Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : County Approval Sought for Antelope Valley Racetrack

Racing promoters said Wednesday they will seek county permission to turn a 120-acre Antelope Valley almond orchard into a $10-million raceway and entertainment complex.

Although the project already has drawn a nervous reception from rural communities nearby, backers of the proposed Godde Grove Recreational Complex on a site along the California Aqueduct told community leaders they hope to break ground by the end of the year.

“We have laid plans for a very ambitious project,” said racing promoter Jeff Zee, who is spearheading the project along with racing enthusiast Bob Godde, a member of one of the Antelope Valley’s pioneer families. “There’s nothing like this anywhere in the Southland.”

Zee said the proposed half-mile dirt oval racetrack would be the only such course in Southern California. The last dirt oval track in the region was the famous Ascot Park Raceway in Gardena, which closed in November, 1990.

The Antelope Valley proposal calls for grandstand seating for 12,000 spectators, parking for 4,000 cars, a 4,500-seat amphitheater for concerts and plays, an equestrian track and facilities, a restaurant and a museum. The racetrack would be built first, and would include an off-road track as well.

Zee is the same promoter who last year tried to persuade officials of the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster to allow construction of a 3/8-mile oval dirt track on fair property. But the fair’s governing board rejected the plan in January after complaints from nearby homeowners.

During a briefing Wednesday at a Palmdale Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Zee and Godde said one of the advantages of their current, privately financed proposal is its remote location: west of Lancaster on a site north of the aqueduct and west of 110th Street West.

However, Warren BeMiller, a member of the Lakes Town Council that represents the nearby towns of Elizabeth Lake and Lake Hughes, said he believes neighbors will be concerned about the noise, lights and traffic the complex would attract to the area’s narrow rural roads.

Godde, whose grandfather helped settle the Antelope Valley, said his family owns the site, which had been used to harvest almonds. The family had planned to build houses until the recession scuttled those plans, he said.

The proposed complex could become a major attraction in the valley, Godde said.

To proceed with the project, Godde said, he will need a zone change and General Plan amendment from the County Board of Supervisors. The project will also require preparation of an environmental impact report.

Godde said the land now is zoned for agriculture, a designation that would also permit houses on two-acre lots.