gridlore | Some people just ask for mocking...

Racetrack, neighbor in a heated fight

Helicopters buzzing overhead, rock music pounding late into the night, blinding floodlights and really loud cars -- this is the nightmare that has come true for Mark Rivard, owner of a brand new dream home on a hilltop overlooking the Altamont Motorsports Park raceway, of all places.

"I'm living under conditions you wouldn't let a rat live under," Rivard said. "It's been horrible."

It all started a couple of years back when Rivard, president of Placement Pros, a job recruitment service in Pleasanton, started building his multimillion-dollar home on a 57-acre plot he purchased in 1999 on the rural eastern edge of Alameda County.

Never mind that the property line was just 120 feet from the edge of the racetrack.

As far as Rivard was concerned, the track was a minor annoyance worth enduring in exchange for the enjoyment he, his wife and two daughters expected from living in a rustic outpost and dealing with a relatively short commute.

"It's an awesome, beautiful place,'' Rivard said, "and we are outdoors people."

Besides, the Altamont track -- best remembered as the site of the 1969 Rolling Stones concert that ended with a Berkeley teenager being stabbed and stomped to death by the Hells Angels -- looked to be on its last wheels after a series of ownership changes. Rivard even hoped to buy it and shut it down.

But he didn't get the chance, and in May the guy who did buy it brought Altamont back to life in a very big way -- with a $1.8 million face-lift and regular weekend nights for stock car, motorcycle and truck races. Even NASCAR competitions.

Suddenly, Rivard and some of his two dozen or so neighbors scattered within a couple miles of the track were on the phone to the county and anyone else who would listen to their complaints. A community meeting was quickly convened with the new owner at a hotel in nearby Tracy.

From all accounts, it didn't go well. The owner, John Condren, who is also looking to open a major speedway complex in Merced County, made it clear he had big plans for the Altamont track -- including an expansion to accommodate drag racing.

When Rivard vowed to fight, according to his attorney, Mark Cohen, he was warned, "We got more money than you -- and we are going to bury you and outspend you."

Rivard, however, is not without resources. He has spent $20,000 on lawyers and sound experts, and he and his neighbors have gotten a number of regulatory agencies breathing down the track's neck.

The county health department sounded the alarm over noise, and the state Department of Fish and Game warned that the added lighting and traffic could endanger the native San Joaquin kit fox and California tiger salamander.

Rivard and his neighbors also began logging in noise complaints to the Sheriff's Department. And they're threatening to go to court to get the track shut down for allegedly being out of compliance with the area's agricultural zoning.

All of which brings us to a couple of weeks back when, according to Rivard, somebody at the speedway turned megawatt spotlights on his house late into the night.

The next afternoon, stark naked Rivard got out of his tub to see a helicopter full of gawkers that had taken off from the racetrack, buzzing right outside his bathroom window.

Deputies showed up, but told Rivard there was nothing they could do -- controlling airspace wasn't in their jurisdiction.

Even after the races were over that day, Rivard says, the track cranked up rock 'n' roll on the sound system to full blast. Then the helicopter came back, and the spotlights clicked on again.

When sheriff's deputies finally arrived at 1 a.m., the lights were still shining.

"I couldn't make this stuff up," Rivard said.

Jeanne Harper, Condren's wife and spokeswoman for his racing business, declined to comment, saying only that the Altamont track is "operating with the approval of the county.''

Sheriff's deputies said the fight seemed to be headed toward civil litigation. They, too, preferred not to comment.

As for whether a savvy businessman like Rivard -- who boasts of having 7,000 employees nationwide -- should have known better than to build right next to a motor speedway?

"I have rights,'' Rivard said.

After meeting with Rivard and his lawyers last week, Alameda County officials have promised to investigate his complaints. They also said they have temporarily set aside plans for issuing a new operating permit for the raceway until a complete environmental review is conducted.

But county Supervisor Scott Haggerty, who represents the area, isn't very sympathetic.

"If people move close to a horse stable, they should be prepared to smell the manure,'' Haggerty said. "If they buy a house next to a racetrack, they should be prepared to hear cars racing."

What kind of moron buys property right next to a race track and then is shocked when there's, y'know, loud cars and music coming from the racetrack? Altamont is a local landmark, and trust me, in a fight between a revenue generating attraction and some millionaire in his McMansion, bet on the attraction.

This is like buying a house a mile from an airport then demanding that the planes stop flying overhead.

My favorite part? "I have rights." I'd love to see where this jerk thinks his choice to live next door to a racetrack (that has been there for forty years) trumps the rights of the business owner and race fans. He thought the track was going to close? Too bad, dude, you were wrong. Now go cry me a river.

It's just this sort of arrogant prick that I love to see get his due.

Some people just ask for mocking...

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