Residents urge scale-back of Memorial Park plan; pickleball players seek permanent courts, painted lines and noise mitigation

Public comment during Cupertino's March 3 priority-setting workshop centered largely on Memorial Park and existing pickleball courts. Multiple speakers urged the council to reduce the Memorial Park proposal's scope and cost and to make the existing pickleball courts permanent rather than build new courts.

Representatives of the Cupertino Pickleball Club said the city could save money by using existing courts near the bleachers as a permanent home for pickleball instead of constructing new dedicated courts. Anup (Anoop) Singhal, speaking for the Cupertino Pickleball Club, said making the current courts permanent would be “the fiscally responsible thing to do” and estimated the city could save at least $1,200,000 plus site-preparation costs if it avoided building new courts.

Club supporters described daily use and volunteer maintenance: volunteers have been retaping temporary lines every two to three weeks and offered to fund more durable upgrades. Frank Chu described the maintenance burden: volunteers spend long hours removing residue from tape and reapplying lines; he said Memorial Park is now the only public court in the Bay Area still relying on tape. Frank asked the city to allow the club to privately pay to paint permanent lines on Court 1.

Other speakers focused on noise and fairness. David Lim, a Cupertino resident and club member, cited measured peak sound levels of about 59–63 decibels and suggested a sound barrier along the roadway to reduce noise by 10–15 decibels. Some speakers urged limits for nonresident players and suggested a membership or registration program; one speaker proposed charging nonresidents the kind of annual fees country clubs collect. Opponents of constructing new courts argued the Memorial Park plan (which has been cited in public comment as a roughly $80,000,000 plan) should be downsized.

Staff response and next steps: Staff told the council that CIP prioritization will return in April and that any net changes to the Memorial Park plan would be handled in the CIP/budget process. Staff also noted that some maintenance and program elements (for example, permanent striping or buffering) could be pursued through CIP or smaller operational projects depending on council direction.

Representative public comments (edited for brevity): - Eric Zang (student): urged council to prioritize climate and urban-forest actions, noting Cupertino's net-zero goal for 2040. - Anup Singhal (Cupertino Pickleball Club): “We support the reduction of scope of the Memorial Park plan. It is the fiscally responsible thing to do.” - Bianca (Cupertino Pickleball Club): urged the council to make the current courts permanent to save budget and preserve community benefits. - Frank Chu (volunteer): described repeated tape maintenance and urged permanent painted lines; said volunteers spend many hours retaping every 2–3 weeks. - David Lim (resident): suggested a sound barrier and presented reported sound measurements near peak play.