Council gives concept support to 100-acre Moto Haven autocross and light-industrial project

Developers seeking to build a combined autocross facility and light-industrial park called Moto Haven presented a conceptual plan to the City of Montrose on Feb. 9 and won council support to advance the project to engineering and financing steps.

Rick Harrison, site designer, described a roughly 100-acre site with a central autocross area, four simultaneous course layouts, and approximately 178 modular industrial ‘‘townhome’’ units intended primarily for sale to owner-operators. Harrison said the site would also include a clubhouse, training facilities and potential family-oriented amenities; he emphasized safety and driver training, noting autocross focuses on cone courses and cornering rather than high speeds.

Harrison and project partners said the facility would serve both recreational and training uses: "Autocross is the ideal training ground for that," he said, highlighting benefits for driver education and emergency-vehicle training. Presenters emphasized the project's potential to attract regional auto-club events and to create local jobs through a planned small manufacturing plant tied to the modular units.

Councilmembers asked procedural questions, and the presentation prompted no objections from the council majority. One councilmember noted she had seen the project at planning and zoning and said she was "super excited." The council took no formal zoning or approval action at the meeting but gave the project a consensus 'thumbs up' to proceed with surveys, civil engineering and outreach to investors.

What happens next: Project proponents said they will hire a land surveyor, begin civil engineering and refine a plan of development (PUD) and HOA documents to present in later formal review stages. The council's approval at this stage was limited to concept support and does not constitute land-use approval.