STANDING ROOM ONLY CROWD HEARS RACE TRACK OPPOSITION PLANS

  

Over 300 local residents crowed into the St. Stanislaus Catholic Church Community Center in Chappell Hill last night to hear what could be done to stop Club Track Holdings from building a race track on the Mel Acres Ranch.  Nine local landowners have filed a lawsuit in District Court seeking a Permanent Injunction to stop the development of the track.

Charles Fridge, one of the plaintiffs in the suit explained although the suit seeks damages of over one million dollars, that is not the goal.  He said that the purpose of the suit is to learn what the developer has planned through the discovery process and to give notice to the court that there is opposition to the track.  Fridge said the 450 acre track is under contract to be sold to Club Track Holdings and CEO Charles Von Schmidt, but he didn’t know if the property had closed.  Local attorney Hal Moorman is co-counsel for the group.

Race Track meeting story1
(L to R) Charles Fridge, Dr. Helen Philips and Matt Strock address the crowd Tuesday evening.

The other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include, Dr. Helen and Chad Phillips,  OCF Cattle Company, owned by Matt and Christi Strock, Ron and Lynne Holder, and owner of Dingo Ranch J.T. Davis.  The plaintiffs have also secured a consulting engineer who has been successful in stopping several other race track developments.

Developer Charles Von Schmidt’s original plan was to acquire land near Wonder Hill Road with plans to build a road race track, but the effort drew vocal opposition from residents of the area.  Von Schmidt appears to have shifted to the Chappell Hill location now.

The plaintiffs in the suit say that the proposed racetrack would alter the character of the Chappell Hill area and would eventually bring down property values, and also complained that the noise from the race cars would interfere with the plaintiff’s use of their property by not being able to enjoy the seclusion of their property, and be an eye sore to the community and visitors coming into the area.

Attendees at the meeting Tuesday night signed a petition stating their opposition to the race track.  Local residents have also started the website noracetrack.org and a Facebook page OpposeChappellHillRacetrack

Race Track meeting story2
Area residents sign petition opposing the race track.

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39 Comments

  1. I have just learned of this controversy and look forward to getting all the information I can before forming an opinion. My knee-jerk reaction is complete opposition to a race track in this area for any number of reasons, many of which are stated by previous commenters. Our Washington County property is not adjacent to this planned project, but I certainly support the concerns of those who are closest to it, as well as the concerns by residents and landowners regarding the impact on the entire community. We come to the country to escape the stresses of overdevelopment and traffic in Houston. I hate to see it encroaching into the peace and serenity now present in the Chapel Hill area.
    I am intrigued at this point by why anybody would pay any attention to an anonymous posting either for or against this project. Why not put your name on your comment rather than hide behind a pseudonym?

  2. The information on http://www.clubtrackholdings.com/ is not accurate.

    Most of the information on there were the plans for the Wonder Hill road properties that they were trying acquire.

    Has there been any updated layouts made public yet of the new proposed track?

  3. When we purchase rural property there is nothing concerning the deed what the adjoining property owners can or can not do. There are laws concerning septic systems concerning footage with water wells and property lines. I wonder if Mr. Von Schmidt would have better luck with the surrounding land owners if he change his plans and put in a Nudist Colony instead. Would he meet less resistance ?

  4. ChappellHillResident,
    Have you been to the Facebook pages for Bluebonnet Circuit? If not, please read all of the posts by Bluebonnet Racing Circuit here:

    https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1504940926411650

    Bluebonnet Circuit says twice to the Wonder Hill folks that they need to come up to TWS and see the “truth” about noise, traffic, etc. However, if you look at the most recent comments by CTH on their Facebook page, comparing TWS to Bluebonnet Circuit is “Apples to Oranges”. Hmmmmm. Why the change of heart, I wonder?

    You might be best off to take a trip to TWS for yourself and “see the truth”, since you seem to think the information presented at the town meeting was useless “fear mongering”.

    Why don’t you do that and then come report back to us what you find.

    King F.

    1. I don’t intend on visiting the TWS as it would be pointless. You basically have a track in a bowl which from what even the opposition folks presented, is not the same as what is being planned here. And besides….it’s the two litigants that should be doing this, not me. If the track wanted to prove how quiet this will be they could easily do so by setting up large screens and show the community video of other similar tracks with sound meters attached to the screen. The opposition group could do the same thing to show how loud it is; fact is neither side has chosen to do this as of today. One more thing…. I’m not the one seeking to build a track in our town and I’m not the one seeking one million dollars+ in damages, so let the ones fueling this debate do this. At this point, it is likely irrelevant anyway and much of the evidence will be kept within the confines of the lawsuit and not distributed via social media. So……I’m still not sure who is telling us the truth and who is full of vinegar at this point. Hopefully time will tell.

