The Creek County (Okla.) Board of Adjustment rejected Charles Elliott’s request for zoning exceptions so he can host a motorcycle rally on his property off Route 66 near Depew, according to the Sapulpa Daily Herald.
Elliott hosted one rally last year, but a second was halted by a court injunction because it violated zoning rules. Elliott’s land is zoned agricultural, not commercial.
Elliott reportedly is “upgrading” his property with an RV park, campground and special-event facility.
Elliott, filing as the Route 66 Biker Church, wrote in his application that he plans to use the property for church revivals, concerts, event RV camping, tent camping, car and bike shows, biker rallies and toy runs.
“A Route 66 Biker Church? Cool,” you may be thinking.
“Property that’s used for camping, cars and bike shows? Cooler!” you may think.
So what’s the problem?
Credibility’s the problem.
A quick Google search found Elliott’s Web site. I’m not linking to it, for reasons that will be apparent.
First, the site doesn’t allow visitors under the age of 21. That raises a red flag right there.
Second, the site shows photos from an earlier rally. Images include women wrestling in a tank filled with what appeared to be in a chocolate pudding or mud. There also are images of bikers, drinking cans of beer (some apparently more than others). A chat board offers what can only be described as crude incentives for bikers to attend the rallies.
Third, I distinctly remember a flier touting last year’s rally. One of the featured events was nude karaoke.
This is supposed to be a church?
I guarantee the nearby residents who complained to the county weren’t unhappy about just alleged zoning violations.
If Elliott wants his Route 66 Biker Church to pass muster, I’d advise he do a few more charity events (like a toy run he’s organizing in December), clean up the rallies and and retool the Web site so it’s family-friendly.
If he doesn’t want to do these things, then don’t call the complex a church.
This is not a church.Elliott only chose to call it a church after being refused a zoning change several times .Twice by the sapupla metropolitan planning commission and twice by the board of county commissioners.We have fought this from the beginning making clear it is not an issue against bikers.
Alot of people that are against this are bikers themselves or know bikers very well. But ,not all bikers would even attend this man’s events.If you would have been at the board of adjustments meeting in November you would have had the pleasure of hearing the preacher of the Dripping Springs Baptist Church accuse Elliott of FRAUD .Elliott used this churches name on his application as holding four of the events called Jesus Fest on his property.
Which the preacher made it perfectly clear that He had never even met Mr.Elliott or spoke to him about any events.
And furthermore did not know any church who would affiliate their self with Mr. Elliott or a facility like his.
It is my belief that most churches around here are not interested in renting a stage with a stripper pole in the middle of it.
Elliott only jumped on the church bandwagon when He learned of exemptions from commerical zoning for churches.
he better watch calling himself or his place a church the lord knows all.
and if he is not in the true meaning of a church teaching the truth of God’s word he may be in troubles worse than earthly troubles.
BUT if he is willing to make it a real church i offer him my support.
But this land he has bought is just across the highway from our family owned land , land that has been in our family close to a hundred years.
and us True Milfayites such as us the schiller’s the grant’s we value milfay for what it is and hope it will remain to be a farming comunity, and several outsiders have bout land in and around our area and these outsiders try and change oldtime neighborly values of helping each other.
the city folks don’t let others on there land and they will call sheriffs.
but us the TRUE MILFAY FOLK we go out of our ways to help each other.
that land was beautiful and he has raped it.
the land had beautiful stands oaks and now he has made it a site which looks like a junkyard.
we can’t get that back either.
why not just leave us small towns alone we was fine the way we was.
we are smalltowns we don’t want your outsiders crap brought into our towns.
the milfay folk are true to our land my families land will never be raped like his.
STAY OUT OUTSIDERS!
a certain friend of mine is in on helping this guy.
but i’m with Jim Grant and others i want milfay to remain a farming comunity with farming values.
if i say had cows on a said land and my fence broke , these outsiders call law on ya.
but we the real milfay folk we would put up the cow for our neighbor and help fix the fence.
the whole city folk moving into country and rural life trying to change us is not going to happen.
SO JUST FORGET YOUR RALLY B.S. AND SELL THAT LAND TO A FARMER!
