Carmel, California bans pickleball at public park over noise complaints

The wealthy oceanfront town of Carmel, California, has banned pickleball in its public park after residents complained that the constant sound of paddles striking balls was too noisy.

The Carmel City Council voted earlier this month to permanently prohibit the sport at Forest Hill Park, the only public pickleball location within city limits, marking the first such ban in the state, according to sfgate.com.

Residents reported that the “popping” sound had been echoing through the neighborhood as players participated in the game that has grown in popularity, particularly among seniors and retirees, the outlet reported.

The council put a temporary ban in place last month until it came up with a permanent solution, according to the report. Their best idea was to require soft paddles and balls to reduce the noise from plastic balls hitting wooden paddles.

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However, at a city council meeting on Nov. 4, several residents said the temporary ban helped them enjoy a quieter community after the constant noise from the game.

“It’s been so peaceful and quiet,” Carmel resident Kimberly Edwards said at the meeting, adding that there had been an “uptick in tennis players,” especially younger people.

But Edwards was skeptical that the ban would be able to be enforced.

“There’s gonna be a problem,” she said. “These aren’t supervised courts. You know that. They’re not — there’s no parks and rec department. So as I addressed in my letter: Who’s going to enforce this? … Am I going to have to hear a noise and then call the police? Is a police officer going to have to be, you know, sitting there on these courts, supervising them?”

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“You guys are all in this position to protect us,” she said. “That’s your number one goal. That’s what your job is — not to placate these pickleball enthusiasts.”

Competitive pickleball player Barbara Lang, who said she no longer uses the Forest Hill Park courts, argued that even “quiet” pickleball at the park would be preferable to banning the sport.

“If you want to try it with the quiet ball, I think it’s only fair to the players to give that a chance,” she said, stressing that she speaks for many pickleballers not in attendance.

The city council decided against compromising by allowing the sport to be played with quieter equipment, which would have required monitoring.

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“We’re just overcomplicating it in the name of compromise,” council member Alissandra Dramov said, adding that she had to “accept the reality this is not a good location for pickleball.”

The city will draft an ordinance to permanently ban pickleball at the park.

Opponents of the ban will have two more hearings to appeal the ban once it is created.

“It’s just a really difficult thing to enforce,” Mayor Dale Byrne said, siding with the ban. “And I can’t ask the [police] chief to send his people up there. … It’s really sad that we can’t figure this out.”