If there was any question about the future of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca after recent litigation, there’s now an answer. A “positive settlement” has been reached between the Highway 68 Coalition and the County of Monterey.
Friends of Laguna Seca (FLS) will continue to operate the storied track for 50 years. It will also “conduct a previously planned sound impact …
It sounds like capitulation to the one neighbor who is known to be litigious in bad faith. All in all, while this may seem like a win for the track it is more likely a win for Mike Weaver.
Well, sounds like they won the right to operate for 50 years. So, F that guy he might be dead by the time the track is questioned again. And by that time, racing might be mostly electric
Yeah, I really hope they did not give that guy anything. It will only encourage more BS lawsuits.
Maybe if they agreed to some sort of traffic control (which I think was his primary initial concern) that could be reasonable.
aircooled said:Yeah, I really hope they did not give that guy anything. It will only encourage more BS lawsuits.
Maybe if they agreed to some sort of traffic control (which I think was his primary initial concern) that could be reasonable.
Yeah, if I were a neighbor, I'd be far more bothered by the traffic than the noise. I used to camp at the track on Moto GP weekends, because same day traffic was beyond bad.
Good news! A rare but significant victory in the ongoing struggle for access to motorsport venues.
Laguna Seca is perhaps my favorite track of all time and I have seen everything from AMA races to the Monterey Historic Races there. Frankly, its painful to think that someone would bring a lawsuit regarding noise against the track. It's well removed from most residential property so I find this lawsuit completely bogus. CA is rife with lawsuits against airports and anything making noise, so it's quite likely that someone is wanting to make a quick dollar for doing nothing except complaining. At least the 50 year operational rule is hopeful and, as was said by mr2peak, the complainer will be dead in 50 years anyway.
Unless racing is protected, especially with respect to internal combustion engines, it will be phased out either 'legally', 'environmentally', or economically.
For anyone who hasn't seen this, really interesting and one of the deepest dives I've seen on the topic: Investigating the Absurd Lawsuit Against Laguna Seca (youtube.com)
In reply to DavyZ :
Moving into the area and then complaining about noise, is pretty stupid. I too love LS. I've done more motorcycle and car trackdays there than I want to count ($). The noise does travel farther than many think. I can hear it from where I work and was surprised to discover that it is 4.25 miles as the crow flies from T11 T Laguna Seca. I would have guessed half that distance. I can clearly hear (race)cars accelerating and shifting down the front straight, and on cloudy days I can hear (presumably stock) cars and motorcycles doing the same.
DavyZ said:Laguna Seca is perhaps my favorite track of all time and I have seen everything from AMA races to the Monterey Historic Races there. Frankly, its painful to think that someone would bring a lawsuit regarding noise against the track. It's well removed from most residential property so I find this lawsuit completely bogus. CA is rife with lawsuits against airports and anything making noise, so it's quite likely that someone is wanting to make a quick dollar for doing nothing except complaining. At least the 50 year operational rule is hopeful and, as was said by mr2peak, the complainer will be dead in 50 years anyway.
Unless racing is protected, especially with respect to internal combustion engines, it will be phased out either 'legally', 'environmentally', or economically.
An F-35 once took off from a municipal airport in central California that resulted in over 1100 noise complaints within an hour of takeoff.
Also California courts are notoriously friendly to consumers and petitioners in civil suits. I would hate to be in a defense posture for any case in that state. Bravo to the FoLS legal team for working out that deal.
And we all seem to have the common sense of "don't buy a house near a major race track if you don't like the noise or traffic" yet here we are with people that do so and then feel the need to be litigous about it. NAS Key West deals with this all the time from the idiots that buy homes at the end of the runways and then complain about the noise.
Great to read this!! Thanks for posting the video too!
Laguna is such a special place, even with a 7 hour tow and only a few 105db weekends available for me I try to get there all the time!
also it's the only track that we can run in summer since every other CA track is in a remote desert location
The only thing they should have given the plaintiff in this suit is a lifetime supply of ear plugs.
Yes, racing is loud. On summer nights around here, if I'm in the garage, I can faintly hear the stock car races late into the evening, but it's an occasional thing. I live about 4 or so miles from there, so yeah, the sound travels, and I'm sure living closer to the track is annoying... occasionally.
Nothing a set of earplugs wouldn't fix though.
redtanrt10 said:also it's the only track that we can run in summer since every other CA track is in a remote desert location
I suspect the residents of Sonoma would be surprised to hear you describe it that way. :)
Lawsuits are never settled.
And we all seem to have the common sense of "don't buy a house near a major race track if you don't like the noise or traffic" yet here we are with people that do so and then feel the need to be litigous about it. NAS Key West deals with this all the time from the idiots that buy homes at the end of the runways and then complain about the noise.
The only good thing about a lawsuit like this.
Now there is a legal document somewhere, showing that this person is of such low intelligence that they bought a house at the end of a runway without realising there would be aircraft noise.
Highway 68 needs to be widened , much of it is one lane each way ,
I am sure that is backed up most late afternoons , races or not .
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