THAT IS VALUABLE OR I MEAN IT WAS VALUABLE CATTLE GRAZING LAND UNTIL YOU WENT IN THERE AND RAPED IT TOOK OUT ALL THE GOOD OAK TREES.
JUST GET OUT CHARLIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, Charlie. Where have I been? Sorry I didn’t get to this site sooner. May I please set some things strait. Many of us here in Milfay support you in all the efforts you put forth. Sorry, you have received such a harsh reaction from some of our neighbors. I’m so thankful you came to Milfay. Myself and many others we have been waiting for someone with a creative mind and free spirit such as yours. With me being a business owner in Milfay, I can’t think of anything better than inviting a few thousand people to visit our area, if for non other, than to spend money and have a good time. Special thanks, to all the persons who did come to the 2006 bike rally and chose to shop at Robert’s Pittstop in Milfay, ok. “a Strong supporter of the Route 66 Camp Grounds in Milfay, ok,” “Beleave it or not”, but that’s why some choose to travel from so far away. Thanks to Charlie, we have memories of the 2006 Bike Rally, but unfortunately the rally took place somewhere else, instead of in Milfay, where it should have been held all along. And Charlie, I don’t know of anyone who truly thinks your property looks like a “junk yard”. And to allow that, you have “raped” the land is, “absurd” From, what I have seen is, the only thing being raped is you Charlie. Raped of all your FREEDOM. I must tell you, ” I wish the entire town of Milfay looked as nice as yoor property”. GREAT JOB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh! Special thanks, to the Route 66 Biker Church for the Toy Run in Dec. 2006. How Greatful Robert’s Pittstop and other volunteers were to be apart of that. Thank’s for having us.
I can not wait until this matter enters higher court. With true American justice, one shall prevail. Hang in there Charlie and dont give in. You have many supporters who are patiently waiting for the the ruling to be overturned. Let Freedom ring, for that day is a day of reckoning, “sounds as pretty as a song”
I must agree with BN Nourse in the fact that if you would have been present at the board of adjustments meeting in November you would have heard the preacher accuse Charlie of being a fraud. I too was at this meetin. However, What BN Nourse failed to inform you of was that Charlie had spoken with another member from that church and they together schedule the four Events. In a deliberate attempt to shame Charlie at this meeting. The Opposition sole intent was to subdue Charlie’s application by defamation of character. In contrast the only fraud to be of, the Preacher and all who assume the intent of deceiving Charlie. What lenghts people will go to show that their religious way is the right way. Charlie didn’t reach into a hat and select a church at randam and arrange them onto his event list. How, “Stupid”! That special exceptions meeting was a joke. A complete waste of time. The board wouldn’t even listen to Charlie, rudly kept interrupting him durring his presentation and ultimately didn’t even let him finish.
In response to Robert Pitts remarks about Charlie setting up Jesus Fest with another member of the Dripping Springs Church,
The youth minister had accepted Charlie’s offer to hold Jesus Fest
on Charlie’s property unknowing about the other type activities Charlie had planned for the same stage.
The man states that Charlie misled him in order to try to get a legitamate church on the agenda of planned events to get it past the board of adjustments.
And another thing Robert ” I have no religious way”. nor agenda, nor affliation with any Church”
But, I bought 18 acres almost 20 years ago to live in a rural agricultural district,to raise my family in a quite ,peaceful community
void of any commerical activity.
As myself and others have stated at all of the meetings ,This is not about Bikers or Bike Rally’s.
This is about community rights and safety.This is about RESPECTING YOUR NEIGHBORS RIGHTS TO PEACE AND QUITE.
Charlie lives in Tulsa county ,But wants to come to our community to host his Adult Entertainment Business for profit ,On land that is zoned agricultural ,as are all of the surrounding properties in the area.
I wonder if you would be so supportive of Charlie, If the rally was in your front yard and not mine.
Maybe you would not need Charlie’s patrons to visit your store if you had not alienated most of the Milfay,Stroud & Depew people.
People recognize B.S. when they see and hear it.
This is Charlie and most of the people in the area have recognized it.
