Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports across the country, but not everyone is on board with courts in their neighborhoods. Now, Grover Beach is addressing recent noise complaints from neighbors.
For the last four years, residents near Mentone Basin Park in Grover Beach have been waking up to a unique sound, sometimes as the sun rises.
William James lives around the block from Mentone Basin Park.
“I’m hearing bonk, bonk," James said. "That's fine during the day, but nighttime and early morning, it shouldn't be going on. That's my feeling on it, and I think everybody would agree with that if they lived here.”
Pickleball players have taken over four courts at the park after the tennis courts were replaced in 2022. Mayor Kassi Dee said they see over 100 players on the courts each month.
A few months ago, residents started sending noise complaints to Grover Beach city leaders, asking for a solution to what they call incessant noise from the city’s pickleball courts.
“To address those concerns, we directed staff to bring a pickleball item back to the Parks, Recreation and Beautification Commission to talk about things like set hours, soundproofing the space, softer paddles, softer equipment, basically to reduce the noise level," Dee said.
David Swift attended the city council meeting Monday night to address the council about the issue.
“It seems like the only reasonable compromise you have in front of you is to reduce the hours on the court so that the players still get to play in the neighborhood, get some peace and quiet before and after hours," he said.
And that’s exactly what the council did. The city has decided to reduce the hours that all parks in the city are open. The current 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. schedule is changing to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Cole Vosburg plays pickleball almost daily on the courts. He said he’s not bothered by the schedule change and understands there should be a balance between keeping residents and players happy.
“I guess it's kind of a fine line," Vosburg said. "I mean, we're all here to enjoy the nice weather, get a lot of exercise, but like I said, I understand that, you know, it might affect someone that wants to go to bed at 9:00 and they constantly hear the noise of the pickleball.”
Mayor Dee said signs with the new hours will be going up soon, but it will take a few months for them to become official.
