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Message: [QUOTE="roosteater, post: 99765, member: 16970"] Oh really? Actually, the relevant jurisdictions CAN tell you what you can and can't do on your own land. If not, why do we have to deal with all the zoning laws? Heck...in most jurisdictions, you can't even build a simple 8x12 storage shed without getting a building permit. You can't start a fire to burn leaves on your property without a permit. You can't reshingle or reside your house without a permit. And you certainly can't do any major land grading on your own property in certain areas without a permit. You certainly can't create an erosion problem that causes silt runoff into a stream used by the rest of the public. I'm not saying it's right, but it's the way it is. The Pastranas are doing the right thing. They're acknowledging that they were ignorant of the law, inadvertently broke the law, and are now trying their best to come into compliance. In the end they'll likely give up their right to ride there as it probably won't be worth going through the legal battle. They'll probably pick up a nice little spread deep, deep, deep in the country and build again! Just my opinion. Lawman is correct. This is likely about noise and urban sprawl. As people start moving into less developed areas, they're bound to complain about "noisy" neighbors, even if those "noisy" neighbors have been creating that noise there for years. It doesn't only affect our sport. It also commonly affects airports and military air bases as well. Case in point....Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, CA.....originally built probably about 80 years ago in the heart of Irvine, CA. At the time, Irvine was nothing but oranges as far as the eye could see. As the years went on, the land around the base became totally developed. The residents surrounding the base petitioned for years to get the base closed down, because it was just too noisy around there, when they were the ones who were building their homes around the already-existing and noisy air station. It's my understanding that this base has since been closed down (since I was last stationed there in 1993). The squadrons that were there have been relocated to various "less-developed" locations. I wonder how long it will take before urban sprawl causes them to move again. It's pessimistic, but I believe this is something we'll continue to see more and more in our sport. The personal agendas of the masses of people that crowd themselves around our riding areas will likely prevail and they'll succeed in getting riding areas shut down. Think about it....it creates situations where you've got 500 new affluent homeowners in the vicinity of a previously-existing track, which is usually owned/operated by one person. It's a bit much to expect that one person to wage battle against the combined resources of 500 homeowners. It's much easier and financially prudent for them just to cave in, close the track, and sell off the property so another 500 homes can be built. So, will we lose all of our riding areas? Probably not those that are on private land deep in the country with ample acreage around them to buffer them against urban sprawl. But, my guess is that we're going to see more and more tracks and riding areas closing down because of urban sprawl. How sad. [/QUOTE]

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