Board approves after‑the‑fact permit for private motocross practice area with hours and spectator restrictions

The county board voted to approve PC13‑26 — an after‑the‑fact interim use permit for an on‑property dirt‑bike practice area filed by Tony Marble and Kayla Forsyth — but added a revised Condition 2 limiting hours of operation and banning public events and spectator facilities.

Planning staff told the board the Planning Commission had recommended approval at its July meeting and that staff and neighbors met after that meeting. Staff presented a revised Condition 2 restricting use to personal practice from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., prohibiting public racing events or organized competitions (including advertising or marketing races), and banning spectator amenities such as bleachers or concessions. Staff also supplied a conservative acoustical estimate based on MPCA guidance: an assumed single bike sound source with distance attenuation produced a high‑end estimate of about 55 decibels at the nearest house, compared with the Minnesota standard of 65 decibels for the cited rule.

Several neighbors opposed the permit at the county hearing, citing after‑the‑fact construction, proximity and noise. Fred Groke said heavy equipment operated into late evenings during track construction and asked that the track be removed or reverted to prior agricultural condition. Bonnie Jacobson said, "The bike track is 686 feet ... I am the closest property to the bike track," and urged the board not to grant the permit. Applicant Tony Marble told the board the facility is intended primarily for his 15‑year‑old daughter’s training and said sessions are typically limited (two to three 20‑minute sessions per day) and that the family had worked with county staff on conditions. After board questions about enforcement, pipelines/easements, and available mitigation (vegetative screening, MPCA testing), a motion to approve with staff’s revised Condition 2 passed on a voice vote.