MCCLURG ROAD Zoning board approves Boardman paint ball field

Some local businesses oppose the recreational site.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The owner of a McClurg Road skate park hopes to open a paint ball field behind the business.
The township's board of zoning appeals approved the request earlier this month of Mark Yoo, Terrace Drive, for a conditional use permit to establish the field.
"It's the first officially sanctioned paint ball field in the township," said Darren Crivelli, township zoning inspector.
Crivelli shut down a paint ball field last year that was operating without the proper permits on Tanglewood Drive. That field wasn't affiliated with the one approved by the appeals board.
The permit becomes effective April 21, 30 days after the board's approval. Opponents have 30 days from the board's decision to appeal it to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Yoo plans two paint ball fields on nearly seven acres behind Vertigo Skateparks Inc. The fields would comprise about 25 percent of those seven acres, which are near the McClurg-Southern Boulevard intersection.
Preparation
Weeds and some small bushes would be cleared from the middle part of the property, according to a letter Yoo wrote to the zoning inspector.
"No trees or large brush will be removed as it actually provides natural barriers for the paint ball field," Yoo's letter said.
He plans to keep a 100-foot barrier of heavy brush around the perimeter of the property to provide a buffer with surrounding properties.
Crivelli said the board turned down Yoo's request for three paint ball fields last year because of concerns about paint balls hitting school buses at the nearby bus garage and Lonardo's Greenhouse on Southern Boulevard.
Under township zoning code, if the appeals board turns down a conditional use permit request, the owner can request it again in six months.
The request approved by the board calls for two paint ball fields instead of three, the 100-foot buffer and installation of a 12-foot net specially designed for paint ball fields around the perimeter.
Opposition
The owners of Lonardo's Greenhouse, the YMCA, St. Elizabeth Medical Center and the township school board opposed the most recent request.
Tom Grantonic, branch director for the YMCA, is encouraged by the 12-foot net, but he is still concerned that paint balls may strike people sunning by the pool.
"The sport itself is very safe with the proper protection, but the sunbathers out by the pool don't have any protection," he said.
Yoo said a paint ball's maximum range is between 100 feet and 125 feet. The Y's swimming pool is about 75 feet from its property line.
"A paint ball would have to go over a 12 foot net, over the 100-foot natural barrier, over the trees which are 65 to 75-feet-tall and through the 75 feet from the YMCA property to the swimming pool," Yoo said.
He said he doesn't believe that's likely.
Grantonic said that whether the decision is appealed in court is up to the YMCA board.
Representatives of the other entities in opposition to the permit request couldn't be reached.
The fields will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends during fair weather months, likely April through late October. Yoo said that if the decision isn't appealed, he hopes to begin operating by late summer.
Vertigo opened just over two years ago, hasn't caused problems in the township and provides a place for skateboarders to hone their skills, he said.
"I just want to do the same thing for the kids and adults who play paint ball," Yoo said.