A Maryland father has enraged his neighbors by building a half-mile go-kart track for his motorsports-loving son on their 11-acre property.
Charles Siperko, CEO of KCS Roofing in Columbia, Md., began constructing the practice course for his 11-year-old on his property in the Highland Community of Howard County in August, but was quickly met with disapproval and pushback from disgruntled community members.
“My 10-year-old son eat, breathes, and sleeps motorsports. His passion holds the seeds of a future professional car-racing career, but it’s not an easy journey,” Siperko said in an Aug. 28 Change.org petition.
The now-11-year-old thrill-seeking preteen has been on the track every weekend for over a year and a half but has had to travel to Florida to practice, missing out on time with friends, family, birthday parties and other social events, the petition said.
“He misses it all for his single-minded pursuit of becoming a professional racer,” Siperko added.
Siperko claimed he invested over $100,000 into creating the practice course at home to help his son follow his dreams of racing during the warm months in Maryland.
The asphalt track features a long straightaway that edges up against a private driveway shared by two properties, along with S-turns, tight corners and a complete 360-degree circle, photos shared by Siperko and his wife, Sarah Troxel, captured.
Siperko and his family faced several legal obstacles and had construction halted by the county while building the course.
Issues arose when it was discovered that proper permits weren’t obtained through the county and the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Neighbors also raised issues with the destruction of wetland, noise, impact on property value and traffic issues on the roads in the neighborhood with complaints that the track can be seen by the public.
The property sits on a private driveway 1,000 feet off the main road, blocked by trees and brush, 23 miles north of Washington, DC, satellite images show.
Siperko claimed he didn’t know he had to obtain permits to build the course on his property, saying he was either “naively or stupidly” unaware and believed the asphalt company that said a permit wasn’t needed if the pavement wasn’t going to attach to a public road.
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The family has retroactively filed for a conditional use application, asking the county to classify the track as an “athletic facility,” and has enlisted the assistance of land attorney Sang Oh, the Baltimore Fishbowl reported.
To fight the noise complaints, Siperko said only electric motors would be used and the go-karts will only be driven during “certain reasonable times.”
“We have an 11-acre property, so I don’t see noise being an issue anyway,” he said.
Some neighbors say they weren’t concerned with the noise of the engines, but rather the effects the tires have on the surrounding area as microplastics could be shed into the wetlands, according to the outlet.
“When we moved into the home, we received a previously done environmental study that stated there were not wetlands in that field. We also had someone from MDE out for another complaint that confirmed that,” the family attested.
Advocates calling for the removal of the track attended a pre-submission community meeting on Oct. 24 to discuss the impact the private track could have on the community.
Siperko and Troxel called for assistance from the public to protect their son’s passion for the sport.
“We need your support to affirm the validity of this track and aid us in facing current disputes with some local residents. It’s not just a track, it’s a testament to a boy’s dedication and love for racing,” the petition added.
“Even if we fix any setback issues or wetlands issues, and generate less noise than a bunch of kids playing in a pool, they want the whole track ripped out simply because they don’t want to look at it or have it in ‘their neighborhood!’”
