community,” said James Meachem, executive director of the Rowan Tourism Association.

But some residents say the problems they’re facing in Concord will just move their way up Interstate 85.

“It would also make it a madhouse here just like it does Concord way, and if you’re not a racecar fan, it would be aggravation for a lot of people,” Salisbury resident Nancy Truax said.

Concord mayor Scott Padgett says the city is working to find a compromise that would make neighbors happy and keep the track where it is. But Smith says he is already receiving offers, some with incentives, to relocate the speedway to another area.
Link (http://news14.com/content/top_stories/587974/rowan-would-welcome-speedway/Default.aspx)

The City Council really need to step up on this, and I already called the City Council as well as the mayor telling them that as a voter and supporter of the mayor during his election run that I want them to step up the process because I don't want my town to lose this business, we already lost Philip Morris, we can't afford to lose Nascar as well.

Neighbours is the best soap ever.:)

And Sky was fitter with black hair.

If all he has to do is show up, build another track to drive down prices, pick up a bunch of houses at the new low prices he created and then convert those properties to commercial ones and reap profits, that's fucking dick.
Or, if the present owners don't want to live with the strip next door anyways, maybe they should convert to commercial properties. I presume then everything would be peachy.

The properties should be valued at what they are as commercial properties because that's what he can and will use them as now, he shouldn't have the ability to lower values and then rape the tenants because he is buying them not as residencies but as commercial properties. Unless of course you're an adherent to the Doctor Doom Doctrine...
They're valued as pieces of land by the people who want to buy and sell them. I don't care whether it's commercial or residential or farmland or a nuclear silo.

If the sellers want to get commercial prices, the land will have to have the corresponding characteristics. You can't expect him to pay commercial prices for lands that aren't commercial any more than you would pay full price for a collection of the hundreds of thousands of pieces that make up a car.

The use of a good or service is utterly irrelevant when it comes to the price. If I use a shovel to do my garden work I pay $20 for it. If I use it to dig up a pirate treasure worth millions, do you expect me to pay millions for the shovel? And would you side with the shovel store owner who afterwards cries "unfair"?

People get a percentage of the total value created by a value chain according to whether or not they put in absolutely critical steps in the chain. If the owners want to get a share of the value created by transforming the properties from residential to commercial use, then they better do it themselves.

Neighbours is the best soap ever.:)

And Sky was fitter with black hair.

Umm.....we're not talking about a Soap Opera.

Umm.....we're not talking about a Soap Opera.

In which case you should be. Neighbours is superb.

In which case you should be. Neighbours is superb.

Go sit in the corner.

You'll make an excellent super villain.

Read the rest of it-as a commercial property the value is up because of the traffic created by the race track, as a residential property it's down because of the added noise and traffic. If all he has to do is show up, build another track to drive down prices, pick up a bunch of houses at the new low prices he created and then convert those properties to commercial ones and reap profits, that's fucking dick.

The properties should be valued at what they are as commercial properties because that's what he can and will use them as now, he shouldn't have the ability to lower values and then rape the tenants because he is buying them not as residencies but as commercial properties. Unless of course you're an adherent to the Doctor Doom Doctrine...

Valuing the properties as commercial properties, when they're currently residential properties, will screw over the people that own them (since the properties would be valued higher than they currently are, the property taxes would end up rising to a point the residential owners may not be able to pay them).

Blargh.