Like Charlie telling everybody at the first S.M.A.P.C meeting that he had spent over $ 400,000.00 in improvements and all that tax money goes to Creek Co. B.S.
Most of that money was spent outside of Creek County and I know first hand the he has used his farm use tax exempt card to purchase some of the stuff, Which By the way is illegal.
Oklahoma Tax Commission states that the card may only be used on items purchased soley for the production of a crop.
Now ,I ask you do you see a crop or livestock anywhere on that 103 acres, I don,t think so,And the tax commission knows this as well as many neighbors in the area.
Also why would a man even apply for farm tax exempt permit if he was only interested in rezoning to commerical zoning for the bike rallies to start with.
I think you should concern yourself with your own lagging business because I can tell you Charlie is not going to save you.
Charlie called for everyone to boycott P.D.Q the fact is a lot of people
decided to boycott Robert’s Pittstop as soon as you came out in support of Charlie .
I did not see any reason for anybody to boycott any business .In time the court’s will handle this as they already have in the past ,either through Creek County Commissioners or through Private Landowners,
Once again Robert this has no religious ties for me,This is just about
respecting your neighbors which Charlie’s made clear he’s not willing to do.
Now they calling it fort Milfay, What a freaking joke.
and with the metal fence IT DOES LOOK LIKE A JUNKYARD!
And taking over Milfay isn’t enough for Elliott. He has now bought a building on Main Street in Bristow and says he is putting in a lingerie store and making it the headquarters for his Route 66 Biker Rally. This guy is an idiot.
It seems like to me people want to keep this part of creek county as close minded as it has always been. I was at the 2006 biker rally. I had a great time. I have been to a few different rallys, and I must say this one was rated pg compared to most. I have enjoyed all the biker rallys I have been to and I enjoyed Elliots. By the way a Lingerie store? Okay what is wrong with that? I mean really! Someone is going to be that stupid, to call someone an idiot for wanting to bring a new business to Bristow, which by the way is in need of growth. You want another flower shop or would you like a store where you can go buy something your husband or wife can enjoy? Grow up! People by panties and bra’s! Anyway i would love for that store to open!! Back to the Rally. Elliott I wish the best for you I hope you can bring a little excitement and a fun weekend getaway for all the Adults!!! from all over Oklahoma and beyond. If you dont agree and dont like it then dont get involved it has nothing to do with your life so stay out of everyone else’. Unless your life is such a bore, you have nothing else to do. wishing Elliott and the route 66 biker rally nothing but the best!!
I’m in support of the bike rally! Charlie has done a great job cleaning up the place and providing it with some of the cleanest facilities that I have ever seen at a rally. I grew up only a few miles from Fort Milfay, lived there my whole life. I know everyone in the area. What I’m wondering is “why didn’t people throw a fit when the nudist colony moved in?” Have you been in the nudist colony before? Did you know people walk around naked in there? It’s ok though because you can’t see them from the road.. am I correct? Tell me what is wrong with Charlie having a bike rally for adults only, when a mile down the road the nudist colony has people of all ages (including children) walking around and having a good time? I’m not against the nudist colony in any way. If they want to walk around naked in the woods then that’s their business. If Charlie wants to host a bike rally once or twice a year on the land that he purchased then that’s his business. He cleaned the place up and had it looking great! The only reason the wall is there now is to help please the “REAL MILFAY” people. I love the town of Milfay but trust me, Milfay can use all the extra traffic that it can get. If you didn’t want to see the bike rally going on (up close), then take the back road to Depew and pass by Betty Lou’s Bar! I guarantee it… you drove by the rally to see what was going on! You weren’t out farming that weekend! Milfay is not considered a farming community. It’s a community that is struggling to stay alive. If you boycott Roberts store, then you are only hurting your community more. Maybe Charlie went about a few things wrong, I admit the zoning should have been taken care before the rally occured. But you complain and want Charlie out, you call him an outsider. So tell me, what does that say about you as a community? He must have thought pretty highly about the Depew/Milfay area to purchase the land and invest the money to build. He saw potential in the area while everyone else let the land sit there. Don’t blame Charlie, blame yourself. While you’re trying to run off the so called outsiders, he is trying to bring them in. Outsiders equal outside money flowing into the community! Think about it.
