Complaints about track noise are more of a hum than a roar

SALISBURY — The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) held an unusual meeting Tuesday, April 19 — a meeting billed as a “workshop” — on the question of noise from the Lime Rock Park racetrack and the effect on residents of the village.The bulk of the two hour and 46 minute meeting was devoted to remarks from the standing-room only crowd at Town Hall. P&Z Chairman Michael Klemens started off by saying the meeting was not to discuss whether the track should continue to exist, but to address the complaints from residents about noise and, to a lesser extent, traffic.P&Z attorney Charles Andres was on hand to address legal issues.Georgia Blades, who is CEO of Lime Rock Park, began by pointing out that the facility operates under the terms of a 1959 court injunction that defines the hours of operation and noise limits, and that the town’s zoning regulations incorporate the terms of the injunction. She said that the Skip Barber Racing School at the Laguna Seca racetrack in northern California operates in a campground that has noise limits, and that the noise at Lime Rock Park is lower than at Laguna Seca.Blades said that, in the past three years, noise at Lime Rock Park has decreased, for a variety of reasons. For example, she said, fewer cars are coming for car club events, and there are now restrictions introduced by the track and the Skip Barber Racing School. On balance, Blades said the track is quieter. Later in the meeting, Skip Barber pegged the overall noise reduction at 30 percent.Dan Bolognani, a Lime Rock resident who works in sales and marketing at the Interlaken Inn in Lakeville (a popular place to stay for visitors to the track), said he did not consider the sound of the track a significant problem. He described it as “a hum.”Bolognani drescribed the sound of the track “as the sound of prosperity in my mind.” (This remark prompted some good-natured groans and an “Oh, brother.”)Bolognani also said he found it affordable to buy a home in Lime Rock because of the track and concluded,“If we’re going to take a good neighbor to task, I sure don’t want to be the black sheep.”Klemens responded immediately to that. “Nobody’s taking the track to task,” he said.Martha Miller, who lives across the street from the track on Lime Rock Road, said she has measured the noise on her porch at 92 decibels — a level she finds unacceptableTerry Dunne, owner of a bed and breakfast (A Meadow House) at 67 White Hollow Road, said that in six years none of her guests has complained about the noise. “All we hear are little tire noises.”Dunne said that while many of her guests come for the track, members of their families take advantage of other activities in the area. Peter Wolf, a White Hollow Road resident who lives right across from the track entrance, said, “On a big race day I can’t have a conversation on my front lawn. It seems to me reasonable to try and get a handle on the noise. You have to be there when it happens; I can’t describe it.”Asked by Klemens how he proposed to “get a handle” on the problem, Wolf suggested taking a year or two of sound readings as a start.Klemens then asked Blades if measurements would be useful. She replied that the track takes its own readings, and added that “fewer cars are not a solution. We feel we’ve made a huge effort to reduce it [the noise].“We’re allowed to make noise.”Several people observed that noise levels differ radically because of the terrain, and that on different days, with different weather, the sound of the cars may or may not increase in volume.Overall the pro-track remarks outnumbered the complaints about noise by about three to one.Klemens kept steering the meeting toward suggestions for solutions. John Steinmetz, who said he moved to town six years ago because of the racetrack, said he was surprised by complaints but suggested finding ways to further deaden the sound where it affects people — additional trees and shrubs, for instance. Steinmetz pointed to a track in Lake Geneva, Wis., as an example of what can be done.David McArthur said that for him the noise level varies, from loud to a constant hum. He suggested looking at erecting sound barriers or “something environmentally friendly.”“Today was an open muffler day. If you don’t think it’s loud, come to Lime Rock.”Barber reinforced Blades’ earlier comments. “In terms of reducing noise we’ve gone as far as we think we can and still have cars come. Let’s see what it sounds like.”He also mentioned that the sanctioning body for the American LeMans race recently mandated a two decibel reduction.Andres, the commission’s attorney, said that the P&Z has no authority to regulate decibels, and because the track predates the establishment of zoning in Salisbury, “even if you changed the zoning, the track could continue.”If neighbors believe the injunction has been violated, the venue for that is a courtroom, Andres continued. He noted that the injuction has been amended three times since 1959.The town could pass an ordinance regulating noise, he said.Klemens sounded a cautionary note, however, noting that, “People have to realize there are decibels everywhere. We don’t want the sound police, we can’t have a noise ordinance just at the track.”The commission briefly considered some changes to the regulations for Lime Rock presented by commission member Jon Higgins, who worked with the Lime Rock Committee ( a group of neighbors concerned about the noise) and the track. (Higgins was not present at the meeting.)But it had been a long meeting and people were running out of gas. Klemens said, “We could do this now...or we could all go home and have dinner,” to general laughter.“One thing is very clear,” Klemens said. “We don’t have the authority to do anything about it.”And Charlie Vail, an attorney who recently retired as the area’s probate court judge, reiterated a point he had made earlier: “A lot of court cases have resolutions. They may not satisfy all parties on all points, but you can build on it.”