Sylvania board denies appeal of paintball business
Funagin's operators ordered to cease operations.
By Mike Sigov / The Blade
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 02:07:57 GMT
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The Sylvania Board of Zoning Appeals Tuesday denied the appeal by two Sylvania paintball operation owners, who are facing multiple zoning violation citations for wayward paintballs, of an order to cease their operations.
The board voted 3 to 2 to deny the appeal by Kevin Swearingen and his son Jason, owners of Funagin’s Family Fun Center on Centennial Road, of the city's Oct. 7 notice of violation and subsequent order to cease outdoor paintball operations.
“We fully expected the decision,” Margaret Beck, attorney for Funagin’s, said, adding that her clients would be appealing the decision in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas within 10 days.
The residents of the Villas of Palisades subdivision off Little Road, adjacent to the 11-year-old business to the east, say hundreds of paintballs have splattered their homes, vehicles, and yards each weekend since the houses were built 3½ years ago. The Swearingens claim the neighbors grossly exaggerate the number of escaped paintballs and actively interfere with the business’ operations.
A jurisdiction issue had complicated matters until about a year ago. While the subdivision was always in city limits, the business’ property was annexed.
Last month, the city discovered the original conditional-use permit Funagin’s obtained from the township in 2008 includes a requirement that the business maintain “adequate screening ... capable of keeping all paintball pellets within the prescribed activity area.” Leslie Brinning, Sylvania law director, has told The Blade that the permit follows the land and remains in force regardless of change of ownership or jurisdiction.
The city issued a notice of violation Oct. 7 ordering Funagin’s to “cease outdoor paintball activities until your activities are brought into compliance with the governing conditions of the previously issued conditional use permit.”
Ms. Brinning has told The Blade that the city has been attempting to negotiate a resolution since February and court action is the last resort in trying to gain compliance.
During the zoning board hearing, Ms. Beck told the board that the owners' appeal was of a procedural rather than factual nature. She argued that the city of Sylvania had no jurisdiction over the property because, she said, first, the city has not zoned the property after it was annexed from Sylvania Township into the city in December, and, second, it has no authority to enforce the township's zoning code.
Richard Malone, attorney for the Villas of Palisades, told the board that Ms. Beck's arguments were irrelevant, arguing that when the township issued the conditional use permit, it put the burden on the business owners to make sure that “all paintballs were to be contained on the property” as a necessary condition of the permit.
Gary Sommer, the board chairman who ultimately voted against denying the appeal, said during the board deliberations that he considered that condition no more relevant after the township had the business owners raise the barriers to between 19 and 21 feet.
The city has filed minor misdemeanor charges in Sylvania Municipal Court against the Swearingens.
Each currently faces multiple citations — nine as of late November — and Ms. Brinning has told The Blade that additional citations were pending. The penalty for each of the charges is up to 30 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.