Now the real work begins. An impact assessment will reveal unforeseen issues with the selected court site(s) or the site plan before investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in design and construction. From available research, courts located within 350 feet of residential structures often require abatement. Courts located within 150 feet require careful abatement design to avoid ongoing disputes.

WHAT IS IMPULSIVE SOUND?

A dishwasher noise is continuous. Most people try to buy a quieter dishwasher. Highway and airport noise is continuous. Luckily this is not a problem here in our tranquil Aquarina community. Pickleball noise is not the same. It is impulsive. That is one of the reasons that people can never get used to it. The impulsive sound and its frequency (TOCK TOCK TOCK) can be heard even while mowing the lawn. It is the category of sound that our brains are wired to hear and respond to…not unlike a knock at or opening of a door or the frequency used for a garbage truck backing up. Impulsive sound is disruptive to the enjoyment and tranquility of our indoor and outdoor spaces, reading a book, concentrating on a video lesson, taking a nap. We are wired to respond to it.

So properly measuring sound is not a simple matter of setting up a sound level meter and logging an equivalent sound pressure level. The short duration impulses produced by the paddle impacts require a detailed process of applying a metric that can accurately represent the community noise impact of the pickleball courts. In no uncertain terms, a couple of volunteers hitting paddles at the tennis court armed with a sound measuring device will not cut it. Don’t laugh – that’s been suggested to me more than once!

PRIORITY ONE: NO ATTACHMENT TO THE OUTCOME

The noise impact study should be performed by an outside, objective third party firm that specializes in noise impact studies. The firm should have no vested interest in the outcome of the study. Selecting a company that specializes in selling noise mitigation systems to perform the noise impact study represents an unacceptable conflict of interest.

SITE SELECTION, TESTING FOR CODE COMPLIANCE AND AN ABATEMENT PLAN PRESENTATION

The Company that is selected to do the environmental acoustics project should be involved from the very beginning. They will be integral in site selection so that sound modeling and abatement is considered in order to address any community noise impact issues before they become a problem that is expensive to retrofit.

• First, we need a Pickleball Committee to work with the Noise Impact Assessment Company to select site(s) in order to minimize unnecessary expense. Once engaged for the project, the company will be able to tell us if a site won’t work – because they aren’t here to sell us mitigation equipment. The Pickleball Committee would need to have input from the Architectural Review Committee as to which sites are acceptable to be in harmony with the surrounding structures and planned use and development.
• The Noise Impact Assessment Company will then perform either on-site testing, acoustical site modeling, or a combination of both to determine code compliance to Brevard County ordinances to address or prevent complaints and find solutions to potential noise pollution issues, this would include:

1. Background Noise Level and Compliance Testing: this tells us where we are now, and what would the impact be on the current environment.
2. Acoustical Site Modeling including Noise Contour Mapping: taking into account the golf course, water features, tennis courts and residential buildings that are more than one story high, which will have a definite impact on sound and need to be considered thoroughly. Because of the complex nature of the intervening lands, it may be necessary to consider abatement at buffer distances greater than 500 to 600 feet due to additional refraction effects created in these situations.
3. Abatement Design: Once the Site Modeling is done, they can give us an abatement plan which we can price to see if it is financially feasible to move forward with the project. They would only be paid for the plan – they would not be engaged in implementing any sound mitigation plan on site.
4. Community Engagement: In the interest of full transparency, the Company engaged should provide a public presentation of testing results and any associated sound abatement plans at the community center. Presentation of a formal abatement plan as well as the estimated cost to have an outside contractor implement that plan will inform us as to the feasibility of the project.

WHO WE RECOMMEND

The principals at Spendiarian & Willis have more than 20 years combined experience addressing code and zoning issues associated with both HOAs and municipalities and corporate site planning. Their reporting has been the basis for the development of municipal code. Their reporting has been used in instances where abatement was either necessary or not necessary; with data to back up the findings.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT

A company such as Pickleball Sound Mitigation (PSM LLC) whose financial performance is tied to implementation and whose principal is a referee with the USAP. They gather noise data and use that as a target for acoustical fencing to get pickleball sound down below the ordinary noise level at your place and all of the nearby homes. To date we have not seen any sound modeling for mixed environments including interceding golf course and water features. A rubber stamp and a shopping list will not ease concerns of neighbors about the community noise impact.

COMMITTEE

A Pickleball Committee was mentioned at the September 26th meeting. It seems like we are moving in the right direction. Who is on the committee? Let’s get this started. The next thing you know it will be 2025.