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Milpitas council keeps Hall Park pickleball under pilot, orders noise and parking mitigations and further study
Summary
Following three years of a pilot program, council directed staff to implement sound, parking and signage measures, offer limited neighbor assistance and add funding for further study of permanent or alternate pickleball sites instead of immediately converting two tennis courts to six permanent pickleball courts.
The Milpitas City Council on May 21 directed staff to implement a set of mitigation measures at Hall Park and to study permanent or alternative locations for expanded pickleball courts rather than immediately converting two tennis courts into six permanent pickleball courts.
Council members voted unanimously to instruct staff to install additional sound-dampening panels and fence reinforcements, improve signage and queuing, paint tandem parking lines on La Honda Drive, add red curbing for emergency access in the Hall Park parking lot, and propose funding in the capital-improvement program for further study of permanent and alternative locations — including indoor options. Staff estimated the Hall Park work and program improvements would raise the total CIP budget for the project to about $200,000 (the original CIP 5116 budget was $100,000 and $68,000 remained unspent at the time of the meeting).
Renee Lawrenson, director of Recreation and Community Services, reviewed the pilot history and outreach. The city completed a series of public meetings, focus groups and surveys since 2023; staff installed a safety fence and sound panels in 2024 after council direction. Lawrenson told the council the department measured decibel levels at 16 locations around Hall Park before and after the panels were installed and reported reductions of roughly 12–24%, with the largest decreases closest to the park.
Supporters and organized players said the pilot dramatically increased use and community benefits. Van Leong, president of the Milpitas Pickleball Club, told the council Hall Park now "welcomed over a thousand players every week," saying the program supports fitness and social connection and that the pilot transformed an underused space.
Neighbors and some residents described ongoing problems with noise, parking, illegal parking and post-play socializing outside the park. Melissa Pereira, who identified herself as a Hall Park neighbor of more than 40 years, told the council: "This pilot has failed. Don't make it permanent. Find a better location and give us back peace, safety, and a true sense of community." Lawrenson said a focus group of immediate neighbors raised concerns about evening use outside posted hours and the volume of socializing and parking in front of neighbor homes.
Staff described site-specific mitigation options: adding more sound panels where gaps remain, adjusting the safety-fence alignment so it does not encroach on tennis play areas, implementing a queuing system for court play, painting tandem parking stalls on the south side of La Honda to create roughly 18 efficient on-street spaces, and a limited-term Neighbor Assistance Program to subsidize window treatments for qualifying nearby homes. Police data shared with staff showed a modest number of calls for service in the area related to abandoned or illegally parked vehicles and occasional suspicious-vehicle reports.
Budget and next steps: the current CIP 5116 had $68,000 remaining; staff estimated an additional $100,000 would be needed to complete the recommended site and program improvements and to fund the proposed study of alternate and indoor sites. Council members asked staff to continue outreach with the school district and local property owners about indoor or off-site locations and directed staff to add study funding to the next CIP budget cycle for consideration. The motion specified retaining the current portable nets (no permanent net installation now) and moving forward with the mitigation measures and the study.
Motion and vote: Council Member Lam moved to adopt staff’s mitigation measures and direct staff to bring forward CIP adjustments and a study of alternative sites; Council Member Chua seconded. The motion passed unanimously with four ayes and one absent.
Council members said they want a continuing effort to balance the sport’s growth with neighborhood quality-of-life protections, and staff said it will return with budget figures and a work plan for implementation and site study.
