Laguna Seca Lawsuit: Homeowners Perplexed as Iconic Race Track Materializes Overnight
Imagine the shock if, after moving into your home, you discover that a popular and world-renowned race track had materialized overnight in your general vicinity. The horror. You’d rightfully be confused, possibly even enraged at such a happening, and keen to pursue a lawsuit. Believe it or not, this is exactly the phenomenon that unfolded recently. Based on our deepest reporting capabilities, we can find no evidence that WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca ever existed before 2023.
As expected, this sudden and unexpected conjuring has local residents incensed, as the noise and traffic from the venue came out of nowhere and was a shock to those who had moved into the area over the preceding handful of years. Naturally, residents have banded together to get rid of this nuisance that definitely has not been in the same location since 1957. The group, the Highway 68 Coalition, filed suit against Monterey County, which operates the fledgling track, on December 12, 2023, seeking to curtail racing at the venue.
The lawsuit hopes to target the track by calling into question the track’s zoning laws and lack of explicit racing use being in the track’s permits. The County of Monterey owns the track and spent more than $18M renovating the track surface and installing a new bridge over the front straight in 2023. The track is credited with bringing in about a quarter of a billion in local revenue each year, but the Highway 68 Commission makes a good point, noting that they have, “suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable injury as a result of the continued violation of the Respondents’ zoning laws.”
When reached for comment*, the Highway 68 Coalition was shocked—outraged even—that its mobile phone plan included the possibility of incoming calls.
The appearance of said track, which is suddenly very popular and definitely hasn’t been a staple of the area for almost seven decades, has taken a massive toll on local residents. “I can’t believe it,” said an unnamed real estate agent who recently listed a property just a stone’s throw from the track. “This house sold for $2.5 million seven years ago, long before the race track was there. Today it’s listed for just $4.25 million, we’ll be lucky to sell it for $4.2M.”
It’s almost impossible to imagine such a tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with those unfortunate souls who, through no fault of their own, live just minutes away from the Monterey Car Week festivities.
*We didn’t really call them and don’t much care what those jabronis think.
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Wait is it April 1st already ?
You can’t move into an area where there are known activities already existing and then go to court to say it is disturbing your way of life – what BS !
There are millions of beautiful iconic locations all over the US – pick one where there are no local conditions that disturb your way of life – DUH !
The same thing was tries on Kyalami Johannesburg back in the 80s and the Judge asked the same question shortly before dismissing the case – “who was there first ?”
Fun article and appreciate the lost art of sarcasm.
This is my understanding of Laguna Seca’s status as a racetrack.
The original agreement between the Army and the County of Monterey, for the County to continue “owning” the Laguna Seca track & recreational property, the site’s primary function must be as a racetrack. If that status changes, the property may revert back to the Army. Since the Army doesn’t want to be an owner again, I would imagine the property being transferred to the BLM – like most of the former Fort Ord lands – and becoming part of the existing Fort Ord National Monument. The 68 Coalition would love that, but they are the only ones.
The County (and the big pockets of the regions tourist industry) knows the value of the track and has spent a big chunk of money on recent improvements. The County does not want to lose the track and its revenue generating abilities. Because of this, the County will fight the 68 Coalition all the way.
For Laguna Seca, being a County property is a blessing and a curse. Curse – it’s run (oversight) by local government. Blessing – it’s owned by local government. If it was a privately owned track, its days would be numbered if not gone by now.
What would be helpful & useful, would be for everybody (no matter where you are) who want Laguna Seca to continue to exist as a racetrack, to let the Board of Supervisor’s hear it. They do need to know how valued the track is, to as many people as possible. I have always felt that the track’s operators never really made Laguna Seca seem important, significant, or valuable enough to County’s residents at large. I do understand that it is not an easy task. But in this day and age, racing fans need to fight for places like Laguna Seca to continue to exist.
I am moving next Tuesday [Jan 30 ] to a small northern Ontario Canada town where large nickel mining operations where conducted for decades, but most of the mines are now closed. There are a few still in operation but are at least 20 miles from where my wife and I will be. During the title search my lawyer came up with an easement document from 1955 pertaining to odors and noise that could reach the area of where my new home was built in 1968. This was for a mining company that is no longer in business. So, I think I will let it slide lol. For anyone interested, this area is where the Apollo astronauts practiced the moon landings and moonwalks on what NASA scientist’s expected the surface would be like before the actual events took place.
The same has happened to cattle farms in SC. They build a subdivision next to cow pastures and complain about smell.
I’m 63 years old and have been going to Laguna Seca since I was 10years old. The track was built in 1957. When Fort Ord closed the track as and other facilities were gifted to Monterey county. It has changed names over the years depending on what sponsors want to put there names on the track.
They track goes counter clockwise because some of the cars at the time, like porches 356 and MG.TD could not climb the corkscrew.
The track has always been there since 1957 . If people were stupid engh to buy a house next to a world famous track and now want cry about it. I’m sure you can sell it for more than you paid for it.
They only allow the loudest cars 5 or five weekends a year. The rest of the year we amateur racers are held to below 95db.
The world has bigger problems than crybabies complaining about a place that brings millions to charities and businesses in Monterey county. I can’t afford it but I’d love to live next door to
I was house hunting near Austin, Texas in 2017 and 2018. I ended up buying elsewhere. One of the homes I was looking at was in nearby Cedar Creek. Gorgeous location and definitely could hear the track sounds less than 18 miles away. I imagined hearing night events at Circuit of the Americas. The thought was delightful.
