We received an email explaining our HOA Board of Directors is considering a proposal to permanently convert one of our community’s two tennis courts into a pickle ball court. (Currently, people can play pickle ball on one of the courts.)
We live next door to the tennis courts. One of the reasons we moved to our neighborhood is to enjoy the peace and quiet of our backyard. The echoing of players striking the ball in pickle ball is significantly louder than the noise from hitting a tennis ball. We can hear people play pickle ball even when we are inside our home. We are not alone.
Google the phrase “pickleball too loud” and you can read news media reports stretching from Miami to Los Angeles about the controversy of the game’s loudness and a concern that it might impact home prices and devalue property. One of our neighbors told us his previous community converted courts to pickle ball, leading to significant conflict and people moving away due to the increased noise.
At our courts, we hear pickle ball players scream and yell while playing. We have heard pickle ball players cursing. Another homeowner explained people living in outside communities are receiving invitations to play pickle ball in our neighborhood because the game is not available in their own communities. We see evidence of this when cars park along the road during pickle ball games.
We are concerned converting one of the tennis courts into four permanent pickle ball courts would expand the concerns we raised above and would devalue, not add value, to our community. Even if our neighbors enjoy playing pickle ball, we are asking them to empathize with a neighbor seeking to preserve our quiet environment and the character of our community. We are asking our neighbors to imagine how they might feel about a proposal that might increase noise next door to their home.
In our point of view, even if a proposal may not impact us directly, it is crucial we listen to our neighbors and be open-minded to their concerns.
