It appears to be the end of the road for a contentious proposed motorcycle race in Kasson Township.

Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge Kevin Elsenheimer ruled in favor of the township in a zoning dispute regarding a proposed race. Elsenheimer’s ruling upheld the denial of a special use permit (SUP) sought by applicants James Schettek, Bill Kasben, and Fran Seymour.

The group sought a permit from the township to host an event sponsored by Michigan Sprint Enduros, an organization that runs offroad motorcycle races throughout the state. 

The proposal garnered significant pushback from neighboring property owners before ultimately being denied by the planning commission. Applicants appealed the decision to Kasson Township’s ZBA, but were denied there, too, before suing the township in circuit court.

“This is pretty much what we expected, but felt we needed to follow through on the process out of principal,” Seymour tells The Ticker. “We’re disappointed that we cannot use land that we own for a family-oriented event, one day each quarter of the year.”

Seymour contends that the proposal was sunk in part due to misinformation about the group’s plans.

“Our primary desire was always to preserve the land.  In retrospect, there was quite a bit of incorrect and misleading information distributed by the opposition, and it proved difficult for us to recover from the blatant misinformation spread in the community,” he says. “Moving forward, we will continue to review options for use of the land that are ‘allowed’ and will continue to ride motorcycles on the property with friends and family, as we’ve done for years without complaint.”