Fate of go-kart track hits the skids with hearing examiner's decision

Mar 06, 2025

A Howard County hearing examiner dismissed a Highland father’s conditional use petition for the go-kart he built in his backyard for his son.

Hearing Examiner Katherine Taylor dismissed Chris Siperko’s conditional use petition, citing a lack of jurisdiction to hear the petition. Taylor also cancelled the Tuesday, March 4 hearing that had been set.

Sang Oh, the lawyer representing Siperko in this matter, told Baltimore Fishbowl in a phone conversation that they will appeal the decision to the Howard County Board of Appeals.

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Siperko had filed the conditional use application retroactively in an attempt to assuage angry neighbors and convince Howard County leaders he had the right to have built it without seeking the county’s approval. He asked the county to consider the track an “athletic facility,” though go-kart tracks don’t fall into that category legally. He offered to renovate the track so that it was farther from his property line, add more trees as a sound barrier, not offer the track for commercial or recreational use, limit the hours and days of use, and take other steps.

Siperko built the track for his son to practice racing go-karts, since his son — 10 years old at the time — hopes to race professionally as an adult. Many of his neighbors in the quiet suburb near Clarksville were angry when they found out about the track because Siperko had not consulted with or informed his neighbors what he was building.

Neighbors and community members demanded explanations, and many wanted the racetrack removed, citing noise and environmental concerns. Two community meetings were held, the first attended by Oh. On the date of the meeting, however, the Siperkos could not attend because they were out of the country.

Chris Siperko appeared with Oh at the second meeting, held in October 2024, defending his decision to build the track without consulting neighbors, as it was on his private property and he’d been assured by builders he would not be violating zoning laws. He likened his son’s passion for racing to any other youth’s passion for soccer or baseball, and wanted to help him pursue it.

Community sentiment at that meeting ranged from outrage that Siperko would not think to inform his neighbors about the project, determination to fight until the racetrack was removed, to relatively unbothered and sanguine about the project, and even encouraged that racing was getting the attention it deserved as a sport. Most who attended the meeting, however, felt negatively about the track.

Decisions on next steps could only be made at the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) level, and the hearing set for March 4 was where Siperko planned to argue his case and then wait for a decision. That decision, however, came one day early in the form of Taylor’s dismissal.

In her decision, Taylor wrote that she lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition because the DPZ did not list go-kart racing as a permitted activity.

The DPZ did not, in the Technical Staff Report, include findings and analysis as required by the Code. DPZ stated:

Go-kart racing is not listed as a permitted activity. Therefore, the Department of Planning and Zoning is unable to evaluate the petition for compliance with General Standards in Section 131.0.B and minimum criteria in Section 131.0.N.6.

See, February 12, 2025, Technical Staff Report of DPZ, p. 3.

For that reason, Taylor dismissed the petition and cancelled the hearing set for March 4.

Oh told Fishbowl, “We respectfully disagree with the decision.” He anticipates the hearing on the appeal to take place in the next couple of months. In the meantime, the track remains as it is and unused because of the status of pending litigation.

The ultimate fate of the track remains unclear as of now. Baltimore Fishbowl has reached out to Chris Siperko and neighbors who attended the October community meeting for comment. This article has been updated to include comments and information provided by Sang Oh.

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