Here's A letter I sent out looking for help… I've got a riding area(my own property) with a 4.5 mile XC loop and 1.2 mile MX course(4 jumps over 70ft, but all are tabled or stepped for safety, 3 of them you can jump 100+ft and still not flatland)…
If you check out http://www.ATVNc.com and search “Soggy Bottoms” you'll find several threads with pics, video, background of area, as well as complete breakdown of some legal issues going on… but this letter will give you the long and short of it….
The Letter:
To Whom it may concern,
My name is Jeremy Kahn, I'm writing from Rockingham County, NC.
My fiancé and I live on her, ancestral, 64acre former tobacco farm that we have converted to a horse and hay farm. The reason for this letter is, I race ATVs and have put in (on the non-farmed portions) an ATV/Dirtbike “Track”, consisting mainly of trails through the wooded areas, some jumps on an otherwise unfarmable hillside, and trails around the pastures and fields.
We “developed” this for our Own personal use and training, however, many members of the community asked if they could also ride on the “track”, and we’ve obliged. Once we saw the potential for supplemental income I approached the county planning administrator for direction on making this into a sustainable income source as a potential rural tourist activity (which would require a special use permit for which does exist as “Rural Tourist Activity”).
Upon discussion with the PA, he and his staff stated that they would classify this as a “RACETRACK” if we wanted do operate for profit, which would require rezoning to Heavy Industrial Zoning, When Informed him that this was an active Bona Fide Farm he stated that we would still have to rezone as Heavy Industrial to operate for profit, even though there are NO Timing apparatus, NO start/finish line, NO bleachers/grandstands, NO impervious surfaces, and NO structures. He went on to say that if we did not charge fees or operate for profit that we could ride with no problems from a planning/zoning standpoint.
Now, through word of mouth, community members, and because I Race across the southeast, (and have many friends across the southeast who also race), it is not uncommon for there to be 20 to 30 of us riding on weekends. Several of my friends have large trailers, with sponsor decals and signage on them, that they haul their ATVs in, and because of this, the Planning Administrator has issued Notice of Violation that we Have Constructed a “PERMANENT RACETRACK FACILITY”, and that we cannot Ride our ATVs on the property unless we seek rezoning to Heavy Industrial, which they would recommend to the Planning Board to DENY (We are in a predominantly Residential/Agricultural area), they are, IN FACT, taking the stand that WE CANNOT RIDE OUR ATVs ON OUR OWN PROPERTY. Because of this, if I want to train or ride my atv, I’m forced to drive 100 miles or more one-way, to the next closest riding area.
Throughout this, My friends have traveled many miles to come ride at our property, I receive many phone calls on a regular basis from people wanting to come from miles away to ride just because they know somebody who knows somebody that's been there, have had manufacturers/distributors/event organizers, and nationally published magazines approach me about the riding area because they've heard about it through the grapevine.
Throughout the past 18 months there have been only two sources of complaint concerning our riding, and both of those were people who only recently moved to the area and, self admittedly, think that all atvs and dirtbikes should be outlawed nationwide.
My family and I work Full Time Jobs to pay for our land and subsidize our farming and would Love to benefit the county, the community, and be able to pay our bills on time by opening up our area for riding to the general public (independent and governmental research shows that the average ATV rider spends over $100 per day in the community that they go to ride in and an average of $15 at the riding area). We have no desire to Give up Our Farming, we only wish that we could use the ATV area as a supplement to our income so that we can better provide for our family without having to work multiple full time jobs on top of Farming. But, ONE persons opinion (the PA) that we cannot be classified as Rural Tourism (even though there is statewide precedent otherwise), is keeping us from being able to live other than hand to mouth, and We may possibly STILL lose the farm unless we can find some way of supplementing our incomes…
If there are resources available, or if you can forward this to your local office, or if there are precedents or guidelines available, I would very much appreciate help in this matter.
We Love Farming, We Love our Farm, and We feel as if the Planning Administrator is being counter-cooperative in our desire to keep our farm as an agricultural use and profitable.
Thank You For Your Time,
Jeremy Kahn and Linda Seamans
520 Baynes Rd,
Reidsville, NC 27320
336-453-5272
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