  5. Smith

    All the negative about this racetrack “my oh my”. The problem with Chappell Hill is that residents don’t understand progress is upon us. Put in Sewer Systems in downtown so visitors have a place to use bathrooms not drive back out to the highway. This will help our downtown merchants. LET’S GET OVER THIS! GO RACETRACK

  6. When you look at a map of the proposed site, there are 100’s of families that this will impact, due to their being one mile or less from this facility. It has been proven that the sound will not be dissipated much by their brick walls and that the sound will travel in excess of 4+ miles, if not more. That covers a lot of people who have lived in this area, enjoying the peace and quiet for a very long time. Mr. von Schmidt has chosen not to include the area residents in his plan – he’s been doing this quietly, along with the trustees for Mel Acres – trying to get it finalized before anyone knows what he’s doing. Did you know that he’s surrounding some people’s property with this track? How will their quality of life be affected by listening to these cars 7 days each week – not to mention the two days (weekends) that they’ll allow cars without mufflers to run. Add in his condos, garages, hotel, restaurants, shops, etc. and what do you have left for this community? While it’s true that property owners have a right to do whatever they want with their property – they do not have the right to provide a nuisance to the area or to prevent those around them from having their own peaceful enjoyment of their property. Would you enjoy hearing these cars continuously – even when inside of your home? Do you want your livestock impacted by the stress of this noise? Did you know that there are now lawsuits regarding wind turbines because their constant vibrations have been affecting people around them physically? If they are making people ill, think about what will happen to people who are forced to listen to these cars and feel the ground vibrations all the time. That can be detrimental to the health of many people in this area. Yes, drivers will be in and out of the facility, but we’ll have to live with it day-in and day-out, at a place that we’ve always considered to be our refuge – our homes. We have rights, too and I’m hoping that Mr. von Schmidt and his investors see the impact that they will have on this community, as it will virtually be destroyed.

  7. Small town, small people, small minds, there is a big wide world out there please please go see it and enjoy what it has to offer. Don’t stamp on other people’s dreams because you have nothing better to do.

    1. “Don’t stamp on other people’s dreams” you say? What about the dreams of the people already living there? Don’t they matter?

    2. Funny thing, the people who are opposing this race track are implants-they did not grow up here nor have they lived here for generations, they are well educated, well traveled people who have chosen this area to raise their families or to finish out their time of working and retire here-that being said, I would not want a race track in my back yard either. We are in the country, but that doesn’t mean you can do what you want when you want. But then again, money will win and the track will be built regardless of how it will affect the surrounding area. Houston is here and has been it is evident in all that is being done. We are no longer a small country town.

  8. A funny thing has happened.

    Those who are in such an uproar about a track visually changing the look of Chappell Hill (which it won’t) have gone about the business of destroying the scenic beauty of Chappell Hill by posting hundreds of signs in opposition to the track.

    Nice work.

  9. I live on the north side of Washington County far from where the track might be. I understand the opposition to the track and the potential for noise. During the warm months all weekend long we hear loud motors from boats at the Somerville Lake. I can assure you that with time you don’t pay much attention to it, you adapt. I wonder if the main opposition to the track is the fear of the worth of the property in the area going down. If so it’s a battle of two sides over money. The history and rich heritage will not change, buisness will have increased profits. Since I was a kid I’ve watched all my “stomp’n grounds” disappear as land around us was split and sold people moving in. It’s progress we can’t change. Better get ready coming to all our areas soon.

  10. It is apparent that Mr. Von Schmidt is unaware of the rich history we cherish in Chappell Hill and Washington County. The Texas Independence Trail ran right through this area where he envisions this massive Racetrack, There are Cemeteries, Churches and Schools that some date back over 100 years in the area. The property that we live on has been in my Husband’s family for over 100 years. His Grandparents farmed cotton for 50 years on this property. The most noise we have ever had on our road is an occasional 4 wheeler or a tractor leveling out our gravel road after a big rain. The coyotes howling at night and the roosters crowing in the morning. We live on Whiddon Rd which is right down 1371 from Mel Acres. It is such a disappointment to think about a structure being cut into our earth that will be such an eyesore to our community and the visitors that come her to enjoy the small town feeling and enjoy our history. What can this man be thinking? This is a travesty.

    1. Thoughts such as this are what cause communities, organizations and businesses to die. Every successful organization/community/business must continually evolve. If farmers today still used mules and plows instead of tractors, if crops were still hand picked, if we still had to ride a horse and buggy, etc…..how well do you think our community would survive. It wouldn’t and the world would pass us by. Make no mistake….if I were to have a racetrack in my backyard, it would not be an appealing thought. However, I would likely attempt to sell to one of these racers at a profit and find another slice of heaven for myself instead of spending my hard earned money on this turmoil. When life hands us lemons we can choose to be sour and gripe or we can choose to make something positive out of it. It seems so far that this opposition group is choosing the former rather than the latter.

