NORTH ADAMS — Over objections to noise, a popular motocross track beside Southview Cemetery received permission to stay open one hour later and to open on any two weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Nearly 2,000 people signed an online petition in support of the track’s request.
The track owners explained they want to extend hours to be open for people in school and parents who work. They also asked to expand the weekdays they are allowed to operate to better accommodate the weather. A rainy July last summer proved difficult, owner Jessica Langenback said.
City Councilor Marie Harpin said she went to a funeral at Southview Cemetery and she couldn’t hear the priest over the noise at BRO MX on South State Street.
“It was probably one of the most disrespectful things I’ve seen in my life,” she said.
The original permit said racing had to stop during funeral services.
The owners told the board Monday that they abide by that rule, and Lindsay Lincoln, a representative from Flynn & Dagnoli Funeral Home, said that the owners have always been responsive to their requests for funerals.
“They’ve never given us grief about stopping,” Lincoln said.
Board Chair Brian Miksic told the owners to reach out to other funeral homes.
“It is part of your original permit guidelines,” he said.
Extended hours
By the time Kevin Poirot leaves work at General Dynamics in Pittsfield, there isn’t a lot of time for him and his kids to get to BRO MX before it closes at 6 p.m.
Extending the hours “would be huge for us,” Poirot told the Planning Board. “Just like any stick and ball sport, we need a place to practice too.”
A student at McCann Technical School said it is hard for him to make it to the track with enough time to practice after school.
“I think extending the hours would be a very good thing for the community,” he said.
Others who use the track and work during the day or bring their kids there also spoke in favor of the change.
A number of people who live nearby asked the board not to extend its hours because of noise, such as Sue Kirby, who lives on West Shaft Road.
“During the day I hear the track all the time,” she said. “It is very annoying.”
Richard Zona said he has made noise complaints to the city about the track.
He described the noise as “absolutely unbearable” — and asked the board not to allow the hours extension.
“I’m opposed to any extension of the hours based on the fact that this is a noise nuisance,” he said.
Miksic also said that a noise review done around the time the permit was originally approved in 2015 found that the bike noise did not violate a city noise ordinance.
“Just because you can hear it doesn’t make it a nuisance,” said owner Jason Langenback.
The Planning Board voted 5-1, with Robert Burdick dissenting, to allow the track to stay open until 7 p.m. — an hour later than previously allowed but not as late as the business’ recent request of 8 p.m. The business also asked to be allowed to open any two weekdays instead of restricted to only Tuesdays and Thursdays.
When the season gets underway, a review of the noise will be done to make sure it complies with city and state noise rules.
“I would like some testing done at the facility this spring when they open up,” said Planning Board member Kyle Hanlon.