O'Hare Paintball moving from Bensenville to Palatine

The Palatine village council approved a plan Monday night to allow a Bensenville-based paintball company to open an indoor facility in the village and could allow an outdoor course if it passes a noise test this summer.

O'Hare Paintball will move into the building at 519 S. Consumers Ave. near the intersection of routes 14 and 53. The building that once housed bowling lanes and arcade machines under previous owners will now be ground zero for recreational paint-based warfare.

The village council raised few questions about the company's indoor operations but expressed concern that the outdoor component, which would be open only during the summer, would disturb neighboring residents.

To address those concerns, the council added a condition to the plan's approval stating that O'Hare Paintball would have to undergo a two-week test of its outdoor operations. During the test, which will be this summer, the company will have to set up a temporary outdoor arena - fitted with nets so loose paintballs don't cause collateral damage - to see if the resulting noise is acceptable by the village's standards.

Jeffry Congine Sr., the owner of O'Hare Paintball, said he is confident the business will pass the village's noise test.

"It is not as loud as people are assuming it is going to be, so I feel perfectly fine about what happened tonight," Congine said.

In addition to the two-week outdoor trial run, Village Manager Reid Ottesen the village will do a review after six months.

"(It's) just to make sure there are no issues, and if there are we can adjust," Ottesen said. "We will report back in regards to how did the indoor go and how did the outdoor go. We may in a position at that time of allowing outdoor to take place on a permanent basis on whatever conditions we think is appropriate."

Patricia M. Mitchell, who lives nearby on the 500 block of South Williams Avenue, said she was concerned outdoor paintballing would be too loud but is glad for the noise test.

"If the petitioners can go within the village's recommendations and they can succeed doing that then that is fine," Mitchell said. "But if there are issues they either need to be resolved or the outside paintball needs to be disbanded, and that is fair."

The business will leave its current location at 1071 Thorndale Ave. in Bensenville when it opens in Palatine.

The village council approved the plan unanimously.