      1. I’m not sure that you absorbed a word the I said regarding the riches this community receives from the history of our land. If you investigate further you will realize that portions of Mel Acres has been highly polluted with residuals of various medal products that have flowed into the earth and the ponds from a neighboring business at the time. I assume the folks that purchase the Townhome type structures will be bathing, washing dishes and drinking this water. Please review the lawsuit against the source of the pollutants and give the community feedback.
        I expect these matters will need to be fully disclosed to any person that will be investing in this venture.

        1. Please read (Google) “Texas appeals court upholds $400,000 judgment to cattle ranch over metal processing plant contamination”. Article dated November 20th, 2012. Also quoted from this article in reference to Mel Acres:
          “The expert explained that stigma of contamination exists because it would be prudent for Mel Acres to disclose contamination to any potential buyer to avoid liability”.
          So, to all future investors, please be aware there is a strong possibility that the land
          called Mel Acres could be highly tainted. I don’t believe you want your children digging in the pastures, drinking the water, fishing in the ponds and eating you catch for the day.
          I wonder if any of this information has been revealed to Mr. Von Schmidt.

          1. Actually……once again this is only part truthful. The court ruling you cite was actually rejected August 22, 2014 by the Texas Supreme Court in No. 13–0084. The following is the conclusion of the court: “We hold that Mel Acres failed to present legally sufficient evidence to support its damages. We therefore reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and render a take-nothing judgment in favor of Houston Unlimited.”

            Once again neighbors…..let’s publish FACTS…..not just the portion of the facts that benefit the side one happens to be aligned with. The goal should be to have an intelligent, truthful dialogue…….but unfortunately I’m not sure either side is completely and accurately portraying the truth at this point.

  11. ChappellHillResident,
    Since you were at the meeting, why didn’t you bother to speak up? You seem to have a very good knowledge of these types of facilities. Why didn’t you educate the group as to the *real* facts? That is upsetting that you apparently had such a wealth of knowledge and you withheld it. We could have come away enlightened with the *real* facts.

    1. KingF,
      I don’t have much knowledge at all regarding these type of tracks, which is exactly why I was disappointed that this group did not either. My point is simply that everything they presented was based on theory, hypotheticals and general speculation in my opinion. Not once did I hear them say or demonstrate in a tangible way exactly how other communities have been effected. If what they were saying is true, I would think they could have supported their position with examples. Showing us how XYZ property was worth $XX prior to one of their other tracks being built and now it’s worth $XX. I could go on and on, but bottom line is the group that presented seemed more interested in speculation, rumors and fear mongering than they did in disseminating true, factual statements. I did find it curious that Mr. von Schmidt nor any of his representatives chose to attend either. Perhaps it was because they don’t care, perhaps it’s because they wanted to let this group meet without interference or perhaps they simply have decided to go silent now that they’ve been sued….we will likely never know. I do hope that in light of all this, that Mr. von Schmidt would hold his own round of meetings and show examples of the footprint this will place on our community. It would be nice if someone could find a video of this type of track and publish or one of the two sides to share this with us. So many unknowns at this point. One thing I am positive of though is that this group did absolutely nothing to sway my opinion in either direction. Often times in life, what is reality looks much different than what the supposed “experts” predict on paper. I do hope for our community that this is the case here, but only time will tell.

      1. Mr. Von Schmidt attended a similar meeting in Brenham. By the way, a meeting that should have never taken place. He was wise not to repeat in Chappell Hill. No matter what he says or what he presents, those opposed have already reached their verdict. They have assigned the title of enemy to Mr. Von Schmidt. Plans and/or facts bare little influence in their decision. I didn’t attend the Chappell Hill “meeting”, but I’m going to guess it was akin to a verbal execution that took place in Brenham. Mr. Von Schmidt was wise not to attend.

        If you want more info on their plans, they can be found here…

        http://www.clubtrackholdings.com/

        1. “Jeff”,
          Please read my reply from this morning at 10:14 am. Is this new news to clubtrackholdings.com ? The pollution factor on the land itself along with information regarding litigation is a serious issue and should be addressed, and disclosed to investors in the Racetrack project.

          1. While the initial appeals court did rule in favor of Mel Acres in November 2012, there is no reason to re-visit a subject ruled on by the Texas Supreme Court August 22, 2014. In their ruling they say: “We hold that Mel Acres failed to present legally sufficient evidence to support its damages. We therefore reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and render a take-nothing judgment in favor of Houston Unlimited.”

            Please when publishing facts to our community publish them in the entirety so people can make an educated and informed decision and not skewed based on uninformed, inaccurate, partial information.

