Neighbors decry St. Michael property owner’s motocross track

After a handful of summers listening to dirt bikes whip around a track a few dozen feet from her backyard, Tina Tanchin has decided she has had enough.

So has neighbor Roger Hanson.

The two residents of the Frankfort Hills development, located in the extreme southern portion of St. Michael near County Road 34 (Beebe Lake Road) approached the St. Michael City Council Tuesday with a formal complaint against property owner Judd Billings’ motorcross track, which has sat on his property for more than a decade.

The dispute isn’t new. Billings and Hanson have both been into regarding the issue.

Hanson and Tanchin argue that the noise pollution and the amount of dust raised by the motorbikes is enough to violate city ordinances in place.

Billings is hoping he can keep the track, which he said sits on a portion of his land that cannot be developed (there is a city moratorium on development on properties with rural water service) and he does not use.

“I built this years ago for my kids,” he said. “As they’ve gotten older, the bikes have, of course, gotten bigger. So that’s the problem.”

While Billings, himself, doesn’t ride, it’s not the first neighborhood project he’s started. He’s also built a dasher-board system for a hockey rink on his property – an old farm that predates the Frankfort Hills development. He’s also helped build the small baseball diamond that’s visible to the thousands of drivers that use County 34 each day.

“He’s done a lot for the kids in our neighborhood,” said Brian Friede, Billings’ neighbor. “I used to ride on the track often. It’s not like it’s used everyday. This is a part-time thing. I’m guessing there are about five kids in the neighborhood who use it regularly.”

But, Tanchin said, that’s enough to make it impossible to enjoy life in the suburbs – enjoying a glass of wine on her deck or just working in her yard.

“There are days we feel like we’re prisoners in our home. We can’t have the windows open on some nights when we’d like to. The question is, if this track was in a development like the Preserve or the Highlands, would it be O.K.? I don’t think so,” she said.

Tanchin presented the council with a two-hour video of clips she collected, showing the riders, noise and dust. Hanson presented attorney and friend Jim Knutson of Plymouth, who said the track not only violates the city’s R2 residential development zoning laws, but even state codes enforced by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Resident John Patnode, whose nephew, Tim, formerly lived in the Hanson’s current home and helped build the track, said the motocross track is a welcome diversion for kids who “could be doing something else.”

“They’re not drinking. They’re not out doing drugs. You know where your kids are,” he said.

The meeting, at times, got tense as the two sides tried to address each other. Tanchin told the group defending the track, including Billings, she was sorry that it had gone this far. The group in back shot back with comments, and Tanchin began to get defensive.

“Tina, you’re talking to us now. You need to look up here,” Zachmann said, trying to regain control.

Tanchin went so far as to question the council’s oibjectivity, since Zachman rides a motorcycle and Joe Marx is a motorsports enthusiast.

“I’m worried now. That’s a concern for me as you look at this issue,” she said.

Zachman and Marx assured her they could put personal feelings aside and look at the issue objectively.

Looking to diffuse the argument, City Administrator Bob Derus set up a demonstration for Monday, Aug. 1, when the council can come and watch riders use the track, and the effect on nearby residents.

“The thing is, I’ve seen it, but I’ve never seen or heard a bike on there,” Marx said. “I’d like to see that first.”

City Attorney Dave Lenhardt said he would look over materials to see what, if any city ordinance or Minnesota statutes the track might violate. If there are legal ramifications of the track, the neighbor vs. neighbor issue might be a moot point, and the track would be doomed.

“We’ve tried to get the neighbors to talk to one another,” Zachaman said, referring to a meeting he had with Hanson and Billings back in November. “That obviously hasn’t worked. So, here we are. This is where the council needs to now step in and deal with it.