Perhaps you’ve heard the term red herring? Its origin is from the training of hunting dogs, where a bait fish is used to distract the dogs and send them in a different direction. A red herring is a distracting, usually emotional argument thrown out during a discourse that sends the listener down a rabbit hole, blurring the facts and obscuring the truth. We’ve got a red herring in this Double Gate ATV matter. We’re calling it out, and directing your attention to the developer behind the curtain.
At the June 17th Board of County Commissioners Hearing, the Commissioners will consider a Land Use Change, Zoning Change and Special Use Permit Application for 240 acres of property in the Farmland Preservation Area, owned by Blitch Plantation (Rudianyn), and intended to be sold to or used by Double Gate ATV Park. It is no secret that we oppose the application along with hundreds of other members of the community who have written in saying so.
Just the fact that this location requires:
- a Land Use Change;
- a Zoning Change; and
- a Special Use Permit;
shows that this location has 3 strikes against it and is not appropriate for the activity.
In recent blogs, we have highlighted the flaws in the application and spotlighted the community opposition.
Double Gate ATV Park is a business that its owner is calling a movement. At Wednesday’s meeting, supporters of this movement will bring a petition filled with names of people from near and far who say that they will come to Double Gate. Some will show up at the Hearing in t-shirts printed for this purpose. Their message is a good one – “At Double Gate, we don’t care about race, color or creed. We all love ATVs. Let us Ride.” Double Gate describes their for-profit business as “safe, legal fun” and an opportunity to enjoy nature. Who can argue against that?
The good news is that nobody has to argue against it.
Double Gate ATV is NOT the applicant. The applicant is Blitch Plantation/Rudianyn – a prominent real estate developer. If Rudianyn obtains the Land Use Change and Special Use Permit, Double Gate will set up shop through some sort of lease or purchase arrangement.
Double Gate is not locked in to the Blitch Plantation location. It is free to find another piece of property outside the Farmland Preservation Area once Rudianyn’s application is denied. This means that you can support the idea of an ATV Park as a valid business and legal family fun AND oppose the location.
So you can say, let them ride – in an ATV-friendly location. There are lots of them all over the County, as we blogged yesterday. You do not need to be against Double Gate ATV Park in order to be against this application for its impacts on the village of Flemington and the Farmland Preservation Area. Your opposition is not a vote against Double Gate, it just tells the Rudianyn organization that it needs to find a more compatible use for the property.
We Need You to Help Keep the Hearing Focused!
We have heard from hundreds of you who don’t want this application to be approved.
What matters most is that the County Commissioners hear your voices and see your faces at the Hearing on June 17th, 2pm.
There will be a distraction. The way to fight it is to keep stating the truth – it’s not the activity, it’s the location.
We know that daytime meetings are difficult to manage for many, so please write in or attend virtually (scroll to bottom of page to see instructions), or both.
If you can make it to the meeting, don’t be alarmed by the t-shirts or the testimonies advocating for the Double Gate movement. It is a red herring. You can choose to hear and affirm the idea of the Double Gate ATV business. You can applaud a resident for wanting to do something that he sees as good for the youth of the community.
We are opposed to any activity that disturbs the tranquility of Marion County. The noise made by a bunch of ATVs will spook the horses and other animals in the area. We recommend that the ATV park be located outside the horse preservation zone.
God bless your diligence.!!!!
This is a precedent that will undermine the Farmland Preservation purpose. Marion County has been marketed as the Horse Capitol for many years. It needs to remain that way. There are many other locations outside the borders that could house the ATV park.
Same Developer behind the private sector end run around the Coastal Connector. He’s the worst.
I’m thrilled to know you are out there, on top of things, and wonderfully articulate!
Keep up the good work, I’m planning on attending
I am opposed to this inappropriate land use in the farmland preservation area. This is a very large piece to have dedicated to a loud, disruptive and incompatible use for a horse farms area. I also I have nothing personal against ATV riding, but this is the wrong location.
From my experience, it’s all about the zoning change. In fact there may never be an ATV park. I don’t know what the developers ultimate plan for this property is but I doubt very much that it is a bunch of dirt trails in the woods. Zoning change becomes a game of incrementalism, if this then that.
In Flemington, we embrace every race, color and creed. We love our peaceful, agricultural community. Let us farm. We don’t need an ATV Park in the farmland preservation area.
As a future resident of Marion County, I oppose the proposal for this type of use in the Farm Preservation area. The peacefulness of the preservation area is what makes Marion County unique and very special. The triple threat of land use change, rezoning and special use permit is the telltale sign that this site is not fit for an ATV park.
Will you guys be selling hats on Tuesday?
We’ll have some with us, for sure.
My husband & I & several neighbors are against this ATV Park. We are more than sure there is an underlying plan. It is not good on several avenues that have been mentioned along with increase crime & probably alcohol/drugs. How long before someone gets a wild hair & decides to paint ball homes, dogs, horses, cars, atvs everywhere but designated areas. We live in a development that should never have been, 1 access road that we maintain, LOTS of flooding, no real drainage..bare minimum was done by the developer YEARS ago to get passed, property was not selling quite the way they hoped & they bailed..look closely at development..I read about their shirts..SAD..they have to jump on that & USE it.VERY SAD