Park for off-roading is close to approval

Charlotte County development reviewers must sign off on site

October 20, 2007

By KEVIN DALE

kevin.dale@heraldtribune.com

CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- A much-anticipated, 1,000- acre park for all-terrain and off-road vehicles could be approved by Charlotte County early next month.

The land's owner, Danny Kelly, said if the county's development reviewers sign off on the project Nov. 1, the park could open in as little as three months.

The park's first phase would make about 600 acres available to riders of ATVs, swamp buggies and off-road vehicles on both dry and muddy trails, Kelly said.

The park -- which would be the region's only large-scale, off-road park -- would feature picnic and camping areas. It would also host a series of concerts and events.

Those special events would be limited to nine each year, with park hours restricted from dawn to dusk, Thursday through Monday, according to the conditions of the county's special exception allowing the park.

The park would also offer on-site emergency medical care, according to details filed with the county.

Project approval by the Development Review Committee is the final step in the county's review process for the park, three miles east of State Road 31 on Bermont Road (County Road 74).

The opening of Kelly Sports Park is eagerly awaited by Southwest Florida's sizable population of off-road enthusiasts.

Currently, riders have to travel at least two hours to legally enjoy the activity in public or private ATV parks located in Florida.

"There's nothing that's legal south of Brooksville" in Hernando County, said Kevin Vaughan, president of the North Port Off Road Association.

Last year, North Port banned ATV riding in the city's undeveloped stretches, which were formerly a haven for area riders.

"In fact, I moved to North Port specifically because of the open area where we could ride and not bother anybody," Vaughan said.

Kelly, the park's developer, said he receives calls daily from people asking when the facility will open on the site of the family's former potato farm. The project's major test came in December, when the county's Board of Zoning Appeals, after an hours-long hearing, granted Kelly a controversial special exception to allow the park.

Citing concerns about noise and traffic, some residents in the rural eastern Charlotte County community bitterly opposed the project.

"It's been a lot longer battle than I thought it would be," said Kelly.

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