Todd Jacobs Withdraws Woody Creek Racetrack Expansion After County Denial

Aspen —Todd Jacobs paid $17 million for the Woody Creek racetrack. He wanted to turn it into a high-intensity entertainment hub. The county said no.

On Wednesday, the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners moved to deny the expansion of the non-conforming use. Before they could deliver the final verdict, developers asked to withdraw the application themselves. The board unanimously approved the withdrawal.

It was a strategic retreat. Jacobs and his brother-in-law, Bret Richheimer, purchased the property in June. They had been banking on a major overhaul: safety improvements, new buildings, and, crucially, unlimited race days.

The original plan, approved in the early 1990s, capped operations at 24 race days per calendar year. The new proposal sought to erase that limit entirely. It also introduced winter track use and a 50-hour-per-month outdoor shooting range — a feature the original plan didn’t even have.

“Staff has evaluated whether the adverse impacts of the proposed expansion and its inconsistencies with county land use policies would be tolerable,” said Pitkin County Planner Franco Palumbo. “Staff found it would not be tolerable.”

Palumbo’s assessment wasn’t vague. He cited specific failures in the proposal’s logic. The developers claimed the project was about restoring the course. Staff found the expansion went “well beyond reconstruction or safety improvements.” The cumulative impacts on the neighborhood, environment, and infrastructure simply didn’t stack up against the scale of the project.

The result was a clash between the owners’ vision and the neighbors’ reality. Jacobs told commissioners he heard an “outpouring of support.” He said, “We’re here to listen. We’re here to evolve.”

But hours of public comment told a different story. Resistance far outweighed support. Even self-proclaimed “car nerds” and raceway fans argued the scope was too big for Woody Creek. Noise was the primary grievance.

Nancy Pearce, a W/J Ranch resident, compared the engine noise to a “dentist drill.” She noted she knows what the track sounds like because she lives with it. The noise, she said, “made gardening unpleasant and enjoying my home difficult.”

Cindy Herndon, who lives directly adjacent to the raceway, highlighted two major risks: noise and wildfire. Increased car usage meant more potential ignition sources in a dry, hilly environment.

The proposal included an expanded clubhouse, a larger maintenance building, permanent vehicle storage, and a racetrack support building. It also included a multifamily affordable housing unit. But those amenities didn’t offset the operational changes. The county found the proposal inconsistent with the Woody Creek Master Plan. It changed the rural character of the site.

Jacobs and Richheimer had the money. They had the purchase contract. They just didn’t have the political capital to force through a project that staff deemed non-conforming. The withdrawal means the racetrack returns to its previous, more limited operating status, at least for now.

For locals, the bottom line is simple. The $17 million investment didn’t buy them unlimited noise or a transformed rural landscape. It bought a pause. The race days remain capped. The shooting range stays put. And the neighbors keep their quiet evenings.