I began the process of looking for a motocross site seven years ago. Thirty-two different sites were looked at before this one in Sun Valley. In November 2003, the zoning process began together with the existing property owners. It was approved by the zoning administrator (ZA) in January, 2007 with several restrictions (which will be discussed below) and then sent to the city attorney's office for legal approval. A fourteen day, appeals process began after the approval. It was appealed by three people.
On June 12 2007, the North Valley Area Planning Commission upheld the ZA's decision. The Area Planning Commissions decision has been appealed to city Council. The Council Planning and Land use Committee meeting is on oct 16 at 2:00p.m. Their vote and recommendation will go to City Council and on Feb 1 2008 The City Council will hold a open hearing and make a final vote to uphold or deny the ZAs decision.
Update February 1st 2008. City Council Voted to stop the track. We will now be asking the Court to overturn there discision. We will keep you posted.
Once final approval is received, it will take approximately four to six weeks to finish construction of the tracks and open to the public.
As mentioned earlier, the City of Los Angeles has approved the tracks with several restricions. Firstly, we are not allowed to hold any races - this is a practice facility only. Secondly, there will be a 96 dba sound limit on all bikes. Thirdly, as a result of our air quality study, we are restricted in the length of tracks we are allowed to build. Also due to the same study we have been restricted to 88 full size bikes, plus 40 pee wee bikes per day.
The mx park covers 8 acres consisting of three tracks. Over 7,000 truck loads of clay based material have been brought in for the tracks. A power harrow will be used for grooming and a custom irrigation system for watering. The main and Vet tracks were designed by Rich Winkler and will be built by Dirt Wurx. The main track will be a SX/MX style track. The second, Vet/80s, will be half the length of the main track, this will be for beginner/novice riders. The last track will be a Pee Wee track for kids 12 years and under. One of my goals is to keep the tracks as safe and well maintained as possible. A map of the mx park is posted on the website for more detail - "Track Map".
I would like to thank every one of the over 1,000 people who have taken the time to write letters of support and to all the people who have attended the public hearings. You have all been very good to support the track so far, and I'll be looking for your support once again when required.
In particular, I would like to thank the following people for their help and support, without which this track would not have been possible. Stan Gale, who has helped collect the letters of support and organize people to attend the public meetings. Robert McAllister, property manager for LA By-products, the company which owns the property, has helped me from the beginning with the zoning process and planning applications. In addition, the owners of LA By-products also have supported me 100% from the start.
I would like to thank individually John Parker who was key to getting our approvals, Chris Parker, Chris Real and his staff at Chem Help, Rob Harrison, Dave Deckman and his staff at Impact Sciences, Janette Witt, Rich Winkler at Dirt Wurx, John Peterson, Debbie Gale, Ron Chang, and especially my daughter Megan for all her help and patience.
This track is a long time in coming but is nearing completion. I just need your patience and support for a little longer. Thank you again. I look forward to meeting each of you when the track opens.
Yours sincerely,
John Foley