Ending a year-long battle with Sumter County, the owner of a motor cross racing track at a Center Hill farm has agreed to cease all motor cross activity.
Tyla Rattray, a former professional motor cross racer from South Africa who trains other racers, has signed a stipulated temporary injunction requiring him to close down the private motor cross track on his property near County Road 702.
Before the injunction goes into effect, it must be approved by commissioners, who will take it up at their next regular meeting on Tuesday.
The injunction stipulates that Rattray pay $7,196 to the county, which includes daily fines, attorney’s fees of $5,460 and litigation costs of $564.
Daily fines of $25 for failing to comply with code enforcement orders total $625 after county officials agreed to waive $5,000 in fines.
The agreement came after County Attorney Jennifer Rey last month filed an emergency circuit court motion for the temporary injunction to halt the illegal racing and a hearing was scheduled last Thursday.
At a recent Sumter County workshop meeting, Commissioners Jeffery Bogue said he will support the stipulated temporary injunction even though he doesn’t like waiving the fines.
“These are the type of people who need to be fined,” he said. “It just rankles me that we allow people to thumb their noses at us.”
But other commissioners said waiving the fines is worth the price of stopping all motor cross activity, which has caused dust and noise problems for neighbors.
Rattray’s special use permit was revoked last May due to numerous violations. A special use permit request to reopen the track was denied in October after attorneys for both sides sparred at a county meeting.
Neighbors complained that the track continued to operate without the permit.
Rattray said the track was used by invitation only and limited to six riders at a time.
An enforcement order last fall gave Rattray until Dec. 26 to bring the farm into code compliance. The zoning special master found Rattray in violation after an inspection showed that daily motor cross racing continued.
Baker’s Factory, another motor cross track where professional driver’s train, is nearby.