Land use in Rockingham NC

[Russell]

Copied from ATVNC website. Jeremy has been fighting this fight for a long time now. He has sunk all of his money and time into fighting the county. I have not personally been to his place but I hear it is nice and I hope everything works out for him.




Ok guys and gals, It's time to Get the media involved...
I've written a letter for release to media outlets that Hopefully will get some attention drawn to the Insanity going on in The Rockingham political arena and misappropriate use of authority and position.

My Main reason for releasing this now is That the Planning Administrator of Rockingham county made the statement to me 2 weeks ago at a county meeting, that anyone who has a "track"(track being defined by him as any path with a definitive course used by atvs, dirtbikes, or go karts) will be subject to notice of violation and possible fines... (Which means if you or your children have a clearly defined path that you ride an ATV/Dirtbike/GoKart on, you are not allowed to use it without fear of being issued a notice of violation and possible fines)

THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!!! It's NOT JUST ABOUT SBRC!!! IT IS GOING TO EFFECT EVERYONE IN THE COUNTY AND POSSIBLY HAVE EFFECTS IN SURROUNDING COUNTIES AND FARTHER IF THEY GET AWAY WITH IT!!!!!

PLEASE Copy and paste this to everyone you know, to your local papers, tv stations, radio stations, any forum you are on, any politicians you know...We've got to protect our rights, whats next, you can't have a birthday party for your kids at your house without being rezoned, you wife can't have a tupperware/avon/lingirie party without a special use permit, You can't have a neighborhood cookout without a special event permit....

The Letter:

To Whom it may concern,

My name is Jeremy Kahn, and I'm writing from Rockingham County, NC.

My fiancé and I live on her, ancestral, 64acre former tobacco farm that we have converted to a horse and hay farm. The reason for this letter is there are county staff members and officials who are using Illegal force of their authority and positions to promote their own agendas and personal opinions, and to DENY the lawful rights of citizens within the county.

I race ATVs and have put in (on the non-farmed portions) an ATV/Dirtbike "Track", consisting mainly of trails through the wooded areas, some jumps on an otherwise nonfarmable hillside, and trails around the pastures and fields. We "developed" this for our Own personal use and training, however, many members of the community asked if they could also ride on the "track", and we’ve obliged. Once we saw the need for a recreation area like ours, and the potential for supplemental income, I approached the county planning administrator for direction on making this into a sustainable income source as a potential rural tourist activity (which would require a special use permit, which does exist as "Rural Tourist Activity"), and which is endorsed by the USDA and NCDA as an auxiliary use of agricultural land.

Upon discussion with the PA, he and his staff stated that they would classify this as a "RACETRACK" if we wanted do operate for profit, which would require rezoning to Heavy Industrial Zoning (even though there is NO LEGAL connection between profit and land-use), When we Informed him that this was an active Bona Fide Farm and would not be holding “RACES” without appropriate “Special Event Permits”, he stated that we would still have to rezone as Heavy Industrial to operate for profit. He insisted that we must be classified as a “Racetrack” even though there are NO Timing apparatus, NO start/finish line, NO bleachers/grandstands, NO impervious surfaces, and NO structures. He went on to say that if we did not charge fees or operate for profit that we could ride with no problems from a planning/zoning standpoint. (As stated, By Him, in a letter dated Sept.18, 2007)

Now, through word of mouth, community members, and because I Race across the southeast, (and have many friends across the southeast who also race), it was not uncommon for there to be 20 to 30 of us riding on weekends. Several of my friends have large trailers, with sponsor decals and signage on them, that they haul their ATVs in, and because of this, the Planning Administrator has issued Notice of Violation that we Have Constructed a "PERMANENT RACETRACK FACILITY", and that we cannot Ride our ATVs on the property unless we seek rezoning to Heavy Industrial, which they would recommend to the Planning Board to DENY (We are in a predominantly Residential/Agricultural area). They are, IN FACT, taking the stand that WE CANNOT RIDE OUR ATVs ON OUR OWN PROPERTY, {which is an "Unauthorized Deprivation" of Private Property (Coercion and Interference with Property without Authority of Law)}. Because of this, if I want to train or ride my ATV, I’m forced to drive 100 miles or more one-way, to the next closest riding area similar to ours.

The Planning Administrator has since stated that anyone who has a “Track” (he defines track as any path with a definitive course) on his or her property will face the same enforcement.
(Which means if you or your children have a clearly defined path that you ride an ATV/Dirtbike/GoKart on, you are not allowed to use it without fear of being issued a notice of violation and possible fines)

Now, I understand the purpose of Zoning restrictions and their use as a way of protecting a community from undesirable activity, and would be understanding of Rockinghams stance, if we were located next to a large development or near a school or church, but we are in a very sparsely populated area made up almost entirely of farms and woodlands, predominantly populated by people who own and ride ATV/Dirtbikes. What the county staff has actually done is used their powers illegally to deny a community their ability to participate in a lawful activity in their own community (remember the community is who initiated and requested the “opening for public use” of our land), and Deny individuals the right to use their own land for their own personal use. (By the Constitution, no "power is given, but is absolutely prohibited, both to the executive and the legislative, to deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process of law...." United States v. Lee, 106 U.S. 196, 220 (1882); Tindale v. Wesley, 167 U.S. 204, 217 (1897).

Throughout this, My friends have traveled many miles to come ride at our property, I receive many phone calls on a regular basis from people wanting to come from miles away to ride just because they know somebody who knows somebody that's been there, have had manufacturers/distributors/event organizers, and even nationally published magazines approach me about the riding area because they've heard about it through the grapevine.

Throughout the past 18 months there have been only two sources of complaint concerning our riding, and both of those were people who only recently moved to the area and, self admittedly, think that all atvs and dirtbikes should be outlawed nationwide. Once again, I would be more understanding had these individuals been longtime residents of the community and we just started creating lots of noise, dust, etc. (we create no more noise or dust than farming activities), but both were aware of the activities before either of them moved to the area, and admitted that they thought once they moved in they would be able to put a stop to it (effectively saying, ”We’re going to move into a community and make them change to suit US”)…

My family and I work Full Time Jobs to pay for our land and subsidize our farming and would Love to benefit the county, the community, and be able to pay our bills on time by opening up our area for riding to the general public and recreational tourists (independent and governmental research shows that the average ATV rider spends over $100 per day in the community that they go to ride in and an average of $15 at the riding area). We also would like to start offering ATV safety classes, community/charity fundraisers, and offer our area to county sheriff and rescue services for training purposes

We have no desire to Give up Our Farming, we only wish that we could use the ATV area as a supplement to our income so that we can better provide for our family without having to work multiple full time jobs on top of Farming. But, ONE persons opinion (the PA), that we cannot be classified as Rural Tourism (even though there is statewide precedent otherwise), and the unlawful use of authority by him and his staff, is keeping us from being able to live other than hand to mouth.

We Love Farming and We Love our Farm, but We feel as if the Planning Administrator and his staff are being counter-cooperative in our desire to keep our farm as an agricultural use and also offer a community service that would increase ATV safety, reduce ATV trespassing, offer an additional recreation source for the area residents, as well as help us pay our bills.

Beyond the circumstances of my personal situation, Rockingham County is setting VERY DANGEROUS precedent for the denial of Personal Property Rights Guaranteed by The 5th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and Unlawful use of their positions and authority to deny those rights.

If you are interested in contacting me for more information, please feel free to do so.

Thank You For Your Time,
Jeremy Kahn and Linda Seamans
520 Baynes Rd,
Reidsville, NC 27320
336-453-5272