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Residents urge City of Maitland to limit pickleball court bookings after repeated monopolization complaints
Summary
Residents told the City Council on Feb. 24 that a small number of players are reserving multiple courts in advance and leaving others empty, and asked staff to consider booking limits or same‑day release rules so more players can access courts.
Pete Lierda, a Maitland resident, told the City Council at the Feb. 24 meeting that the city’s pickleball reservation system has been “a de facto open play” that allows a small group to monopolize courts. “If you’re not first in line to reserve a court, basically, a small group of people are monopolizing all of the courts, by booking all of them,” Lierda said.
Lierda described arriving early to the Cornwall courts to try to reserve a court and finding groups booking multiple courts for players who later did not show. “They just book all the courts, and then see who will play and then people will show up,” he said. He said staff rules require reserving only when you know who you are playing with, but that practice is not being followed.
Ryan McDavid, a Maitland resident, said he purchased individual memberships after repeatedly being shut out and still could not get a court. “I’m a hundred dollars deep in a membership, and I still can’t get a court,” McDavid said. He asked the council and staff to “come up with a solution and work together,” suggesting limits on how many courts an individual can reserve per week or a same‑day release rule that makes unused reservations available to the general public after a set time.
Speakers urged staff to consider operational fixes rather than changes to the physical courts. Suggestions included capping the number of courts a single reservation or person may hold in a week, and a rule that would free reservations not being actively used by a certain morning hour so others may book them.
No formal council action on pickleball policy or court booking rules was taken during the meeting; the comments were made during the public‑comment period. The council did not adopt any specific policy change on Feb. 24, and staff were not recorded as providing a formal response or timeline for changes during the meeting.
The public comments included several firsthand accounts of peak days and times (early mornings and Sunday peak play) when booking problems were most acute. Residents asked that staff examine booking logs and consider adjustments to reservations, membership rules, or enforcement of the existing requirement that players list who they will be playing with when reserving a court.
The City of Maitland has not published an official change to the Cornwall tennis/pickleball reservation policy as of the Feb. 24 meeting. Staff follow‑up or a formal agenda item would be required for the council to direct ordinance or administrative changes.
