Rattray shutting down

No worries, when they are done complaining about everything in Flordia, they'll move on to NC to start the process all over again.

See the housing developments spring up everywhere every day here.

 Cool story Bro, it reads like you are running a scoop tire to holeshot to the front of stupid post's on vital.

Wrong, we don't live there. We live in Indiana, and have a home there for spending the winters. 

I've been thru a lot of Florida and to numerous mx tracks. Which by the way, you're lucky to have so many good ones there.

Florida has plenty of rural areas just like Indiana. The sky isn't falling. 

But back to the topic, as I said The Villages ahad nothing to do with his track closing. He sure didn't help himself when he basically told them to "fuck off". 

Again, thanks for being part of taking up 52,000 acres and counting. Major part of rural  Florida we will never ride again. Maybe if the if the villages didn’t keep buying land, Tyla could have bought some of it and potentially had zero neighbors.

As a transplant to Florida (relocated due to work), this is a rough one and I see both sides. I understand the "you can't just open a business that impacts others" or the "he lied to get a permit, for friends and family but then used it for a business" comments.

However:

- Why did he need a permit for "friends and family" to begin with?

- Why does the neighbors dream of raising cattle out weigh his dream of a private track?

- If he stops his business, can he ride on his track with friends whenever they want?

Aside from a few quotes, there are no facts in the VILLAGE NEWS articles and I'm not sure how anyone can claim he is right or wrong based off what's been shared. 

Ultimately, it's all a money/power grab.

Best of luck to Aldon. 

Google "Rattray sumter permit" and you can find pdfs of his permits and county meeting minutes with specific information beyond Village News reporting.

On a sort of tangent, did Rattray become an American citizen?  I assumed that he was here on an athletic work visa but since he hasn't raced on the AMA circuit in a lot of years, that should have expired. 

Sounds like the rules were “Don’t use the motor cross track.”

Here's the original approval.  Sounds sort of restrictive, but not terrible.  They initially looked past a neighbor's concerns and awarded him a conditional use permit, but it sounds like he thought that the stipulations were actually mild suggestions.  

Microsoft Word - Rattray Order (sumtercountyfl.gov)

Just to be clear: Florida natives means American Indians right? Or do we skip that historical fact and just go to the Spaniards? 

Thank you for the guidance. I searched using another search engine (even after you told me what to search) and those docs never came up. It was a lot to read through but very interesting. Not really sure what to make of it. Did he push the envelope? Yes. Were some things taken out of context? Yes. I would urge everyone to read through the docs for some insight on what can and can't be done. It's a prime example of why you don't share details with people you don't know and why making posts or video's might come back to kick you in the ass. This is an argument I have with my kids all the time. 

You can also find both the original letter approving the minor special use for a private track for personal use and the revocation letter which detail the compliance issues at the link here.  It's pretty cleared he thumbed his nose to existing neighbors and the county throughout this whole process.  As I commented in the previous thread, either very poor judgement, or bad legal advice.  

There is a very big difference between a minor and major special use permit, including the process to get one.  Even in rural agricultural America, a motocross track isn't going to be considered generally accepted use and more often than not, will need special use permit from the county AND hopefully buy off from any affected neighbors that were there before you.  Our rights usually end, when they infringe upon others. 

No offense to rural Floridians, but those are tiny farms if you can even call them that, and neighbors much closer than I experienced as kid riding on the farm in rural Minnesota.  Blessed to be able ride on family land growing up, but we would have not been allowed, or even considered burning in a track so close to a preexisting neighbors home as Rattray built his track.  That's not only common sense, but just being a good neighbor.  Especially one who is apposed to a track.  

For us, that meant generational relationships.  My cousins still have tracks and ride on land today, decades later without issue due to that respect.  

Folks who make the claim that farmers are just as noisy, are obviously not farmers, never been on a farm to understand the fallacy of such a statement.  Or even the frequency of the work done in a field when compared to a track.  

I guarantee you the Baker Factory didn't go to the county and merely ask for a Minor Special Use Permit. I am sure their responses to the county and their neighbors are also different. It's why they are still in business, it's that simple.  

According to the address on the letters from the county, Rattray lives in a very upscale neighborhood that backs up to a golf course.  What if someone bought his neighbors homes and starting raising hogs on a commercial level next door to him?  Would that affect his quality of life, and even the value of his home?  Would his neighbor's "right" to do what ever wished with his land supersede Rattrays expectation of life or investment on a golf course?