Plans for park in 'legal limbo'

This article was published in the Country Courier.


The King William Circuit Court is a deciding factor for whether or not Governors Run Sports Park is built in King William County.

A Hanover-based corporation, KW Morrison, LLC, plans to put the motocross park on land along Route 30, about four and a half miles west of Route 360 in King William County.

The land is zoned agricultural conservation. KW Morrison has been thinning trees and doing other preparatory work for months.

“They’re right behind me. I can hear them,” said Diana Jones-Walsh, a King William resident who owns adjoining land and opposes the park.

The easement KW Morrison uses to access its land is property of Judith Gwathmey.

In November 2008, the King William Board of Zoning Appeals decided that KW Morrison needed to include Gwathmey on the application for a conditional use permit because of the location of the easement.

KW Morrison filed an appeal in King William Circuit Court which should be heard within the next couple of months, said Daniel Wright, a member of the King William County Board of Supervisors.

In the meantime, plans are still moving forward, said Marshal Campbell, one of the owners of the park.

KW Morrison chose the site because of the increasing number of participants in motocross and similar sports in the county and because there are no sports parks nearby.

Some residents got together last year and formed Citizens for King William County to address issues like this by keeping the public informed and protesting certain matters.

“We’re trying to educate the community as to negative environmental impacts that the motocross will have,” said Perrin Gower, who works with Citizens for King William County by helping to oversee the meetings and get the word out.

He said one of his concerns is ground water contamination from spilled fuel, whether spilled accidentally or as the result of a wreck.

Jones-Walsh, who also works with Citizens for King William County to inform the public, said she doesn’t think the chosen location is the right place for a motocross park.

“I think it’ll be too much traffic on a small road,” she said, adding that the curve in the road at that location will only make it worse. She also said that she is concerned about the noise level.

Campbell said that the corporation is taking steps to avoid these problems.

“We have secured the services of various professionals to detail the best practices to follow to protect our property and the environment,” he said in an e-mail.

Campbell also said the park will incorporate features to minimize sound transmission beyond their property lines.

“We have made many changes to our original plan, to address concerns that have been brought to our attention … ,” Campbell said. “We have also received numerous great suggestions from citizens that we have incorporated into our planning.”

Gower, Jones-Walsh and others in opposition to the park hold meetings, write letters and articles, and hand out fliers in the county.

“We need to keep the issue in front of the community,” said Jean Girves, who sends out newsletters for Citizens for King William County via e-mail.

On their Web site, the group asks people to contact the county board of supervisors in opposition to the motocross park. The motocross park also asks for help from the citizens on their Web site.

The board so far has been indifferent, said Gower, but citizens have generally been anti-motocross.

Campbell said many citizens have supported the efforts to build the park.

“The number of those supporting our project continues to grow as more people learn what motocross is, and of our desire to bring a high-quality, family-friendly sports park to the area.”

Wright said he has received hundreds of phone calls and letters to state opposition to what he thinks is the most controversial subject in his four years of being on the board.

“I’d say close to 700 people have contacted me,” he said. “I haven’t heard much on the other side saying ‘we want it.’”

What people don’t seem to understand, Wright said, is that there isn’t anything the board can do right now.

“As of today, it’s in legal limbo. Nothing can be done until the judge rules,” said Wright. “The board of supervisor members have not touched it or looked at it.”

The other board members agree. Tom Smiley and Cecil Schools, also on the board of supervisors, said they don’t know any more about the park than other residents.

If the circuit court judge rules in favor of KW Morrison, the corporation may submit an application to the board.