Essa refuses to pay paintball owners $90,000
By Richard Blanchard

Essa council has deferred making a court ordered payment of $90,000 to the owners of a paintball operation in the township. Council decided not to make the payment which was ordered late last month by a Barrie judge until it has further legal advice on the matter.

"There hasn't been a cheque issued. We're still reviewing it," said township deputy mayor Terry Dowdall about the payment after last Wednesday's council meeting.

The interim payment of costs is associated with the legal battle between Barrie Paintball and the township is the result of an Ontario Municipal Board decision in August 2006, which found the township negligent in its dealings with Michael and Deborah Clark.

The Barrie Paintball operation is located on 50 acres of land at the northwest corner of the 25th Sideroad and 10th Concession, north of of Ivy. Ontario Municipal Board vicechair Susan Campbell wrote in her decision that the township had tried to use the site plan approval process in order to prohibit the paintball operation which was a legal use of the property.

"Having heard the submissions of counsel for all parties, on all the motions, and having reviewed the voluminous materials filed on the motions, which provide a good history of the site plan application, the board finds that the conduct of the township has been clearly unreasonable and vexatious. While the conduct of the applicant was at times questionable, the Board finds that any such conduct was the direct result of the provocation of the Township's unreasonable conduct," she said in a statement. "The subject property was, at all material times, zoned A2 Agricultural and OSC Open Space Conservation. A "recreational use" is permitted on lands so zoned."

The court found that paintball fell within the definition of "recreational use" as provided for in the bylaw. Specifically, the court found that paintball is an activity that has a use similar in nature to golf courses. Further, the court determined that the risk to participants, observers and passers-by associated with the paintball use is no greater than that associated with other permitted uses. "

In September 2002, the Clarks filed a site plan application to establish a paintball operation on the site.

Although, there had been controversy over a paintball operation in the township on the 8th Concession in 1985 which subsequently went out of business, various councils never passed a bylaw prohibiting their operation. In the subsequent years, the Clarks took the township to Ontario Municipal Board and the Superior Court of Ontario court over its failure to approve the site plan application. Deborah Clark complained to council Wednesday night about council's failure to make the interim payment to her and her husband.

"Where's our cheque?" She asked township mayor Dave Guergis and noted that the interim payment by the township was supposed to be paid out imnediately.

Clark added that a final determination of the costs would be decided later this year by the Superior Court of Justice. Clark's husband said last year that he estimated his costs, due to the township's actions, at over $400,000.