Why We Oppose Emerald Coast Motor Club

Here are a few critical issues they don’t mention:

• 💧 Environmental Risks: The track would be built above wetlands, Blount’s Creek, and an aquifer recharge zone that feeds the Choctawhatchee Bay watershed.

• 🚫 Public Access: This will be a gated, private club. Once built, there’s no public benefit and no access to the land.

• 📣 Skid Pads & Karting Noise: These “training” areas often run independently of the main track and produce some of the loudest, most persistent sounds—daily.

• 🛣️ Bad Location: This land is surrounded by homes, farms, and churches—not highways or airports like other tracks. It’s simply the wrong place.

• 💰 Cost to Taxpayers: Racetrack noise enforcement doesn’t end when the gates open. In similar communities, like Cowichan Valley in British Columbia, local governments spent years—and millions in legal fees—trying to enforce sound limits after the track ignored complaints. Residents were left with the noise, while taxpayers footed the legal bill.

• 🎯 Sound Barriers Don’t Work on Hilly Terrain: The developer promises high-tech sound berms and barriers—but elevation matters. This site has sharp 120-foot elevation changes that create a natural amphitheater effect, amplifying sound across nearby communities. We’ve seen this before: both Atlanta Motorsports Park and Vancouver Island’s track—also part of this same “Tilke Club of Clubs” network—have had ongoing noise violations and neighbor complaints for years, even with so-called mitigation measures in place.

👉 Promise minimal noise, limited hours, economic windfalls, and environmental responsibility to get local approval.
👉 Deliver a very different reality once operational—bringing lawsuits, expansion requests, and neighbor complaints.

We’ve seen it happen in Vancouver Island, Atlanta, and Tampa. Why should DeFuniak Springs be any different?

We deserve real answers—not spin.

These aren’t just possibilities—they’re patterns. The Emerald Coast Motor Club follows the same playbook as other Tilke-designed “Club of Clubs” racetracks.

POLLUTION: The construction of the Emerald Coast Motor Club threatens to disrupt the delicate ecosystems within the Alaqua and Woodlawn neighborhoods of Walton County. The development’s vast expanse of asphalt and concrete, laid out on a property with 120 feet of elevation change, will significantly increase surface runoff, funneling pollutants into Blount’s Creek, neighboring homesites, and the Choctawhatchee Bay watershed. This runoff, containing toxic substances like tire debris, oil, and heavy metals, poses a severe risk to the water quality and the health of residents and local wildlife.

HABITAT DESTRUCTION: Furthermore, the area is home to several endangered and protected species, whose habitats will be irreversibly damaged by the project’s footprint. The potential for flooding is also heightened, as the land includes wetlands and areas designated as Flood Zone A. These environmental concerns underscore the need for careful consideration and action to prevent irreversible damage to the natural landscape.

IMPERVIOUS SURFACE ISSUES: Independent hydrology experts have calculated that the Emerald Coast Motor Club would create 32% impervious surface coverage across its 651-acre site–over twice the limit recommended by Walton County. This estimate is based on data from other Tilke-designed motorsport clubs—including Atlanta Motorsports Park (GA), Ascent Motorsports (CO), and G2 Motorsports (TX)—which share nearly identical layouts, land use ratios, and infrastructure.

These “Club of Clubs” projects follow a standardized development pattern: large-scale tracks, karting courses, garages, villas, and multi-use buildings with only minor regional design variations. As a result, the 32% impervious surface figure can be considered a reliable projection for ECMC.

For comparison, Walton County’s Comprehensive Plan discourages exceeding 15% impervious surface in rural areas—making this project over twice the recommended limit.