My ten-year-old son eat, breathes, and sleeps motorsports. His passion holds the seeds of a future professional car-racing career, but it's not an easy journey. For a year and a half, he's been karting. Every single weekend, he makes sacrifices that children of his age aren't usually asked to - traveling all the way to Florida to practice. Playground time with friends, birthday parties, socializing at family events - he misses it all for his single-minded pursuit of becoming a professional racer.

We've built a go-kart track on our private property in Highland, MD so during the warm months, he can train at home. However, we need your support to affirm the validity of this track and aid us in facing current disputes with some local residents. It's not just a track, it's a testament to a boy's dedication and love for racing. 

In recent years, the U.S. go-karting industry saw a significant spike in popularity. The National Speedway Directory indicates there are over 1,000 go-kart tracks operating across the country. Go-karting is recognized as the traditional starting point for professional car racers, and a private track will provide an accessible and safe environment for practice and development. 

By supporting this petition, you are not only helping a young boy pursue his dreams but also acknowledging the importance of cultivating local talent for future contributions to the motorsport industry. Please sign this petition and show your support for the construction of a private go-kart track. Together, we can make dreams of potential professional car racers a reality.

Community members in opposition to the track are stating several concerns, among them increased nearby road traffic and speeding through neighborhoods, that it will be seen by passing traffic or from other properties backyards, as well as the setback issue, wetlands buffer and the proper permit process not being followed. In response to that we have told them that:

• My husband and son got excited and at worst went in 100% head first but the intention was never to disregard the law, damage the environment or have a public track.
• If granted the conditional use we will rectify any wetlands issues if it is determined that there are any in the first place as well as any setback issues.
• We didn’t know that we needed to pull permits or obviously we would have. We were perhaps naively or stupidly not aware of the permitting requirements and believed the asphalt company when they told us that paving that doesn’t adjoin a public road doesn’t require permits.
• We have stated that we will limit use to electric motors, certain reasonable times, etc to mitigate any noise objections. We have an 11 acre property so I don’t see noise being an issue anyway.
• When we moved into the home we received a previously done environmental study that stated there were not wetlands in that field. We also had someone from MDE out for another complaint that confirmed that. 

BUT they don’t care about that, even if we fix any setback issues or wetlands issues, and generate less noise than a bunch of kids playing in a pool, they want the whole track ripped out simply because they don’t want to look at it or have it in “their neighborhood!”

In addition to signing the petition, please reach out to the following local representatives and voice your support for the private track on Mink Hollow Road in Highland MD. 

Howard County Executive - Calvin Ball

Phone: (410) 313-2013 

Email: Email Us link: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/county-executive

Twitter/X: @HoCoGovExec
Facebook: @HoCoGovExec
Instagram: @hocogovexec

Howard County Department of Planning & Zoning - Jessica Bellah

Phone: (410) 313-3372

Email: jbellah@howardcountymd.gov 

David Yungmann - Howard County Councilman

Phone: 410-313-2001
Email: dyungmann@howardcountymd.gov