Mountain View County council has approved a development permit for an $11-million motorsports racetrack east of Carstairs. The move came by way of motion at the regularly scheduled council meeting on May 22.
Rocky Mountain Motorsports is proposing the construction of a 3.5-kilometre recreation and training racetrack at the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 581 on a 385.64-acre parcel.
The project will require a realignment of Rge. Rd. 10A and a rebuild of a half mile of Rge. Rd. 10.
In April 2017 council approved the re-designation of the property from agriculture to direct control and from low density residential to business park. The development permit application was prepared following the re-designation approval.
The permit approved on May 22 is for the motorsports racetrack, as well as administrative trailer, medical trailer, washroom trailer, race control trailer, staging and view areas, a helicopter pad, berm, fencing, and parking facilities.
Coun. Al Kemmere was not present for the motion vote.
Alberta Environment and Alberta Transportation would have to approve necessary provincial permits before the facility could become operational, council heard.
The development permit approved May 22 comes with a number of conditions, including the following:
• The applicant shall provide the county with a noise generation report once a month.
• No drag strips or drag racing shall be permitted on the site at any time.
• The applicant shall be responsible for all costs associated with a county approved sound consultant for the purpose of undertaking annual verification of calibration of equipment required for the purpose of monitoring noise on-site.
The approved development permit strikes a reasonable balance between the project and nearby landowners, said Reeve Bruce Beattie.
“We have serious concerns, I know that, from adjacent residents,” Beattie said following the vote. “We’ve tried to accommodate those concerns within the development permit to ensure that sound levels are kept to a reasonable level.”
The development of a racetrack at the site is “important for the county” in strengthening the tax base, he said.
“We, as a council, have to look at the entire health of the whole county. We have to make sure we remain viable over the long term," he said.
"That’s our goal and our responsibility. We try to take into account all of the impacts it will have on people who are living in areas where those developments take place, but we still have to recognize that development is going to happen in our county.”
The county will “expect the applicant to follow all of the conditions laid out in the development permit,” he said.
“We have the authority to shut down the operation if they are not meeting their requirements and we expect them to do that,” he said.
The developer must now work with the province going forward, he said.
“They will be able to begin construction once they receive approvals from Alberta Environment and Alberta Transportation for portions of that project," he said.
“Once they have achieved that, the next step is for them to have a development agreement, which will specify all the details that is outlined within their application. Then the development permit will be issued and they can begin construction.”
Shelly Beyak owns a mixed cattle-grain operation adjacent to the motorsports property. She attended the May 22 council meeting and says she has ongoing concerns with the project.
“Cattle are eight times more sensitive to sound than people are,” Beyak told the Gazette. “The side effects will be slipping calves (aborting), not producing milk, and that sort of thing.
“I took a survey and there are 2,000 acres of native grassland that we have over 1,000 head of cattle grazing on right now within a two-mile radius of that facility. That is a concern of ours. It’s very frustrating for residents.”
The complete development permit can be viewed on the county’s website.
