TAMWORTH, NH (AP) A developer who wants to build a mountainside race course in the Lakes Region is moving forward, while some neighbors are circulating petitions they hope will block the project.

Stephan Condodemetraky, president of Club Motorsports Inc., is proposing a $14 million winding track on Mount Whittier. He told 200 residents at a meeting recently that he plans a year-round course and clubhouse for amateur racers. He said it will not be a spectator track.

Some neighbors say they worry the track would bring too much noise to their quiet area. They are circulating petitions to try to stop it.

The club says results of a noise study will be out soon.

Condodemetraky was joined at a recent meeting by spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne and attorneys Susan Duprey and Ed Han. He announced he has bought land for his course and hopes to start construction as early as next year.

Condodemetraky said he expects the project to create 40 or more year-round jobs ranging from maintenance workers to operation managers, with Tamworth residents having priority. Town residents also would be able to use the track for free.

He said he is marketing to amateur racers, many of whom do not get the chance to drive fast in a safe, controlled environment.

As Club Motorsports continues planning its project, Tamworth residents and town officials are working to develop a racetrack ordinance intended to give the community some control over operations of any racetrack in town.

The work includes a sound study.

Meanwhile, residents of the town and neighboring communities are circulating a petition to try to stop the project. The petition calls the project "detrimental and destructive to our environment here in the Lakes Region."

Organizer Milan McNall of Sandwich said her main concern is noise.

She fears the sound of the racing cars and motorcycles would bounce off the Ossipee Mountains and travel throughout the valley, and that the project will continue to expand in the future.

The developer has said the course won’t produce any more noise than traffic on Route 25.

Tranchemontagne said results of a sound study are expected next week, and would "shed more light" on the debate.

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