The Woodbury City Council on July 16 approved a conditional-use permit for an indoor pickleball club to occupy 22,000 square feet within an existing light-industrial building off Commerce Drive.

City planner Eric told the council the proposed facility was within an I-1 (light industrial) zoning district and that the city historically allows commercial recreation in the “places to work” land-use category through a conditional-use-permit (CUP) review. The staff recommendation included a cap limiting recreational use in the building to 22,000 square feet (about 34 percent of the building), with any additional recreational use requiring an amended CUP and further review by the Planning Commission and council.

Planning Commission liaison John Jarrett summarized the commission’s June 30 review and said the commission “voted all in favor.” Jarrett recounted that the applicant expects to use roughly 22,000 square feet for pickleball courts and “approximately 43,000 square feet” for office and warehouse uses.

The council discussed parking, hours, security and noise. Eric told the council the existing site provides 171 parking spaces and that, under the city’s commercial-recreation parking ratio (one stall per 300 square feet), the pickleball portion would require 73 stalls.

On hours and staffing, Jarrett said the planning commission had notes showing the pickleball facility’s intended hours would be 6 a.m. to midnight, while the office suites in the same building would have 24-hour access for renters. The applicant planned keypad access rather than onsite staffing overnight. The council added a staff lighting review as a condition to verify parking-lot illumination and pedestrian safety.

Council member votes were recorded in favor during roll call and the resolution adopting findings of fact for the CUP was approved. The council also approved the project-specific permit subject to the conditions outlined in the council letter (identified in the packet as 25-180) and the resolution (identified in the record as resolution 20 5-139, as read into the record). No dissenting votes were recorded.

Why it matters: The CUP approval allows a commercial recreation use in an industrial business park with conditions intended to limit impacts on adjacent businesses and the public right-of-way. Staff emphasized that CUPs “run with the land,” meaning future operators would be subject to the same permit conditions unless the CUP is amended.

Next steps: The applicant indicated the building purchase was contingent on this approval; staff said construction and tenant fit-out likely will take several months before the pickleball use opens.