  12. What disgusts me is people continuously trying to tell people what they can or cannot do on their own property.

    1. People don’t live in bubbles on their property, what they do impacts those around them and the community at large. This is common sense, Take care of yourself, take care of your neighbors, take care of the land. No racetrack, keep it rural. Not even a question. Simple as pie, racetrack bye bye.

  13. As a Chappell Hill resident I was at the meeting last night and would like to commend and thank those individuals who have stepped up to the plate and personally have assumed the efforts of stopping this development. As was stated in the KWHI article this group of racetrack investors being unsuccessful in the Brenham area have now set their sights on the Chappell Hill area. Make no mistake this entire development is about making money for the developers and they are totally unconcerned with the quality of life for the residents of Washington County.

    As was further pointed out at the meeting last night by residents and County Commissioner Hueske the racetrack investors have ignored the residents and the elected officials of Washington County and are purchasing the land and preparing their plans with secrecy. Their website calls out for much more than a race track and in the meeting last night information was presented that the racetrack development is scheduled to begin operations this September.

    While more facts concerning the development would have been welcomed, in my opinion the secrecy and duplicity of the racetrack developers made this impossible. Washington County residents and landowners have rights to a quality of life and have developed “local standards” that differ from other out of state communities that may have accepted this type of development. The developers (again in my opinion) believe that they can do as they wish with us but I was heartened to see more than 300 of my fellow neighbors stand up and refuse to bow to them….

    1. This track is not about making money. It is about replacing the road course being lost at Texas World Speedway. Thanks to this lawsuit, all track information that could have been public will likely remain secret untill required by the court or when the track is built.

    2. It is their land and they can do as they see fit- and unless you pass zoning ordinances there is nothing you can do about it, so get over it. We used to hunt and fish all over this country, and then folks from Houston and other places began moving in, and the first thing they did was hang up No Trespassing signs. They did not farm anymore so the fields brushed up and deer moved in. Then the coyotes moved in. I did not like it but it was their RIGHT as landowners to do what they wanted with their land. So it is today. You can stay and learn to live with it as I have or you can sell your place and move to where ever you want, but let me tell you, progress will catch you there, too, so you might as well get over it.

  14. As a 15 year resident of Chappell Hill, I attended this meeting last night hoping to learn more about the actual facts pertaining to the proposed track. Unfortunately, the presenters did more harm than good in presenting very few actual facts; instead focusing on spreading fear and rumors of what might or what could potentially take place. Not one member of the group said they had visited any of the other developments built across the state that are similar to this and report the results of their visit (i.e. how loud it is in those places, how did property values fare, are the racers respectful of those other towns, etc)…….something I would think would be a very sensible and logical move if the goal was to disseminate actual facts to our town. The overall presentation from this group of folks reminded me of little rich kids whining about how this or that “it isn’t fair”. Well, I have a news flash…..life isn’t fair. Mr. Fridge spoke of his plans to “eventually move to his property” as they don’t even live in our county now. Mr. Strock was even more vague, not saying if he and his family live here full time, while Dr. Philips said she had plans to build on her property at Mel Acres in the future. So really and truly what we have is two groups of non-full time residents slugging it out with another group of non-residents and attempting to suck local residents into this unfortunate situation by spreading fear, rumors and very few facts. Until the group focuses on true facts (instead of hypothetical studies done on paper) and demonstrates that this track will truly cause some harm upon the entire community, I believe that this effort is at best misguided. And that’s the way it looks to this Chappell Hill resident.

  15. I sincerely pray that the opposition is successful and that Mr. Von Schmidt realizes that the residents of Chappell Hill seriously do not want him or his race track in the community. They are prepared to fight this with everything they’ve got. I also hope for the rest of the county to wake up and join this fight to keep the race track out of our ENTIRE county.
    KEEP FIGHTING CHAPPELL HILL!!!

    1. We have lived just a couple of miles from Chappell Hill for almost twenty years. It is a wonderful and peaceful place with friendly people. People visit each weekend to take in its beauty and just breathe.

      There is a place for everything, and Chappell Hill is not the place for a race track. Sound does travel. You can hear trains in Navasota several miles away if the wind is blowing in the right direction. How about all the traffic it will bring to the area. With more traffic on our country roads, how safe will they be? What about the MS150 bicyclists that practice and ride in the area throughout the year? How safe will they be with all the additional traffic on our beautiful, but low-visibility roads?

      Keep fighting Chappell Hill friends!!!!

  16. I own property in the area and love the peace and quiet we have now. I do not want this ruined by the noise and crowds of people that this track would cause. Find another part of the state to put this in. We do not want it. Living in this peaceful area is something I don’t want to see changed. Let me know how I can help to prevent this…………………

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