Picture a narrow dirt track with steep hills for jumps and lots and lots of curves, some gentle, some tight – built especially for the sport of racing motorcycles. Three such tracks are proposed for a 58-acre site in the Maltby area, at 18827 Yew Way, the site of a former gravel pit, currently owned by Rinker Materials. MXGP Inc., whose president and co-owner is Gary Strode, would like to purchase the land from Rinker for their motocross park.

Strode said in a phone conversation that the three tracks, a kids track, a main track for events, and a multi-use track, would take up about 10 acres of the 58.3-acre property. There are plans for four grandstands, a gravel parking lot with stalls for cars and motor homes, and a picnic area. Overflow parking would be on the grass and picnic areas, he said. A concession trailer would come in on race days. Portable toilets would be brought in too.

Strode said the tracks would sit 25 feet down in a bowl, with the parking and picnic areas above and around the perimeter of the tracks. A track was designed like this in Las Vegas and the design provided an efficient sound barrier, he said.

The operation

Strode also said the law allows these tracks to be open from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. His company’s Monroe track, shut down after four years by Snohomish County because it was found to be an illegal use for farmland, ran from noon to 7 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays – mid-March to October. He expects the Maltby track would have a similar schedule.

He said the majority of the riders are kids, but riders of all ages enjoy the sport. Based on the Monroe track, he expects 50 to 70 riders on weekdays, 100 or so on weekends. At race events, not everyone races at the same time. Entrants are separated by skill level and age. He said the average race is six laps and has 125 bikes, 15 people on the track at one time, 30 maximum. When kids race, they run four laps.

The permitting process

MXGP submitted initial paperwork for the three-track motocross park to Snohomish County on Feb. 8. The project requires a SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) Threshold Determination, a conditional use permit, landscape modification and a grading permit.

Erik Olson, senior planner dealing with commercial and land-use projects for Snohomish County’s Planning & Development Services (PDS) department, said, “An average time frame for these types of permits is up to six months. The time varies based on the complexity of the project and the issues involved.”

Olson said that a public hearing was part of the approval process, but that no hearing date had been set as of March 9.

“The setting of a hearing date,” said Olson, “is dependent on many factors, compliance with codes, issuance of a SEPA Threshold Determination and the availability of hearing dates. The hearing date will be set once PDS has determined the application is ready and a SEPA … determination can be issued.”

It goes without saying that the motorcycle park proposal – like many land-use proposals – has staunch supporters, motocross enthusiasts and their families, as well as commercial interests. The proposal also has an organized opposition campaign with a Web site, lawyers on retainer, and a willingness to hire noise, traffic and environmental consultants if they feel it is necessary. There is no doubt opinions from both sides will be voiced at the public hearing.

There are questions about whether the motocross park will bring increased traffic to an otherwise rural area. The project’s legal notice for a conditional use permit and land-use modification states “This project will be evaluated to determine if there is enough capacity on county roads to accommodate the project’s traffic impacts.”

Olson said, “Traffic review is being done to ensure compliance with the county’s road ordinance, Chapter 30.66B.” He also said, “A review for noise impacts and compliance with the county’s noise ordinance, Chapter 10.01, is being done.”

The contamination

Kathy Pierson, Environmental Health Specialist for Snohomish Health District, said, “Snohomish Health District issued a Health Officer’s Order to require Rinker (Materials) to show Snohomish Health District a plan for removal and abatement of the Tolt Treatment Facility backwash solids (that have been dumped on the gravel pit site).”

According to Pierson, residue from the filter of the Tolt Treatment Facility, which provides drinking water for the City of Seattle, was deposited somewhere on the gravel pit site.

The residue contains heavy metals, she said. There is a question as to whether the material can be retrieved, said Pierson. It went to Maltby in a de-watered peat condition.

“(The nature of this contamination) goes beyond our scope of expertise,” said Pierson.

She said Snohomish Health would talk to other agencies, particularly the state’s Department of Ecology and Department of Natural Resources, to determine if the Rinker cleanup plan was feasible and complete.

Pierson said the order requires that the plan be submitted by April 4. She said that her department would look at it immediately. She estimates evaluating the plan would take three to four weeks.

“But based on most regular processes,” she said, “it always takes longer than you think.”