Paintball in Fairfax? County staff says yes to controversial project

His neighbors may disagree, but Fairfax County planning staff is recommending approval for Clifton resident Jeff Waters’ plan to open the jurisdiction’s first paintball facility.

It’s been quite the battle for Waters, who has debated whether to continue with his bid for a special permit to open Castle Creek Paintball. The hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals has been postponed and delayed in the wake of questions from both the county and critical neighbors.

But Waters has kept with it. The hearing is now scheduled for Oct. 1. And it’s looking good for Castle Creek.

According to a newly released staff report, the paintball facility will consume roughly 75 acres of Waters’ wife’s family’s 204-acre Clifton farm off Popes Head Road, though the seven roped-off playing fields would be limited to 25 acres. Some of the site will be put into conservation easement.

The proposed facility would offer a variety of games, including “capture the flag” and “attack and defend,” to no more than 1,315 full-day players or 2,630 half-day players per month. The paintball weapons will be limited to compressed air for propellant (precluding the use of CO2). The application also includes the option for outdoor laser tag.

Proposed hours of operation: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Waters will provide food truck service to players and a covered area with picnic tables. He plans to install an office trailer and a temporary restroom facility, but contrary to the initial application (it has since been scaled back), there will be no permanent buildings constructed on the site.

Why scale back? Because the original bid was doomed. As staff notes in its report, “future intensification of the use could result in negative impacts to the rural nature of the area and the natural resources present on the site.”

The number of Castle Creek players will be limited by the capacity of the septic system that will be installed at Castle Creek. The septic system will have an alarm that requires the facility to shut down should the “amount of use” approach the pre-set limit.

“Staff believes that since the applicant has substantially reduced the original proposal to the lower intensity use that is now the subject of the application, using only small-scale, more temporary structures, generating fewer anticipated vehicle trips coupled with limitations on the operating hours, the proposed special permit is in harmony with the intent of the land use recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan,” per the report.

There is no mention of paintball in Fairfax County’s Zoning Ordinance. The zoning administrator interpreted it to be most similar to a skeet or trapshooting range, both of which are allowed in rural districts with a special permit.

The thumbs-up from staff does not preclude neighbors from challenging the permit before the BZA. A local group, the Popes Head Creek Crisis Program, led by high school student Jake Galla, is urging neighbors to sign up for the hearing and to testify in opposition. The occasionally nasty dispute between Galla and his supporters, and Waters and his backers, has been largely quiet since July.

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