Commission recommends rezoning for paintball facility

By ADAM MORRIS, Courier Staff Writer

WATERLOO --- A popular paintball facility that had been operating illegally for five years north of Elk Run Heights on land not deemed for that use got a nod of approval Thursday from the county Planning and Zoning Commission despite outcry from neighbors.

The commission voted 4-2, with one member absent, to recommend the county Board of Supervisors approve a rezoning of the land.

The rezoning, which would allow PowerStation Paintball on South Elk Run Road to operate legally, would change zoning from agricultural to limited agricultural.

The commission's recommendation included conditions intended to calm neighbors who complain the facility is too noisy and worry that stray paint balls would injure people on their property.

"I have a great deal of empathy for the neighbors," said Peter Beck, chairman of the commission, who cast the deciding vote in favor of approval. "I've played the game, and I even have one of those welts" from a paint ball.

The conditions for the paintball facility's owners include limiting hours of operation to dawn to dusk, creating a 100-foot buffer area where no play can occur, and clearly mark all property boundaries.

Dennis Halverson and Andrew Lusson, who own the facility, said they've already begun similar efforts and would give up plans to hold paintball sessions after dark.

However, the owners disagreed that stray paint balls would be dangerous, saying the projectiles already would have been reduced to a safe speed if they reached a neighbor's land. The two also said they feel their facility, which operates mostly on the weekends and is closed during winter, generates less noise than nearby trains, roads and a neighboring shooting range.

"We don't compare to the noise that already exists there," Halverson said.

The final rezoning decision lies with county supervisors.

Halverson and Lusson opened the facility on South Elk Run Road between Dubuque Road and Independence Avenue about five years ago, but it wasn't until last fall that the county or the two men realized the land was not properly zoned. The rezoning was discussed at the commission's December meeting but tabled because Halverson and Lusson were not present.

Fines can be issued on a daily basis for zoning offenses, but none were issued in this instance because the property owners demonstrated they wanted to correct the problem, said Shane Graham, an associate county planner.

Neighbors remain concerned.

"This is primarily a residential area where there's a certain quality of life," said John Huff III, one of seven neighbors who wrote letters urging the commission recommend denial of the rezoning. Huff was one of about a dozen neighbors and their supporters who attended the meeting, though few others spoke.

"I don't think a paintball facility -- even if it's regulated -- fits into the quality of life of that neighborhood," he said.

In other business, the commission unanimously recommended denial of rezoning that would have allowed a one- to 23-lot subdivision northwest of Cedar Falls. The commission said there was not a satisfactory plan in place for the subdivision near North Union and West Cedar-Wapsi roads. More than a dozen neighbors showed up in protest of the proposed development.

Adam Morris can be contacted at (319) 291-1461 or mailto:adam.morris@wcfcourier.com.