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ZBA rules in favor of racetrack
By Molly Salisbury
TAGHKANIC — Tuesday evening in a three-to-one vote, the Taghkanic Zoning Board of Appeals decided that, in fact, Alan Wilzig’s racetrack/sporting course is an acceptable “recreational use” under the town’s zoning code. About 40 people attended the meeting to listen to the board deliberate.
The chair of the ZBA opened by asking the members if they had any concerns, and board member Moisha Blechman answered in the affirmative. She suggested the board take a look at the recent Declaratory Judgment action submitted to the Columbia County Supreme Court on April 16 of this year. The judgment seeks a declaration that the Wilzig racetrack is not a permitted use under the town of Taghkanic zoning ordinance. This would overrule the very decision the ZBA subsequently made. A temporary injunction forbidding use or improvement is currently in place.
Town attorney Robert Fitzsimmons said he did not think the board needed to read the documents: “In my opinion the board has what it needs to make their determination. But it is up to the board to plot your course as to how to proceed,” he said.
The board proceeded to discuss whether or not the track was a recreational use. The debate touched on the noise, the potential devaluation in proximate real estate, and what the original zoning code drafters might or might not have been thinking.
Blechman tried to move the debate in another direction. “I think traditional recreational uses … are in no way comparable to a development of this complexity,” he said. “This is a construction. This is something of a scale that could never have been imagined. This brings the concept of recreation into another realm.”
Romaine responded, “Fortunately he has the money. This is his hobby … I think his improvements are beautiful.”
Fitzsimmons noted, “He [Wilzig] will be monitored closely.”
But Blechman countered that “the citizens have to make a complaint for enforcement to happen. This is giving the citizens a job,” she said.
Fitzsimmons suggested that monitoring was the purvey of the Planning Board, and not useful to the ZBA’s decision.
Blechman also brought up the possibility of setting an untenable precedent by allowing such an oversized project to be built. The other board members disagreed. Romaine said “every application is significant on its own.”
Two board members read prepared comments noting that they were aware most of the townspeople who spoke at the public hearing were against the proposal, but that after deliberation, they came to believe that a racetrack was a recreational use. “It’s extravagant but it’s his recreation. That’s my opinion,” said Romaine.
The final portion of the debate centered on Wilzig’s previous application to the ZBA, which was rejected and appealed. That proposal was rejected by the Zoning Board of Appeals, which ruled that the track is not a standard accessory use on a residential property. That decision that was upheld in state court.
Blechman argued that the decision was decisive, saying, “Hummel said racetracks are not permitted in the town of Taghkanic.”
Again, her fellow board members respectfully disagreed.
“I think the judge meant no commercial racetracks, like Lebanon Valley Speedway,” said Romaine.
After two hours of debate, board member Bob Rochler was blunt: “I think we should take a vote and get this over with,” he said. Blechman was the only member not in favor of deeming the racetrack recreational use status.
After the meeting Wilzig’s property manager, Erik Tyree said he was glad it was over. “It’s a relief. I hope the division in the town will heal,” he said.
When asked for his opinion of the proceedings, one young audience member, 8-year-old Cosimo Botta, was decisive, saying, “They’re the biggest idiots in the world.”
His mother, Moyra Botta, smiled, but said, “I hear it [the track] and I see it. If they think my property is still going to be worth $6 million … I’ll fight to have it lowered and they’ll see a drop in the taxes they receive.”
The tenor of the group leaving was upset. Taghkanic resident Harriet Schurr shook her head. “This is very discouraging.”
Before she got into her car, Blechman admitted, “I felt they didn’t listen to my arguments, which were based on the facts. Unless you look at everything, it’s dishonest.”
The chair of the ZBA opened by asking the members if they had any concerns, and board member Moisha Blechman answered in the affirmative. She suggested the board take a look at the recent Declaratory Judgment action submitted to the Columbia County Supreme Court on April 16 of this year. The judgment seeks a declaration that the Wilzig racetrack is not a permitted use under the town of Taghkanic zoning ordinance. This would overrule the very decision the ZBA subsequently made. A temporary injunction forbidding use or improvement is currently in place.
Town attorney Robert Fitzsimmons said he did not think the board needed to read the documents: “In my opinion the board has what it needs to make their determination. But it is up to the board to plot your course as to how to proceed,” he said.
The board proceeded to discuss whether or not the track was a recreational use. The debate touched on the noise, the potential devaluation in proximate real estate, and what the original zoning code drafters might or might not have been thinking.
Blechman tried to move the debate in another direction. “I think traditional recreational uses … are in no way comparable to a development of this complexity,” he said. “This is a construction. This is something of a scale that could never have been imagined. This brings the concept of recreation into another realm.”
Romaine responded, “Fortunately he has the money. This is his hobby … I think his improvements are beautiful.”
Fitzsimmons noted, “He [Wilzig] will be monitored closely.”
But Blechman countered that “the citizens have to make a complaint for enforcement to happen. This is giving the citizens a job,” she said.
Fitzsimmons suggested that monitoring was the purvey of the Planning Board, and not useful to the ZBA’s decision.
Blechman also brought up the possibility of setting an untenable precedent by allowing such an oversized project to be built. The other board members disagreed. Romaine said “every application is significant on its own.”
Two board members read prepared comments noting that they were aware most of the townspeople who spoke at the public hearing were against the proposal, but that after deliberation, they came to believe that a racetrack was a recreational use. “It’s extravagant but it’s his recreation. That’s my opinion,” said Romaine.
The final portion of the debate centered on Wilzig’s previous application to the ZBA, which was rejected and appealed. That proposal was rejected by the Zoning Board of Appeals, which ruled that the track is not a standard accessory use on a residential property. That decision that was upheld in state court.
Blechman argued that the decision was decisive, saying, “Hummel said racetracks are not permitted in the town of Taghkanic.”
Again, her fellow board members respectfully disagreed.
“I think the judge meant no commercial racetracks, like Lebanon Valley Speedway,” said Romaine.
After two hours of debate, board member Bob Rochler was blunt: “I think we should take a vote and get this over with,” he said. Blechman was the only member not in favor of deeming the racetrack recreational use status.
After the meeting Wilzig’s property manager, Erik Tyree said he was glad it was over. “It’s a relief. I hope the division in the town will heal,” he said.
When asked for his opinion of the proceedings, one young audience member, 8-year-old Cosimo Botta, was decisive, saying, “They’re the biggest idiots in the world.”
His mother, Moyra Botta, smiled, but said, “I hear it [the track] and I see it. If they think my property is still going to be worth $6 million … I’ll fight to have it lowered and they’ll see a drop in the taxes they receive.”
The tenor of the group leaving was upset. Taghkanic resident Harriet Schurr shook her head. “This is very discouraging.”
Before she got into her car, Blechman admitted, “I felt they didn’t listen to my arguments, which were based on the facts. Unless you look at everything, it’s dishonest.”
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