Motocross developers sue to build track

By Holly Prestidge

Published: December 6, 2008

The group seeking to build a motocross park in King William County hasn't given up.

Andrew M. Condlin, the lawyer for KW Morrison LLC, said yesterday that an appeal was filed in King William Circuit Court.

Speaking on behalf of the partners, Condlin said the appeal asks the court to overturn last month's decision by the county's Board of Zoning Appeals that KW Morrison needs a neighboring landowner to agree to be on its application for a conditional use permit.

The board agreed with County Attorney Mac Chenault that to build the park, KW Morrison needs adjacent landowner Judith Gwathmey on the application because her land contains the dirt-road easement the group uses to access its 327-acre property.

The sites are about 4 miles west of Central Garage off state Route 30.

KW Morrison was deeded use of the dirt road when it bought the property in 2007. It did not, however, include the easement in its August 2007 application for a conditional-use permit, so it was deemed incomplete by the planning staff and later, Chenault.

At the October hearing before the zoning board, Condlin argued, however, that the conditional-use permit should only apply to the land, not the easement that's used to get there, so it should not require Gwathmey's inclusion.

Gwathmey's and KW Morrison's properties are zoned the same -- agricultural conservation.

Chenault said he hadn't seen the appeal, but feels the board "would continue to support its position" that the application needs Gwathmey's approval. He said the county could appeal a Circuit Court decision that rules in KW Morrison's favor.

Gwathmey said KW Morrison partners told her more than once, after the initial public concerns arose in January, that they were working on new plans and would work with her to get the park built.

"They have yet to speak to me, or present any plans to me," she said, calling them "combative rather than diplomatic" in this situation.

"This is not a neighbor, a developer, you want in your community," she said. "We have the law on our side, and at three different levels," referring to Chenault, the zoning board, and its lawyer, Roger C. Wiley.
Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or .