The route 66 biker church is geting its day in court on oct. 1 2009. It has been a long wate and a lot of work bulding a case that creek county cant defend. If the County gets the judge on there side like happend befor, We will take it to a higher court. The county has messed up a lot and I cant wate to expose them in court. The county has lost a lot of tax money the last 3 years money that would come to them when we had events. Cant wate to be in court and hope to see you there, Thanks Charlie
Well, Charles, I’m taking a wait-and-see approach on your case. I can’t say that I’m all that optimistic that you’ll prevail.
All I want is to be treated equally. I am paying for my defence and the tax payers are footing the bill to block somthing that would hurt nobody and give a lot of people a place to enjoy. The event facility will bring a lot of people in that will spend money and help a poor area in Creek county The county commissioners have hired an attorney from tulsa and paying a lot of tax payers money because the DA told them they were wrong and they would not defend them. At least you would of thought they would spend your money in creek county. all tax payers in Creek county should speek up.
Does the sapupla metropolitan planning commission have jurisdiction here? This location is closer to other towns than Sapulpa!
I have never attended an event here nor am I a biker, but don’t you think if this guy owns this land, he should be able to do what he wants to? This guy has chosen to invest money in your area to bring money to the area. Even if he didn’t have tall barriers blocking your view of what is going on, on his property, it isn’t any of your business, if he isn’t hurting you or your ability to make money. This is similar to the story of the neighbor who called the police to say that she could see what her neighbor was doing (when standing on a stool and contorting her body just so).
I don’t know the particulars of this guy’s attempts at being legal, but maybe he shouldn’t call himself a church. but if he had been rezoned to commercial, he wouldn’t be trying to find ways around the law. also, most people who want to throw stones concerning taxes, should check their own tax reporting before opening their mouths. I am sure he is paying plenty of property tax to Creek county.
Also your comments on wanting outsiders to stay away, maybe you should have made sure the previous property owner agreed with you. Also you are making yourself sound like you would think that same what if a family of African Americans had moved in. “We don’t agree with you being here, so get out”….sounds borderline racist. did your ancestors care that they were the outsiders when they came to move onto land previously owned by Indians? What did they think when electricity came to the area? At what point do you draw the line?
Leave this guy alone. If you think he is doing something wrong, let him meet his judgment just as everyone else will.
At this point the creek co. comm have spent over 15000,00 dollars and the only thing that has been done it they took my depo and my workers depo and we tried to take Comm. daina huddgens depo. daina hudgens would not tell the truth he claimed he could not remember anything. so we tried to intereduce a expert witness on land development and they threw a fit and are fighting us no that. so the 15000.00 tax payers money has not got comm. hudgens very far. We go to court on 1-6-2010 so the judge can make a ruling on the expert witness. comm hudgens will spend no telling how much of your tax money before this is over and no telling how many millions of dollars would have been spent by people at all of the events we could have had and also traveling to and from the events.
we going to court July 7 we hope the judge will let us have events on our property
As a property owner that neighbors your “junkyard” I still say give it up!
Good luck charlie i know your intentions are worthy
after reading this blog. I see that peoples tongues do not line up with their hearts. I can remember you being forced to put the junk yard fence up, I never realized the critisism you guys got from this i only heard stories
Justin Tolbert should know that Charlie was not forced to put up that junkyard fence.
He chose to do so,Even though I told him at the meeting that the Oklahoma winds would take it down.
Charlie stated that “Mr.Nourse is not an engineer
and does not know that my fence will not hold up to the Oklahoma winds.”
Guess one does not have to be an engineer to be right,Because the fence came a few months later.
I have Never been to this rally, but I will go next week. I have been in and around the mc world since 1980. We call a meeting “church” so. Maybe this man Charlie is having a big meeting. Lol. What’s the mater boys. Won’t you ole ladies let you come over to the party ? Sounds like a bunch of Sunday morning Christians who forget, or have never really read The Book. I can preach from any pulpit I want to. Maybe I will preach for Charlie and display my ministry license on his wall. So next week lets just party like its our last rally.
Respectfully:
David (5 Barells ) Ladman
I am My Brothers keeper