Antelope Valley

photo by Chris Glass

A year ago we reported on a proposed racetrack (Fairmont Butte Motorsports Park) near the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. In the past year Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission votes have been repeatedly delayed. The main reason for the delays is concern by Los Angeles County over water usage in the Antelope Valley, not only by the racetrack but the many other construction projects being proposed. Encouragingly, during this time period the Antelope Acres Town Council, which has advisory authority over the area, has reversed its position from supporting the racetrack project to opposing it. One of the concerns with the EIR was that sound tests were inadequate. New tests have been proposed but it is not certain that they will be conducted. Opposition to the racetrack has been growing spearheaded by the Poppy Reserve / Mohave Desert Interpretative Association (PR/MDIA) and the Antelope Valley Group of the Sierra Club. The next Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission meeting scheduled to vote on this project is set for 9:00 a.m. on December 15, 2010, at 720 W. Temple St., Los Angeles 90012. If approved by the Planning Commission, the project will go before the Board of Supervisors for final approval. For more information, please visit the Save the Poppy Reserve website.