Judge denies temporary restraining order on National Corvette Museum Motorsport Park

Corvette Museum Motorsport Park in August 2014, prior to garage and pavilion construction. Images courtesy National Corvette Museum.

The National Corvette Museum Motorsport Park is quiet these days, as winter has brought an end to track season, even in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Despite the pause, the conflict between the track and its neighbors on Clark Circle isn’t going away, and as the Bowling Green Daily News (via CorvetteBlogger) reports, a Warren County Circuit Court judge has denied a request from area homeowners for a temporary restraining order on the track.

Though the ruling sounds like good news for motorsport fans, it comes at a cost. To settle the matter once and for all, Judge John Grise stated that the court will hear a jury trial between Clark Circle residents and the track, scheduled for the fall of 2016. In the interim, the track is allowed to continue operations, at least once the season resumes in March of 2016.

In October, the track completed the noise abatement berm called for in the original Binding Elements document. Per National Corvette Museum marketing and communications manager Katie Frassinelli, the facility has also installed Acoustifence, a sound absorbent barrier applied to traditional fencing, at various locations around the track’s property. The park continues to work with a sound engineering company Bowlby & Associates to determine the best solution to the noise complaints of Clark Circle residents.

The jury trial was originally scheduled for March of 2016, but area residents requested additional time to prepare their case, delaying the court date until the fall of 2016. At issue is whether or not the park has violated the “substantial increase” noise standard established by the planning commission when approval was granted for the facility’s construction in 2014. Should the park be found in violation, monetary damages, up to the fair market value of each complainant’s property, can be levied.

The track has another court date in its future as well. On December 10, the track will appeal the $100 per day fine issued by the Warren County Code Enforcement Board, issued due to ongoing operations without a certificate of occupancy. Judge John Brown is expected to rule on whether the conditions for a certificate of occupancy have been met, as well as whether or not the code enforcement board has the authority to issue the fine.