Some of registered speakers ceded their time to neighbors to allow them to speak beyond the three-minute time limit imposed by the Planning Board. Others, including Tony Gravett of the Granger Group, an organization formed to oppose the track, and attorney Warren Replansky, were granted reprieves from the time constraint and spoke for more than an hour combined, arguing against Alan Wilzig's proposal to pave the 40-foot-wide track on his property located off Post Hill Road near the Taconic State Parkway.

The two-and-a-half hour meeting was adjourned at 10 p.m., but the public hearing was not. More public comment will be heard when the Planning Board continues its review of the proposal on March 9.

While a few residents offered an olive branch, encouraging the board to give Wilzig a chance, the vast majority of speakers requested that the board, in its site plan review of the project, reject outright the millionaire’s request for a recreational use permit to pave his racetrack.

“One man’s personal interests should not come before an entire community’s,” said resident Mary Bartlett.

Wilzig, an avid motorcycle collector, put forth a similar plan in 2007 to construct a paved racetrack on his more than 250-acre property. That proposal was rejected by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals, which ruled the track is not a standard accessory use on a residential property. That decision was upheld in state court.

This time calling it a “recreational use,” Wilzig is seeking to pave the track so that he can ride his Ducati motorcycles there. A Ducati is a classic Italian motorcycle that is meant to be driven on streets. They are not considered safe to ride on dirt.

Citing a court ruling, Wilzig neighbor Diane Rodriguez said, “It clearly states that if a use is not listed—and 64 uses are listed—it [the track] is not a permitted use.”

The negative impact the plan would have on property values in the town was a common theme among speakers. “Everybody living within five miles or maybe more . . . will have their property values decreased by 50 percent or maybe more,” said Realtor Robinson Leach, who based his statements on his experiences selling property in Lakeville, CT, which is home to Lime Rock Park. “There have been homes for sale for as long as five years near Lime Rock.”

Harriet Shur said it won’t only be the neighboring property owners who will pay for the track if it were permitted. Shur predicted that the diminished property values near the Wilzig compound will shift the tax burden to residents throughout the town.

Residents also decried the impact on community life the track would have. “There is no doubt that it will forever change the rural character of our town and forever open the door to new development,” Shur said.

Bartlett said efforts by Wilzig to limit noise by the creation of berms and other barriers have had little or no effect. “We heard it [noise from the track] in 2006 in its [the track’s] dirt form, 2007 and 2008 in gravel form, and nothing has changed,” she said.

José Rodriguez, who moved to Taghkanic from Long Island 19 years ago, said he did so to get away from noise pollution. “I got me a nice piece of land and now someone will be racing motorcycles in my backyard,” he said, noting that he can see the track’s berms from his kitchen window.

“We think it’s clear by application [of zoning standards] . . . the impact of the racetrack on the neighboring community must be of utmost concern,” said attorney Warren Replansky, who said he was representing the Granger Group and other concerned Wilzig neighbors.

Several speakers also questioned the health impact the track would have on residents. “The harmonics in an engine emit noise that can’t be heard. The noise you can’t hear, according to studies, can be the most destructive. The inner ear can be destroyed,” said Bill Sinclair, a town resident and retired New York City detective who said he specialized in engineering for the police department. He also is a self-proclaimed racer of all types of vehicles. He said the harmonics produced by engines have the greatest impact on young children and animals—especially farm animals and pets, who can’t escape the pain inflicted by the noise vibrations.

Tony Gravett said the topography of the land where the track is located increases the noise impact on neighbors. Specifically, he said, the track is on a high point of the land, and a body of water located east of the track serves to amplify the noise. Racing on the track, he claimed, would create at least 77 decibels of noise and at worst 90 to 92 decibels. “Seventy-seven decibels severely interferes with communication. To carry on a normal conversation without shouting, people would have to be face to face and no more than a foot away,” Gravett said.

Yet another concern voiced by residents was enforcement of the town’s regulations and decisions. “The track is illegal, and your zoning officer should have required its removal,” said attorney Replansky. “There hasn’t been a lot of enforcement of Mr. Wilzig’s racetrack . . . as a result of that, we have no confidence that any requirements by the town or self-imposed by Mr. Wilzig will be enforced,” he added.