Ross progresses toward pickleball sound mitigation

Ross officials are weighing a range of options to mitigate the noise of pickleball courts.

“We’ve dropped everything to work on this,” Town Manager Christa Johnson said during the most recent Town Council meeting.

The meeting on Oct. 10 included a report by town staff on potential actions, including a prohibition on pickleball courts within 250 feet of residential property lines or a complete ban in residential zones. The council has also discussed requiring a pickleball use permits that would require a noise study and sound mitigation measures.

“If we can create a minimum standard and we think they are mitigating it to the best they can do, that’s the best we can do,” said Councilmember Mathew Salter.

Roberta Feliciano, the town’s planning and building director, said the regulations would be “prospective, meaning they would apply to new developments.”

The meeting followed a lengthy and spirited council discussion on Sept. 12, when the regulations were first considered. The council directed staff to identify quieter pickleball equipment and noise barriers, and to study the policy in Belvedere.

Pickleball has exploded in popularity in Marin but it also has irritated residents because of its noise. The paddle-and-ball game has prompted restrictions and audibility evaluations in other municipalities. Ross is considering its own regulations because of concerns about noise from private courts.

The noise limit for exterior use areas in Ross is 55 decibels. Courts must be at least 250 feet from residences in order to meet the restriction.

Benjamin Stock, the town attorney, said Lagunitas Country Club and the Branson School have conditional use permits with mechanisms for regulation. The permits can be modified biannually, he said.

Residents are divided on the issue.

Tom Allen said pickleball would result in declining property values and less happy residents.

“It’s not just something you can measure with a meter. It’s the pitch, it’s the frequency, it’s what’s called the play density,” he said. “I’m losing my peaceful enjoyment of my peaceful property.”

Baird Conner, a Lagunitas Country Club board member, said the town has had courts that have not generated any complaints.

“I have seen the benefits of pickleball from several different age groups,” Conner said. “Children and certainly some of our older members and town residents who don’t play tennis anymore can enjoy themselves in a great outdoor activity which generates great dividends for health in general.”

Feliciano identified quiet equipment from USA Pickleball, the sport’s governing organization, that lowers the decibel level of striking a ball. Standard paddles exceed 85 decibels, and a new paddle by Owl Sport that produces a decibel level below 80.

Feliciano also identified a manufacturer called Gamma that sells a “Librarian Foam Pickleball” that purportedly emits only 60 decibels.

Feliciano noted it might be a challenge to enforce municipal regulations related to equipment use.

Elsewhere in Marin, pickleball court lines were placed on Belvedere’s public tennis courts in 2019, according to a staff report. The city imposed time limits from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and manages access through a key purchase and electronic reservation system.

In Tiburon, noise barriers are used at the Tiburon Peninsula Club and at Teather Park on Beach Road, the report said.

Corte Madera, Mill Valley and San Anselmo do not require use permits for private pickleball courts.

Mitigation efforts such as soundproofed walls can cost $25,000 for the material and up to $90,000 for construction.

Johnson said the council plans to continue its deliberations on the topic but has not set another hearing date.