St. Marys hopes to slam brakes on go-kart track

ST. MARYS - City officials will look into whether they can remove a private go-kart track on Celina Road by enforcing part of the city's zoning code that bans accessory uses of property.

During a Monday meeting of the city's streets and sidewalks committee, officials discussed possible action regarding to the controversial go-kart track built by Aaron Myers at 1770 Celina Road.

City law director Zach Ferrall said the zoning code states citizens cannot use property for uses for which it was not designed. He believed officials could argue that a go-kart track was beyond the intended uses for a front yard. Committee members requested he investigate further whether the city could address the track through that rule.

Committee member John Bubp told Myers, who was in attendance, that he'd personally had several people confront him about the track. People were most upset about the track's appearance. If it were in the country, he doubted it would bother people, but it is in a front yard of a city house. With people calling city officials about the track, they needed to address it, he said.

Myers replied that if appearances were the issue, he intends eventually to get rid of the hay bales lining the the track. He would plant flowers and put in a wall, which he believed also would help address safety concerns.

He's familiar with go-karts, having raced them for about 15 years, he continued. As for concerns about safety, he wouldn't put his child in a situation where he could get seriously hurt. At its core, his track is for family fun, he said.

"Could he potentially get hurt? He could break a finger, yeah. Anything could happen. I could walk outside and slip on the city concrete and crack my head," Myers said.

He doesn't profit from the track, though it could potentially become a small business, he continued. The lot is zoned residential/commercial. People who use it sign liability waivers, and the karts don't go more than 15 mph, Myers said.

Council president Jim Harris said the No. 1 concern he hears is that a kart could go off the track and hit a pedestrian.

Citizens had reportedly questioned whether other facilities - such as BMX courses - would receive the same treatment. Ferrall said it would become a question of whether it was an accessory use of the front yard.

"Our zoning says you're not supposed to have accessory uses of a yard, it's supposed to be a yard. The question is when does it become a kid riding their bike around a tree as opposed to a track with ramps and hills," Ferrall said. "I think we can argue relatively easily under the law that because of the improvements to the yard to make it an actual track, it's an accessory use. It's not being used as a true front yard."

Committee member Jim Christman said he had no issue with people using their property the way they want to use it, but he did have an issue with something being used in an unconventional manner that potentially causes unintended issues.

"The concern I have is just, is it appropriate for that location? If it was in a backyard, you didn't have a state route running by it, I don't think we would even be here discussing it," he said.

McGowan said he'd heard people complaining the track could lead others to make unconventional use of their yards, which would devalue their properties. He believed that was an infringement of people's rights.

Ferrall first suggested the city could create legislation that would require licenses for such tracks, which Myers protested.

"So you're going to take away my rights and sell them back to me? The right to do with as I wish with my property, which I pay taxes to the city, the county and state," Myers retorted.

Christman said he wasn't sure what the right answer is as it relates to an ordinance or regulations, but people needed to understand that when they live in a community, they don't have absolute freedom.

"Everybody does have a right to do specific things, but it also has to be in awareness of the rights of other people who are around the area, too. So everybody has to have a little give and take in some things. And I don't know how that gets through some type of ordinance or anything like that, but that's what the situation really is," Christman said. "When you're living in a community, you have to be mindful of your neighbors, and they have to be mindful of you."

Christman wondered if a more appropriate area could be used where Myers could operate a track and possibly even expand operations into a business, adding something like the track would be a lot of fun as a legitimate business.

"If we could find a more appropriate location for that, I think everybody here would be for it," he continued.

Myers said he had looked into properties but had found nothing affordable.