[legalspeed]

They are knocking down trees, we saw equipment and signs of life.

Maybe.....

[Pittenger5]

My mother said they had a court date yesterday, maybe someone in the area might have more information?

[scootertrash]

From Citizen.com - Laconia NH, Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Sanford ME (the Laconia Citizen newspaper)

Car track developer argues case in court

Article Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A superior court judge is considering the arguments of a company that wants to build a private motor sports club complete with a racetrack on the north face of Mount Whittier that it should not have to comply with a Tamworth Wetland Conservation Ordinance because it has already obtained state and federal approvals.

Motorsports Holdings LLC, based in Derry, owns some 250 acres of land in Tamworth and plans to build a 3.1-mile, European-style course to be used as a "private driving instructional facility and motor sports country club."

"Country club-type racetracks are going to become established in America," said track designer Alan Wilson. "Golf clubs have prospered for years as spots for elites to socialize, play and do business. So will car country clubs. But instead of playing with a five iron, they'll play with a Ferrari."

Judge Steven Houran took the case under advisement after a daylong hearing on Monday. He is not expected to reach a decision for a minimum of 60 days. The parties in the suit all provided a number of exhibits to the court including compact discs that will need review before a ruling can be made, a court spokesman said.

A group calling itself Focus Tamworth has staunchly opposed the project since its 2002 inception, maintaining that construction would affect 17 distinct wetland areas and involve massive dredging and filling in an area above one of the region's largest groundwater aquifers that provides drinking water for Tamworth and 27 other communities in New Hampshire and neighboring Maine.

The latest legal suit pits the Tamworth Planning Board against Motorsports Holdings.

In May 2007 the New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed a lower-court ruling that found that Motorsports Holdings must obtain a special use permit under Tamworth's 15-year-old Wetland Conservation Ordinance. The high court found that the local ordinance is not pre-empted and, despite being shorter, might be applied more stringently and more protectively than the more comprehensive federal permitting process.

Motorsports Holdings has previously obtained both a dredge and fill and site-specific alteration of terrain permits from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, as well as a water quality certificate. Following an 18-month-long review period the group also obtained a wetlands permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

To mitigate wetland impacts, DES has required Motorsports Holdings to provide a conservation easement on 107 acres of land in neighboring Sandwich.

Club Motorsports Inc. (CMI) previously applied for the special use permit in the summer of 2004 but withdrew the application before the planning board could act upon it, arguing that, since it had already obtained state and federal approval, a local permit was not needed. In November 2006 the Tamworth Planning Board rejected CMI's application for such a permit and the track developer subsequently sued the town and the land use board in an effort to reverse the decision.

The Planning Board voted, 5-0 with one abstention, to deny the permit, confirming the unanimous opinion of the Tamworth Conservation Commission that the project, as presently designed, cannot be built in Tamworth.

The bulk of public testimony at a two-session hearing was strongly opposed to the town issuing the permit. CMI submitted its current application in August 2006.

"We're glad the planning board finally got a chance to make a decision on this application after two and a half years," said Charles Greenhalgh, Focus: Tamworth spokesperson following the denial vote. "The court was clear, the Conservation Commission was unanimous, the public testimony was overwhelming and the planning board was definitive: This project cannot be built in Tamworth wetlands under our ordinance."

Greenhaigh concluded, "We thank the planning board and conservation commission for their hard work and careful consideration of this application. We wish CMI good luck as they search for another place to build their racetrack."

The local permit appears to be the last the motor sports group would need to begin construction of the $28 million complex that includes an 18-turn, 3.1-mile-long road course for drivers and motorcyclists to develop and practice their skills and attend performance driving schools. The complex would also include a hotel, restaurant, clubhouse, garages and other support facilities for racing enthusiasts.

In August 2006 the Tamworth Planning Board voted unanimously to characterize the proposed project as being of regional impact and as such notified their counterparts in surrounding communities.

Tamworth Town Attorney Rick Sager defended the planning board's decision during Monday's hearing. Meanwhile, attorneys Sherry Young and Andrew Serell of Rath, Young and Pignatelli of Concord represented a group of abutters including St. Andrews-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, who have filed as intervenors in the case.

The pair argued the land use board's decision was made after careful consideration of the criteria for granting a Special Use Permit and that the actions was both reasonable and lawful.

Attorney Tom Quarles of Divine, Millimet & Branch of Manchester, is representing the plaintiffs.

[hoffmanas]

take a look at their web site. They have a virtual drive around the track very cool

CMI