UPDATE: Neighbors Manage to Ban Drifting at Altamont Speedway
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors will decide today whether or not to uphold a decision to allow drifting at Altamont Motorsports Park.
The Alameda County East Board of Zoning adjustments ruled 2-1 in March that both drifting and overnight recreational vehicle camping are acceptable activities at the speedway, and that drifting is an acceptable form of motorsports. A group of track neighbors called Community for a Better Altamont appealed the decision, putting all drifting events on hold until today’s hearing.
Drifting, widely popularized in the 2006 film “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” has long been unfairly associated with crime and what the California Highway Patrol dubs “sideshows,” said Al Lagura, executive director of San Jose-based Driftbattle.
“We’re trying to do track events to keep kids off the street,” said Lagura, whose organization had to hastily change Altamont events from drifting to autocross, a similar form of racing. “All I can think is that they’re just trying to profile us on this whole situation.”
“If drifting is banned here, where else can they go”
If the board votes against allowing drifting, Driftbattle plans on appealing directly to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lagura said.
Today’s hearing is only the latest in a series of legal challenges the track has faced. Fremont-based Mark Cohen, one of the attorneys for CBA, said that previous issues raised — including building code violations, the legality of the track’s conditional use permit and the legality of the track’s current operations — need to be dealt with before a decision on drifting can be made.
“There is a question of whether they can operate anything now,” Cohen said. “They shouldn’t be allowed privileges before the big question is answered.”
Altamont Motorsports Park LLC CEO and Chairman John Condren said the racetrack, which was extensively remodeled last year to include a figure-8 road course in the infield, has hosted more than 120 drifting events and practices since 2001, and that on Monday NASCAR, who sanctions the track, agreed to extend its sanction to the track’s drifting activities.
“It’s a multibillion dollar industry,” said Condren, who added that if the board chooses to ban drifting Altamont would respect the decision. “It’s a very important part of our business plan.”
District 1 Supervisor Scott Haggerty, whose district includes the track and all surrounding property, said he had told prior owners he wasn’t interested in having drifting at the track. Haggerty added that he did consider drifting a form of racing, and drew a distinction between it and sideshowing.
The racetrack’s 83 acres of property are currently zoned “A” for agricultural use. Under the Alameda County general plan, racetracks are not a permitted use in “A” districts, but a 1996 conditional use permit gave Altamont permission to continue racing. The CUP expired in February 2006, but county officials have allowed the track to continue operations.
Late last year, the track applied to rezone its land from “A” to planned development, which would allow racing as well as extensive construction that is currently prohibited. The county will decide on the rezoning application pending an environmental impact review.
