Newton could allow conditions for paintball

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

Action Jack’s Paintball’s plan to relocate to Newton may still have a chance to capture the flag. Newton City Council voted Monday evening by a 4-2 consensus to have the city’s planning and zoning commission consider conditional rezoning for property along South 12th Avenue West. Action Jack’s owner Shawn Risseeuw wants to use that property on the far western end of Newton to relocate his Colfax paintball business. That land, however, currently is zoned for residential use and sits adjacent to other property zoned for residential use. In July, the council split 3-3 on rezoning for paintball, and remained split on the issue at the last meeting. Mayor Chaz Allen brought the item up for discussion again last night and Community Development Director Bryan Friedman addressed council Friedman researched paintball facilities and noted that in some cases communities would use zone paintball properties for conditional commercial use. “Conditional uses are for those kind of in-between zoning uses that may have some potential to influence the neighboring properties but with the proper set of conditions can have much less of an impact and be very compatible with the surroundings,” he said. Allen said he wanted the city to keep discussing the issue because of the potential for Action Jack’s to draw people to the community. “If you take a team of people out there to go out there to the west end of town to do this, then you’re going to come out and you’re going to go to Okoboji, Pizza Ranch, Country Kitchen and you’re going to stop and get gas before you go,” Allen said. “This is a legitimate opportunity for our community to add something else to land that’s not being used presently and hasn’t been for 25 years.” Ultimately, Steve Mullan, one of the three members who initially voted against rezoning the property said he would favor examining a possible conditional use for the property. The Planning and Zoning board meets tonight at 5 p.m. at City Hall and could further discuss the issue. If the P & Z Board reaches a consensus on a conditional use, the item could appear on a future council agenda.

Andy Karr can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 434 or via e-mail at akarr@newtondailynews.com.᠘