Any precedent elsewhere in the US?
Brad
> From the Chicago Tribune:
>
>CAR GROUP DRIVEN BY COUNTRY CLUB IDEA
>SUGAR GROVE SITE MAY FEATURE ROAD COURSE
>
>By Hal Dardick
>Special to the Tribune
>November 22, 1999
>
>Like other country clubs that dot the Chicago-area landscape, one being
>proposed for Sugar Grove would include a clubhouse, restaurant and
>expansive well-groomed grounds--but no golf course.
>
>The Autobahn Motorsports Country Club would feature a 2.1-mile road
>course, where members would show, run and sometimes race their
>high-performance cars.
>
>"It is the concept of a European no-speed-limit, limited-access road, but
>combined with a country club for family and business," said Barry Tharp of
>Elmhurst, a developer with a passion for cars who, along with partner Mark
>Basso of West Chicago, would build the club.
>
>Tharp and Basso intend to unveil their plan, slated for a site north of
>Aurora Municipal Airport, before the village Plan Commission on Monday.
>
>If they win approval for the first stage, which would consist of about 120
>acres, and the project succeeds, they would eventually expand the club by
>increasing it to 310 acres, building a larger clubhouse with banquet
>facilities and adding additional loops to the road course.
>
>"We want to create something on a scale between Medinah and Butterfield, a
>real clubhouse with a swimming pool, tennis courts, something for the
>whole family," Tharp said. "Our goal is to have the largest road course in
>the country."
>
>The road course would be for people who want the autobahn experience in a
>safe, controlled environment. The facility would offer driver-training
>programs and car club events, including occasional races.
>
>Auto clubs with race courses are popular in England, and there are similar
>facilities in the United States. There are dedicated road courses in
>Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and in Rockton, Ill., just north of Rockford,
>but they don't include clubs.
>
>Although Tharp and Basso are looking at other sites, Sugar Grove is "at
>the top of the list," Tharp said. That's because it's close to a general
>aviation airport, which generates noises louder than a road course would,
>and is only 38 miles from downtown Chicago, he said.
>
>"For those of us who have high-performance cars, the places for us to
>drive them at high speeds in safety are very limited," said Susan Shire of
>Evanston, co-editor of Chicago Scene, the magazine of the Chicago Region
>Porsche Club of America. "To have another road course nearby is very exciting.
>
>"If you've got a car that goes 180 m.p.h., you can't exactly drive it up
>and down Golf Road. One, it's against the law, and two, it's really,
>really dangerous."
>
>"It has the potential to reach an enthusiast market that has grown with
>the rebirth, if you will, of performance as one component of today's
>automobile," said George Bovis of Elmhurst, chairman of the board of the
>Sports Car Club of America. "There's been a rekindling of the world's love
>affair with the automobile."
>
>The developers approached the village in January, and trustees said they
>had no immediate objections, but wanted more details.
>
>"Monday will be the first night we will see more of the plan," said
>Trustee P. Sean Michels. "It seemed, in concept, that it was a better use
>than (something else that) could go there."
>
>The area is zoned for manufacturing. "It could be a distribution center
>with trucks going in and out, and we wouldn't be able to do a thing about
>it," Michels said.
>
>Village Administrator John Morris said only "street-legal vehicles" would
>use the facility, which would not have stands for spectators.
>
>"We've stressed to the developer that there would have to be significant
>berming to try to reduce the noise," Morris said.
>
>"The door is open. The village is interested in the project."
>
>Airport Director Robert A. Rieser said the road course would not interfere
>with airport operations.
>
>"I've talked to the proponents of the project, and as far as land uses go,
>it's more than compatible," he said.
>
>In fact, if the project is approved and Tharp and Basso go forward with
>the second phase, some of it could be built on airport-owned land. Plans
>for a second phase include a classic-auto museum to complement the
>airport's Air Classics Museum.
>
>"The property is adjacent to and actually intermingled with the Aurora
>Airport," Tharp said. "Our impact will actually be less than what's
>already there in terms of noise."
>
>"It's an ideal location," Bovis said. "It's a good plan, and I believe it
>will be successful."
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Bradley Lamont
email: lamont@mailhost.org
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