BROOKSVILLE — They moved to rural Hernando County for peace and quiet, some to spend their retirement years there. On Oct. 12, they turned out to defend it.
Siding with neighbors who warned of noise, flooding and harm to livestock, the Hernando County Planning & Zoning Commission voted 5-0 to deny a special exception use permit for an off-road vehicle training track on 30.7 acres at the southwest corner of Citrus Way and Ponce de Leon Boulevard.
Fast Traxx Florida Inc. sought the permit for a private track open only to registered members of its club, which new members could join at any time. The track would operate year-round, with training three to four days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and club practices up to four Saturdays a month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It would be closed Sundays, and no more than 20 riders would be on the track at once. Access would be from Citrus Way, since the property has no frontage on Cortez Boulevard.
“It’s appropriate in this location,” said Don Lacey of Coastal Engineering, who represented the applicant and described the area as relatively rural. Parking would be on grass, he said.
Jack Sigismondi of Fast Traxx said the facility would differ from the existing motocross track up the road on Citrus Way, which is open to the public. Most sessions would last about three hours, including training, he said, and bikes would be regulated to meet sound ordinances rather than “having a free-for-all and getting places shut down.”
Neighbors weren’t persuaded. With one track already on Citrus Way, they said, a second would add noise that would disrupt not only their lives but also the livestock and wildlife around them. Several said they run cattle and other livestock operations and have owned their land for years.
“Approving this request would fundamentally alter the nature of the surrounding area and set a concerning precedent for future incompatible developments,” Sheila Basile said.
Others raised concerns about flooding and drainage.
Mike McCaffrey said his property abuts the site and the track appears to sit about 10 feet from his line. It should be 100 feet away, or 500 — or not there at all, he said.
“This is our property we’ve worked hard for all of our life to retire there,” he said. “My new house is being built there in that front pasture right next to that motorcycle track, next to my gun range.”
McCaffrey, who said he has ridden motorcycles for 50 years, added that the bikes are loud.
Xenia Pino said noise was her chief concern, even if Sigismondi wasn’t trying to “mess up” anyone’s life.
Lacey responded that the track would not be paved, would not send stormwater onto neighboring land and would have to comply with noise ordinances.
Sigismondi said he wanted to be a good neighbor. New bikes put out no more than 109 decibels at full throttle in neutral, he said, and future models would be quieter. He added that the land sale was contingent on approval.
Chairman Nicholas Holmes said he was somewhat split, noting that the property to the southwest is being mined. But noise was the central issue, he said, and the commission had to consider the whole area. With the other track nearby, he said, approval could mean “compounding the problem.”
Commission member Stephen Markford said his son races at a track in Bushnell.
“The best part of that track is it’s not next to my house,” he said.
Commission member Mike Fulford moved to deny the request, saying, “This does not benefit the public good.” Markford seconded.
When the vote was final, residents applauded, congratulated one another and kept talking in the hallway.
Christian school proposed on Anderson Snow Road
Hands and Feet of Hernando Inc. asked the commission for a special exception use permit to build and operate a private Christian high school for about 200 students on Anderson Snow Road in Spring Hill.
The campus would include classrooms, administrative offices, student gathering areas, athletic fields, parking, internal driveways, landscaping and stormwater facilities, with no more than 30 staff members.
Traffic was the commission’s main concern. Anderson Snow Road is busy with construction: Land has been cleared for an Amazon warehouse across the street from Radiant Church, formerly Crosspointe Church, and for other projects, and a road project is underway near the Corporate Drive intersection.
The school would sit across from an entrance to Anderson Snow Park. The applicants said they would add a turn lane and build a stacking lane around the school to keep traffic moving.
One of the school’s two parcels previously was approved for a church; the adjoining lot has since been acquired.
The item was approved on a 5-0 vote.
In other action
Holmes and Vice Chairman Jonathan McDonald were reelected to their posts at the start of the meeting.
The commission voted 5-0 to approve a request by You Thrive Florida to rezone property at the southwest corner of Pot O’ Gold Lane and Suncoast Boulevard for 40 single-family affordable homes. The request drew lengthy discussion of how “affordable housing” is defined, income levels, setbacks, buffers and architectural details.
The commission also voted 5-0 to approve rezoning land northeast of Cortez Boulevard and Jasmine Drive from agricultural and highway commercial to Planned Development Project (Highway Commercial), with deviations, for a convenience store with gas and diesel pumps. Some nearby residents raised concerns about noise and other issues.