Let’s sue the HWY68 Coalition, per a previous comment…now we are talking. I live here too, and I know summer is starting because I can hear the cars. Especially the Trans Am race, and the Historics. One of the most glorious physical experiences I have ever had was listening to 6 Porsche 911 RSR cars blaze up the main straight…the piercing flat 6 symphony of multiple Wide Open Throttle wailings, phasing and warbling with each other, was so loud in the start/finish grandstands that I had to plug my ears with my fingers. This massive screaming was accompanied by bass tones reaching down to 30Hz and deep into my gut and soul.
I dare anyone to try to take that away from me…;)
Unfortunately, while the satire is appreciated, the HWY68 Coalition, and sadly the lawsuit, is very real.
However, conventional wisdom currently is that the track has “weathered” this before, the rules are very strict and adhered to, the revenue brought to the county far exceeds the property tax (even the value, every year) the Coalition can muster, and the County just this year spent millions to renovate the actual racetrack itself.
Small tracks that don’t bring international attention and money are easy targets for people like the Coalition – World Class venues (for anything that brings international attention and money) usually have the support of the community and local government. We’ll see “how we really feel” when the comment period opens up!!
I agree with Brandon, I think the Penisula should revert to the 1970s, reopen Ft. Ord, reopen the dive bars in Seaside, return Cannery row to its grandeaur of one or two bars and many closed buildings. I am sure people are longing for the days when Motel 6 outside Ft. Ord, was under $20.00, which wasn’t bad for a few hours since no one spent the whole night. Instead of the sound of the racetrack, the artillery ranges at Ft. Ord could be heard, even at night. All those pesky hotels on Cannery Row wouldn’t be there either, nor the Aquarium, the 812 cinema would still be open and probably have the same couches and pillows strewn around. Maybe if you were lucky, all those people at the Naval Postgraduate School could find somewhere else to broaden their horizons and the Defense Language Institute would vacate their flooded wooden classrooms and move to San Antonio. Downtown Monterey and Highway 68 could return to its quiet former self. Ah, the good old days, when the land represented by the coalition still belonged to the federal goverment and was used for military training. Sometimes that training involved blowing things up, so it could be pretty loud…And instead of having a state park along the dunes, there would still be a functioning train and explosives would be stored along the beach in the bunkers. I think tourist business is pretty good business and provides for an excellent taxbase. The nice part about rental car taxes, hotel taxes etc. is that those who are being taxed seldom place any burden on the local community except for roads. They don’t attend local schools, they don’t vote in local elections…they only leave their money. So instead of complaining about 105db, think of it as the sound of money. I can’t wait until August 2024!
I woke up and started my day with a coffee and this headline. The coffee is now on the floor and I’m still laughing on my way the get a towel to wipe it up.
Unfortunately, this is what happened to Bridgehampton. Folks complained, got the track shut down and then many of the complainers used the land for a private golf club.
Maybe when they saw the Corkscrew sign they thought it was a winery.
LMAO Dumber Than Dirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Laguna Seca is an ICON around the WORLD. I watched cars go through the corkscrew for years and was thrilled, not to mention the motorcycles!!! When I built a small sports car worthy of being driven on a track I chose Laguna Seca, built a car hauler, drove hundreds of miles and got all my family to show up. The feeling driving into the corkscrew the first time was breathtaking.
The people who are fortunate to live close to track should pay a privilege fee that includes mandatory attendance to one race of their choice a year. They will shut their mouths once they they their foot out……
I have lived by the indianapolis motor speedway all my life and am blessed, I can’t imagine anyone here complaining about the track as we all appreciate the visibility and income it brings. Granted years ago it was only the month of May, but in the past 30 years they have continued to add events to the point where we have something happening monthly. Hell, IMS is hosting a solar eclipse party in April. People here appreciate the impact IMS brings to indianapolis and the speedway community. Hard to understand why these people don’t comprehend the importance of laguna Seca.
We owned a house in the Monterey hills off Highway 68 for several years. On race days, we could clearly hear the roaring engines. So it came as a surprise that more recent homeowners—many of whom paid millions of dollars for their fancy-dancy places—were unaware of Laguna Seca’s existence.
Perhaps the difference between us and them is we paid a reasonable amount for our home, and we bought it mainly for its privacy and view of the Monterey Bay, not to impress others.
The Highway 68 Coalition has elevated this to a stunning scale on the NIMBY Meter. It appears to have more money than brains, rarely a winning combination.
This is hardly a new problem for race tracks. I live near the former Atco Raceway in NJ, a drag strip that first opened in 1959. Around 1970 a development was built within walking distance of the track’s entrance. As soon as the first residence moved in they started complaining about the noise. Eventually the track was given an eleven o’clock curfew, but that didn’t stop the complaints. This past July the track abruptly closed, though it doesn’t appear because of noise issues. No official announcement has been made but it appears that it will become a vehicle insurance (Copart like) auction. Local residents have mixed feelings about it’s closure. Some are happy the be rid of the noise 3 days a week, 7-8 months a year, while others are concerned about trucks hauling thousands of junk cars through town 6-7 days a week year round, and still others worry about the losses local business’s will suffer.
NJ Motorsports Park has been hassled about noise since they opened 15 years ago. While the track’s relatively new, it’s not really built near any housing. You can’t even hear the cars driving past the track on the road that parallels the Lightening track’s main straight, but that hasn’t stopped the complaints. One local resident, that lives about a mile from the track posted a video on line claiming it was noise from the track, when in it was obviously a sound track from a NASCAR (or similar) oval race dubbed into their video to create a false impression!