Professional HOA management group, Cedar Management tells its HOA boards in their post, "Expect Legal Ramifications Due to Pickleball Noise" that: "To residents who live close to the court, the noise will certainly be a source of nuisance. Board members can then expect pickleball complaints raining down in buckets."
The overwhelming input from people all over the country is to do the work BEFORE a shovel hits the dirt - or pay the price.
• REALTOR® Magazine, Homeowners’ Growing Ire: Pickleball - https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/homeowners-growing-ire-pickleball
But don't just take our word for it. If you've read the 77 page report, you've seen all of this; and you understand why we want an independent professional noise impact assessment from a company like Spendiarian & Willis LLC.
Here is an excerpt from the 2023 noise impact assessment for the city of Centennial, Colorado citing 18 different news articles.
6. Characteristics of Pickleball Sound
Spendiarian & Willis has prepared many noise assessments and abatement plans for pickleball courts. This chapter summarizes some of the knowledge gained over the years of working with this sound source.
The main concern in regard to noise from the pickleball courts is the sound produced by the impact of the hard plastic ball on the paddles. This sound is characterized by a sudden onset and brief duration, thus classifying it as impulsive sound. The spectral content of the paddle impact is narrowband with a center frequency typically between 1,000 and 2,000 Hertz. This is near the most sensitive frequency range of human hearing.
6.1 Comparison of Pickleball to Other Activities
There is a common misconception that pickleball is acoustically equivalent to tennis, volleyball, or many of the other activities typically found at outdoor recreation centers and parks. Numerous news articles covering disputes over pickleball noise, many of which originate when existing tennis courts are converted to pickleball, demonstrate that this is not the case:
• Cutler, Amy, “Rise of pickleball pitting neighbor against neighbor, leading to lawsuits,” Arizona's Family, Phoenix, Arizona. February 13, 2023.
• Arden, Amanda, “Lake Oswego shuts down city pickleball courts indefinitely due to noise complaints.” KION 6 News, Portland, Oregon. January 23, 2023.
• Columbo, Mike, “Pickleball plan pits Kirkwood residents against neighboring country club.” Fox 2 Now, Saint Louis, Missouri. January 26, 2023.
• Sheets, Connor, “Pickleball noise is fueling neighborhood drama from coast to coast.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California. March 3, 2022.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-03/pickleball-noise-fueling- neighborhood-drama
• Adler, Erin, “Apple Valley neighbors in a pickle over pickleball noise.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota. March 27, 2019.
http://www.startribune.com/apple-valley- neighbors-in-a-pickle-over-pickleball-noise/507726242/
• Bartel, Mario, “Pickleball banished from Port Moody court after neighbours complain of rising stress, anxiety.” The Tri-City News, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. April 24, 2021.
• City of Lakewood, “Green Mountain Courts Closure.”
https://www.lakewoodtogether.org/pickleball/news_feed/green-mountain-courts- update
• Higgins, Sean, “No vote on residential pickleball until city adopts new land management code.” KPCW News, Park City, Utah. January 27, 2022.
• Maryniak, Paul, “Pickleball lights plan puts two HOAs at loggerheads.” Ahwatukee Foothills News, Tempe, Arizona. November 29, 2017.
https://www.ahwatukee.com/news/article_9056a946-d48e-11e7-9838- 8b69fb2d50b2.html
• Bottemiller, Kitty, “Too loud! Pickleball noise upsets neighbors.” Green Valley News, Green Valley, Arizona. August 28, 2013.
• Clay, Joanna, “Woman sues Newport Beach over pickleball noise at park near her home.” Orange County Register, California. April 7, 2016.
• Lazaruk, Susan, “Pickleballers face off with residents over noise in Metro Vancouver.” Vancouver Sun, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. February 2, 2022.
• Shanes, Alexis, “Village in a pickle: How Ridgewood plans to tone down the pickleball court noise.” northjersey.com, California. January 16, 2020.
• Monterey Herald Staff, “Pickleball noise controversy goes before city leaders Pacific Grove neighbors object to game at nearby tennis courts.” The Mercury News, California. September 19, 2019.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/19/pickleball-noise- controversy-goes-before-city-leaders/
• Fraser, Patrick and Rodriguez, Ambar, “What to do about constant pickleball noise?” WSVN 7 News Miami, Miami, Florida. March 27, 2019.
https://wsvn.com/news/help- me-howard/what-to-do-about-constant-pickleball-noise/
• Sutphin, Daniel, “Nixing the noise: Sound fence construction underway at Gilchrist pickleball courts.” Port Charlotte Sun, Charlotte Harbor, Florida. May 20, 2019.
• Corrigan, James, “York residents complain noise from pickleball club is hurting quality of life.” WMTW News 8, Portland, Maine. November 16, 2021.
It should be clear from the above list of references that pickleball constitutes a significant change in the acoustic environment of the area surrounding the courts in comparison to tennis and must be planned for accordingly. In particular, the impulsive sound produced by the impact of the hard plastic ball on the paddle can cause significant noise impact for those living near the courts.
6.2 Effects of Impulsive Sound
Persistent impulsive sounds create annoyance because they are similar to sounds that contain important information about our environment such as footsteps, a door opening, a tap at the window, or speech. We are sensitive to these types of sounds because they alert us to events occurring nearby that we may need to respond to. Continuous false alarms such as the popping sound created by pickleball paddle impacts make it difficult to relax, concentrate, or sleep soundly without disturbance as each time a pop is heard it draws the attention, creating distraction.
Betterment is defined as improvement that is made to something, especially to a property, area, etc. Does this sound like betterment to you? Let's remove this $100,000 Betterment from the reserves for 2025 and make thoughtful choices that truly improve our community rather than tearing us apart.