Okay, as an Arlington raised gal and track owner/promoter's wife, here are my two cents:
The city has always known about the track, (they get property and sales tax revenue from it, dont they?), what they were probably not aware of were the MAJOR improvements to the facility. It is obvious since they hadn't updated the tax bills. ( Do you contact the city when your tax appraisal comes back lower than your home is worth and tell them you owe more taxes? I think not) Yes, Mosier Valley has been around for 30 years, my hubby raced it as a kid and he considers it a "legend" among tracks. It is a great track and good for the Motocross sport in DFW.
But what we all have to remember is that anytime you build anything, ie.e homes, business, etc, you HAVE to get it permitted/inspected through the proper authorities. This is not the City of Arlington's fault. Yes, they are probably ignorant for not checking on it when the lights went up.
Think of it this way:
There is a softball facility right behind it and I bet they had to get proper permits when they added their lights/concession etc. Do you think Six Flags can add those new rides without getting permits? Would you want them to open a ride without an inspection? Any restaurant in Tarrant County must get a CO and health permit. Would you want to eat at a restaurant that doesn't have a proper permit? I bet KFC/Pizza Hut would love to cut out the permit process when they open their stores....
When we added our lights and concession, we went through TONS of headaches getting our health permit, and this was at a county level. We had to add septic, bathrooms and running water. It was very costly, but I can say we are legal and inspected at least twice a year.
I hope that Mr. Surbur can get this worked out with the city. The Annual GNC is important to Texas Motocross racing and MV provides a good outlet for our kids (and big kids too ;) ). Just don't start bashing the City of Arlington, they are just doing their job to keep businesses operating in a safe manner.