MOORPARK : Residents to Protest Paint-Ball Game Site

A group of Moorpark residents plans to appear before the Planning Commission tonight to protest a proposed site for paint-ball games in their neighborhood.

The Planning Commission voted 4 to 0 on Jan. 20 to recommend City Council approval of a proposal by two Los Angeles brothers to run the weekend war games at 14506 Los Angeles Place.

In the game, adults shoot gelatin capsules filled with a paint-like substance from air guns as they try to capture their opponents’ flag.

Tonight, planning commissioners will take a second vote, which is usually only a formality.

About a dozen residents who live near the proposed game site in the Virginia Colony neighborhood attended the Jan. 20 meeting to oppose the plan.

A larger group of residents from the area is expected at tonight’s meeting to try to get the approval overturned before it reaches the City Council.

Residents of the 50 to 60 houses in the neighborhood are concerned that the games would lead to problems with traffic, noise and vandalism, said resident Anthony Simen.

But Community Development Director Patrick J. Richards said the panel cannot reconsider its decision because no commissioners voted against the project on Jan. 20.

“Only a commissioner who had voted against the matter could ask for a reconsideration at the next meeting,” Richards said.

Simen said his group will appeal to the City Council if the Planning Commission upholds its approval of the site.