Neighbors Want to Shut Down This Maryland Man’s Backyard Kart Track

We’ve seen it time and time again: newly constructed suburbs encroach on the grounds of a racetrack, leading to noise complaints and the inevitable closure of a community staple and local business. A dispute unfolding in Maryland, however, has flipped this situation on its head. Here, a backyard karting track is the new arrival, and the neighborhood in which it sits is petitioning to shut it down before any wheels touch the freshly laid asphalt.

The hubbub concerns a roughly 0.4-mile karting track built in Highland, Maryland, an unincorporated rural community near the middle of the state. According to the source who sent the story in, it was built at the behest of a man whose son competes in karting with the goal of becoming a pro racing driver. Obviously, a backyard track makes practice convenient and allows more crucial seat time for skill development.

But in a scenario that’s the opposite of many track-versus-suburb cases, the track arrived after the residents—and they aren’t happy.

Though the track allegedly hasn’t even been used yet, the neighborhood is petitioning the county to put the kibosh on this karting circuit. According to a transcript of a July 30 planning meeting published in a local Facebook group, they have gotten a stop-work order issued against the property, plus a Notice of Violation and multiple unspecified citations. These injunctions were handed down because—at least according to a Change.org petition opposing the track—its owner did not go through the proper legal process for having it built.

Though the track’s owner was named to us, and we found what we believe to be their social media profiles, our request to hear their side of the story was not answered at the time of publication. Some of the story is revealed in the aforementioned planning meeting though, where the owner was represented by an attorney and a civil engineer (who presumably designed the track) who spoke on their behalf.

According to the transcript, the owner purchased the property in 2016 and has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to have the circuit built. Now aware of how unpopular it is with locals, they have applied for a conditional use permit that’d certify the track only for private, non-competitive use. It would allegedly be driven only by the owner’s son and two of their friends, using only electric karts. Should the track not pass further review, it will supposedly have to be dismantled.

Neighbors remain concerned, however, that the track wouldn’t be used as claimed, and that the enforcement would be left to them. Some allege they’ve also heard talk of a helipad being installed if the karting track is allowed to proceed. They also claim there are problems with the circuit’s design, which is said to have filled in protected wetlands and runs close to property lines. Additionally, the track supposedly runs within 25 feet of said wetlands, which would pose an obvious safety and environmental risk in the event of a major four-off in an electric kart.

It’s difficult to separate some of the opposition’s claims from exaggerated paranoia, such as fears of increased nearby road traffic and speeding through neighborhoods. At the same time, some of their concerns are legitimate, coming from residents of a quiet community that existed long before the track did. It’s a unique situation unlike the kind we often see, where track owners have to fight developers to continue earning a living, and it’ll be interesting to observe how it unfolds.

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