SPOKANE, Wash. — A new raceway is emerging in the Deer Park area. It's called Mill Pond Raceway.
Many residents in the area are excited for this family friendly space to open, while others have expressed some concerns.
Owner Joe Hilterbrind plans to open four courses for anyone wanting to kick up some dirt.
"We're going to build an off road short course, a rally road course, a rally track, mud drag and a quarter mile dirt old track," Hilterbrind said.
Hilterbrind recently purchased the property. He said it's a plan that's been in the works for about five years.
Once it's ready, he hopes the Mill Pond Raceway will be a positive outlet for youth in the area.
"Almost every kid in the area has a motorcycle and they don't have a constructive place to ride it" Hilterbrind said. "This with the zoning and being in the county, it gives them an outlet for good clean fun."
The north 30 acres will be used for race tracks. And the southern 86 acres will remain untouched to preserve the natural beauty on the property.
The raceway is already getting noticed.
The Deer Park Bradley community Facebook page has received many comments about it.
The page admin, who asked to remain anonymous, said some people have raised concerns with security.
"Deer Park is having problems funding police protection. We don't have enough as it and with the raceway being so big and bringing in traffic, some people are concerned there could be additional problems with that," the Facebook admin said.
To address this, the owner plans to close the track during the week and at night.
We also noticed questions about whether permits have been approved by the county in order to officially open to the public.
Records from the Spokane County Building and Planning department show a commercial pre-application for the property is still "in process."
Deer Park raceway causes concern for residents
When asked about this, the owner said an engineer is working on completing the final details, which partly includes the size of the parking area.
But he's confident the raceway will be up to code by the first scheduled event in May.
"I'm looking forward to it though" Hilterbrind said. "As soon as we get this organized, I think I'll take a turn."