Racing, and lawsuits, are back at controversial Lansing area short track

ONONDAGA TWP. — The fate of a ⅛-mile dragway in Onondaga Township has been in the hands of Michigan judges for more than a decade.

The track, now known as Sloan's Onondaga Dragway, started hosting races in the 1970s but closed before reopening in 2013. Shortly after, it faced its first lawsuit from local residents who claimed the noise from the dragway harmed their property values. Twists and turns in that legal dispute dragged on for years, going back and forth from the Court of Appeals, but in 2019 an Ingham County judge agreed with them, ruling the track a nuisance.

Following that decision, the then owners told Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Jamo that they had “no interest in racing again,” according to court records, and that no racing had taken place on the track for some time. Years later a new owner took control of the track and racing, to some extent, returned.

However, on Nov. 6, nearly 10 years to the day the first lawsuit was filed, new litigation began with the same central thesis: there should be no dragway in Onondaga Township. But this lawsuit, with new attorneys and plaintiffs, is making its case with different points.

Andrew Concannon, an attorney who filed the new lawsuit, said his litigation is narrow and focuses on local officials' decisions that allowed the dragway to host races. The lawsuit names the dragway and Onondaga Township as defendants, and Concannon is confident in the claims he's presented.

"We should win because the township was not entitled to issue (the permit) in the first place," he said. "To the extent that the court is not persuaded by that, even if the permit was valid, it was terminated for lack of use."

Messages seeking comment from Onondaga Township Supervisor Phil Hutchison and Sloan's Onondaga Dragway were not returned. Woodrow Sloan, the new owner of the dragway, could not be reached for comment. In a Facebook post on Dec. 21, more than a month after the suit was filed, the dragway addressed the latest litigation and implied that the township had its back.

"The Onondaga Township supervisor has asked that we get letters sent to the township stating how much the track means to you, and/or how much you love the track being there," the social media post read. "We would really appreciate it if you could just send a note, or postcard to the Onondaga Township PO Box."

Dragway's permit is central to new lawsuit

The dragway, at 4186 Bellevue Road in Onondaga Township, is about 25 miles south of Lansing and sits in a part of the township zoned for agriculture and residential use.

Like the township's other eight zoning districts, the agriculture and residential zone comes with designated and prohibited uses.

The zone's purpose is to "encourage and provide opportunities for agriculture" and to help develop residential areas that "encourage the preservation of open spaces, agricultural and other natural resources," according to zoning documents included in the lawsuit.

Township zoning guidelines include 44 different uses for its nine zoning districts, including single-family homes, gas stations, hotels, storage facilities, arcades and medical clinics.

Some are automatically allowed in districts. Some are specifically prohibited. And some can be allowed through a special use permit like the one the dragway received in 2013.

This is the first of two main points Concannon's lawsuit relies on: The township's zoning rules do not allow drag racing at all and as result, the township shouldn't have issued a special use permit.

The second key point in the lawsuit stems from that period of inactivity at the track.

Ray Comer, the previous track owner, last hosted racing there in 2019, according to the lawsuit. Then, in February 2021, Sloan took over control, but the lawsuit claims no racing took place between 2019 and Sloan stepping in.

Since the track went without racing for more than 180 days, that special use permit is no longer active, Concannon wrote in the lawsuit, citing township zoning rules.

Two months after the lawsuit was filed, the township and dragway are aware of the litigation but have yet to respond in court.

The fate of Onondaga Township's ⅛-mile dragway, once again, will be decided by the state's judges.

Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or mjmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @MattMencarini.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Racing, and lawsuits, are back at controversial Lansing area short track