cash donations

[me4girls]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Idaho
Okay, here is the deal. My husband and brother-in-law built a motorcycle track in our pasture. As more people have found out about it, they have asked to ride on it. Because we are trying to be good neighbors and we know how loud and dusty the track is we only allow people to ride on it one night a week. That has been the case for a few years now. In the last couple of years we have begun to accept donations to help with the maintenance and watering because people would rather pay us to do it than help out themselves. But recently we have had a neighbor complain about it quite a bit. He has called the cops out several times but they informed us that there is nothing they can do about it because there is no noise ordinance or anything else that we are violating. Well, that wasn't good enough for the nasty neighbor so he went to the county and we received word that if we were going to operate a commercial race track that we would have to get a special use permit. We called the county and talked to them and explained that we don't operate a race track and that we don't make any money off of it. They said that as long as we weren't making money that there wasn't anything that they could do to us. But that as long as we were accepting cash donations that they would consider us a "commercial" business. We have talked to several people and they told us that we can accept cash donations without being classified as a "commercial business". Who is right? Can we accept cash donations to help pay for maintenance or will that put us in the "commercial racetrack" category?

[JETX]

Originally Posted by me4girls

Who is right? Can we accept cash donations to help pay for maintenance or will that put us in the "commercial racetrack" category?

This is really not so much a legal issue as it is a COMMUNITY issue. You might considering talking with a local attorney who can press your issue with the local authority's.

[azlawstudent]

Umm, you are making money. You might not be making a profit, but you are generating revenue. At the very least, you might want to start adding all that as income on your income taxes. I'd also consider your liability for any injuries that happen on the track. You need to speak with a local attorney to advise you on these matters.