The Plattekill Town Board is expected to vote on a proposed local law that would ban all motor vehicle racing in the town at its February 21 meeting, according to Town Supervisor Dean DePew Sr.

DePew said at the February 7 Town Board meeting that the board would vote on the controversial law after the Ulster County Planning Board reviewed it before the town’s February 21 meeting. DePew said he expected the county planning board to review the local law at its February 7 meeting in Kingston.

“As of tonight, our law is in review with the Ulster County Planning Board,” DePew said. “And their meeting is exactly 7 p.m. tonight, so we’re not going to vote on the law tonight. I’m going to continue it for the next two weeks and vote on it at the next meeting after we read all the reviews from the Ulster County Planning Board.”

The town held its first public hearing on the proposed local law banning motor vehicle racing townwide on November 15 and continued to hear comments from the public at hearings for two months before voting on January 17 to limit the input to written comments.

But once objections were raised at the meeting by audience members, DePew relented and let the public speak at the January 17 session.

Town officials have denied that the local law is targeting the owners of a drag racing strip on a 46-acre plot of land at 153 Freetown Road owned by Anthony “TJ” Dirago and Tina Bucci, who own the auto repair shop Modena Collision.

But supporters of the drag strip who have packed the town hall over the last few months have expressed the opinion that the local law banning motor vehicle racing was only proposed after Dirago and Bucci submitted a new application for the drag strip at the October 24 meeting of the Town Planning Board.

Residents who live near the proposed drag strip have complained that it would disrupt their lives with excessive noise and traffic.

In April of 2021, the owners of the proposed drag strip applied to the town to operate the Modena Drag Strip. Four months later, the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) denied their application for a variance by a unanimous vote.

At the October 2023 town planning board meeting, Gardiner Barone who was representing the drag strip owners, said a new application was being submitted that would not require a variance since the track was shortened to 1,130 feet.

“With this new application, we have shortened the strip to fit the site without going for a variance,” Barone said. “The vehicles that would be operating on this strip are vehicles that could be operated on the road with registration and inspection stickers and driven home.”

The planning board’s consultant Patrick Hines of MHE Engineering told Barone that since the site of the drag strip disturbs more than 10 acres it would be considered a Type I action, which would require a long Environmental Assessment Form.

Hines also said a traffic study would be required since the plans show 265 parking spaces and numerous other events were to be held at the track. Hines said a variance would be required from the ZBA under the guidelines of the town’s code for Outdoor Amusement and Recreation because numerous uses for the track would be within 150 feet of property lines.

The planning board has taken no action on the application for the track at this time.

In other news, the town board voted 4-0 to approve the Walden Playboy Motorcyle Club for a series of 16 motocross races.

Autos by Joseph in Highland and Modena Collision, Modena Automotive and Potter’s Collision and Towing in Modena were unanimously approved as the four companies to provide towing in the Town of Plattekill this year.

Barbara Ritchie was unanimously reappointed to the town’s Assessment Board of Review from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2029.

Councilman Wilfrido Castillo Jr. was appointed as the town’s representative on the Ulster County Transportation Council.