by John Matthews
(KNS) October 26 - A second public hearing on the proposed Melbourne Speedway was held Wednesday night at the Brevard County Government Center in Viera, FL. A mixed crowd of over 250 supporters and opponents filled the meeting hall. County Commissioner Sue Carlson hosted the forum.

Melbourne Speedway is a proposed racing complex that will be located west of Interstate 95 off Eau Gallie Road. The complex will include a quarter mile drag strip, 0.4 mile asphalt racing oval, go-cart track, and a road course. The oval track will have a figure eight course as well as seating capacity for 3000 people.

The main topic of conversation last night was the amount noise the track would generate. Nearby residents are worried about property values decreasing due to track operations. Brevard County officials have already taken baseline sound readings at points around the speedway site. Track supporters were quick to point out a noise test done on site and televised on local TV news in which two race cars could not be heard in nearby neighborhoods. In fact, Interstate 95 creates more noise than is normally allowed in residential areas, drowning out the race cars.

Other topics that were briefly discussed included water pollution and road access. For the most part, questions on these topics proved to be nothing more than a short break from more concerns about noise.

Overall, those who spoke at the meeting were evenly balanced between supporters and opponents. It appeared that people in attendance supported the track by a 2-1 margin. This is in stark contract to the October 16 public meeting where supporters outnumbered opponents by 4-1.

As it stands right now, the Speedway developers have up to six months to submit a site plan for their project. When the site plan has been submitted, Brevard County will decide to accept or reject the track. Either side may appeal the decision at that point in time.

No further public hearings are scheduled at the current time. Stay tuned to Karnac.com for all the latest details on the proposed Melbourne Speedway.

-John Matthews

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