Council tables conditional-use request for private pickleball court at 8 Rochambeau Drive after contested public hearing

Poquoson City Council voted to table a conditional-use permit (CUP) application from Gregory Shaw to construct a private pickleball court in the front yard at 8 Rochambeau Drive, after extended public testimony from the applicant, neighbors and other community members. The request was the subject of a contested planning-commission hearing, where the Planning Commission had unanimously recommended denial; council members said the item needs more time for review and outreach and voted 7–0 to table the request for a future work session.

What was proposed: the applicant requested permission to place a 30-by-62-foot concrete slab (the official playing area is 20-by-44 feet) in the property’s front-yard area, produce a court painted to blend with surroundings, install four 15-foot poles with lights concentrated on the court, and build a small (roughly 12-by-16-foot) observation deck. The parcel is roughly 1.42 acres; the site plan offered buffer plantings (needlepoint holly) and an explicit condition that the court remain private (no commercial, tournament or charitable use).

Arguments from the applicant: Gregory Shaw and…