COVENTRY — A North Smithfield man has approached the town with a proposal to develop a motor sports park — a system of trails for riding all-terrain vehicles — on 30 wooded acres on Flat River Road west of Route 102.

Sean Dagesse, of North Smithfield, who says he is in the banking business, appeared before the Planning Commission in May with a plan for the park, which he said would have trails for ATV drivers of all ages and levels of experience. Ultimately, he said, it could provide training and rider-safety programs.

Dagesse, who said it would be the first venue of its type in Rhode Island for the recreational activity, submitted the proposal under the business name Rhode Island Motor Sports Park LLC, in Narragansett.

Commission members have visited the site, but no discussion has been docketed yet, said Paul K. Sprague, the town’s planning director.

The property is part of a 112-acre parcel on Flat River Road about a half-mile from Susan Bowen Road; it is zoned residential, requiring 5-acre house lots. Besides an initial go-ahead from the Planning Commission, the park would require a special-use permit from the Zoning Board of Review. The parcel is owned by Specific Properties LLC, which has offices in West Greenwich.

Dagesse, an ATV enthusiast, said he was doing traffic and sound studies concerning the site that would take several more weeks.

“It’s about creating something that hasn’t been done in the state,” Dagesse said yesterday. “It’s about creating a facility for young individuals to ride. It’s just critical that I respect the town. I want to make sure this is a proper location.”

Dagesse said he tried six years ago, without success, to interest Cumberland officials in such a project.

While Dagesse has yet to present a fleshed-out proposal for Coventry, word about it has spread and opposition is already building.

State Rep. Nicholas Gorham, a Coventry Republican, said he sent a letter to residents last month alerting them to the plan, and since then has been flooded with phone calls and e-mails against it.

“I think it’s a wholly inappropriate idea for a rural residential area that is trying to be agricultural. We are not becoming the Rocky Point of all-terrain vehicles,” Gorham said. “We are not an amusement park.”

“There are a lot of people who moved out there who wanted to live in the country. It’s one of the last rural parts of the state. This proposal would change that,” he said. “I’ve had very few requests from taxpayers that it is a priority to have an ATV park. As a legislative priority, it’s never been here.”

James Sowers, who lives on Carr’s Trail near the site, has mounted a Web site to keep people abreast of Dagesse’s project. And Margaret A. Ferguson, who runs the Broadwall Farm on Sisson Road, said the park isn’t welcome. “We are going to battle this on all fronts,” she said.

But advocates say that the proposal has merit.

William Hass, former president of the Warwick-based Rhody Rovers, a group of ATV enthusiasts, said the state needs someplace for children to ride.

“Kids are getting killed, and they are getting hurt,” Hass said. “They are riding ATVs and minibikes where they shouldn’t be. This proposed park is a place for kids to play.”

He added, “They are no noisier than a lawn mower.”

lsparks@projo.com