SALISBURY — The Rowan County Board of Commissioners voted during its meeting on Monday to table an ordinance amendment that would have set standards for racing complexes. Discussion about the allowable hours of operation and community feedback led the commissioners to move for more time to discuss the changes.

The request to amend the ordinance came after the Mooresville Motorsports Complex, LLC looked to expand its operations at the Mooresville Dragstrip. The proposal submitted by planning staff states that some standards in the current county ordinances may “prove problematic or prevent the site from applying for consideration, e.g. road classification and muffled race vehicles.”

The amendment would create universal standards to create a conditional district for motorsports complexes, which the text defines as a facility that incorporates more than one type of racing activity and is encouraged to include other facilities, such as merchandise stores or restaurants.

Several residents who live nearby the Millbridge Speedway said that they were concerned about the amendment, not because it was happening but because they were worried about some of the language in the text. Pat Blide, who lives near the Millbridge Speedway, said that her concerns were mainly about the hours of operation, lighting, parking and noise.

“The hours of operation listed in the zoning text is specifically alarming. The hours, listed as 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, could literally be during all waking hours of the day. As I’m subject to this type of noise during a substantial part of the year, I can tell you that, whether at home or at work, this type of noise pollution drastically affects my quality of life,” said Brian Shaw, who lives near the Millbridge Speedway.

The proposed allowable hours of operation are 8 a.m. to midnight on Monday through Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday. The lighting states that light shall be located throughout the complex to “adequately light parking and areas of public assembly” but that the light must be angled so that there is no glare spillover onto adjacent properties. The noise requires that the space not exceed the county’s maximum permitted sound levels, which is 70 decibels from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 65 decibels for other hours. The amendment would require a qualified acoustical engineer or firm specializing in sound management to provide a report or study to certify that the site complies with the ordinances.

Chairman Greg Edds said that he also had concerns about the hours of operation, saying that when the issue had come up previously the commissioners had decided on ending operations at 10 p.m. on Monday through Friday. Planning Director Ed Muire said that the commissioners should consider that currently, almost all racetracks and complexes are non-conforming uses that predate county-wide zoning.

“Every racing-related place in Rowan County, with the exception of the Quarter-Midget Association, is generally considered a non-conforming use. What that means is they have no standard, there’s no regulations applied to them at all,” Muire said.

Muire also told the commissioners that the ordinance amendments would place the racing complexes in a conditional district usage in a commercial, business or industrial zoning. That means that the property the complex would be placed on would have to be suitable for a CBI location, such as being near pre-existing CBI districts or being placed along a major highway. Once that requirement is met, the request for a conditional district would be brought before the commissioners, who could place conditions on it that go above the standards being laid out in the amendment if they felt it was necessary for the public good.

Edds said that he was not necessarily concerned with the amendment in relation to the Mooresville complex, as it was almost entirely businesses nearby. However, he said that he was concerned about how the ordinances could spill over to the rest of the county’s communities.

“There’s a lot here to consider and we want to consider the ramifications of changing the ordinance and what it’s going to do for the rest of our community,” said Edds.

At the end of the discussion, the commissioners voted unanimously to table the amendment until their next meeting, which will be at 3 p.m. on March 4.