Originally Posted by
my letter to the commissioners
Dear Commissioners,
Hello, my name is Emily Covi, and though I am a Clarke County resident, I thought it important to write to you about the rumored rezoning of the area around Road Atlanta. Personally, I have been going to events hosted at Road Atlanta since I was about 4 years old, as my father is a motorsports enthusiast. Some of my fondest childhood memories are sitting with my dad at SCCA events, watching the cars fly through the curves (and occasionally into the sides of the curves), finding out why a driver would position himself where he was, etc. And I know I wasn't the only child there with my parent(s). Road Atlanta is a great asset to not only the Hall County community, but also to Georgia, and even the Southeastern US. It is one of the best road racing courses in the country, and I know that at the various events I've been to, I've seen entire families and extended families come down for the festivities. Whether it be the American le Mans series, drawing out thousands of fans and large companies, to a small SCCA sponsored race, I believe that Road Atlanta is an important part of Georgia that needs to be preserved. As I got older and started developing my own interest in cars and motorsports, I continued to attend SCCA events. I met people in my age group there, and now most of my friends are people who I met at the track. Road Atlanta is involved with the community and the future community, and by hosting family friendly events, I believe that the venue is doing its part to save our next generation. And yes, I did say save. With all of these flashy car movies coming out, kids are trying to replicate the wild stunts and reality bending driving styles they see on the big screen. I personally have had to endure the pain that goes along with losing friends due to their bad driving decisions, but also the bad driving decisions of others. I believe that by hosting community events, Road Atlanta is helping to teach younger people that while those driving styles are possible to perform, it takes practice to do them properly, and that the street is not a proper place to do them. By rezoning the area surrounding Road Atlanta to a residential code, I believe that Hall County is making a big mistake. People will move in, and will inevitably start complaining about the noise. Eventually, noise ordinances will be instilled, and the track will be further and further limited by residential restrictions. I did some research, and last year alone, Road Atlanta brought in approximately 53.5 million dollars of revenue for your county. 27% of your tourism income was from a single venue. If the area around the track is rezoned, everyone will lose. Hall County will lose revenue, residents who would potentially move in will be unhappy about the noise from the track, and the country will lose one of the few well designed road racing courses on our side of the pond. So I ask you, as a single enthusiast, to please consider me, my friends, and the thousands of other people who spend so much time and money at that track, and deny the rezoning request.
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