Volusia County officials want to build a county-sponsored motocross course on 77 acres of land bought for conservation, a plan that has drawn a lawsuit and strong opposition from environmental groups and a local track owner.
The county paid $4.6 million in taxpayer-approved preservation funds for 365 acres. After the purchase closed, officials decided to keep 279 acres for conservation and set aside the other 77 for the track. The site sits within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, next to the county’s Longleaf Pine Preserve.
DeLand resident Lourdes Gonzalez, a court interpreter, has sued to stop the project. Council member Don Dempsey, a DeLand lawyer whose son races motocross, has been among the strongest advocates. He said he is doing it for the community and wants to get children outdoors.
A 2024 consultant report estimated the facility would cost about $10 million and draw roughly 9,400 visitors in its first year, growing to nearly 35,600 by Year 5. The report calls for two tracks, parking for 250 and campsite hookups.
Pax Trax, the closest track in Bunnell, says a county-run course would shut it down. Its owner, C.H. Harris, told the council in January that he would not be able to compete with a publicly funded track. Sierra Club leaders in Volusia say the county used its own ECHO fund as the match for the purchase, a step they call unusual, and that some wetlands on the property were damaged by a previous owner.