Tiburon Peninsula Club pickleball review: club installs barriers, sound study shows lower levels; commission to consider expanding hours

The Tiburon Planning Commission on Jan. 22 received a status report on pickleball play at the Tiburon Peninsula Club and heard residents and club members describe improvements, continuing concerns and a possible compromise on operating hours.

The club’s director of court sports, Colin Braun, told the commission the club has installed new acoustic materials and other controls and invested in mitigation measures. Braun said the club has four pickleball courts and that about 30% of club members use pickleball; he described the sport as “the fastest growing sport in the United States.”

An acoustical consultant hired by the club, John Laverty of Vena Claus and Associates, presented measurements taken at multiple receptor locations in September 2024 and compared them with earlier readings. Laverty said the newer, more absorptive wall material reduced reflected sound and produced reductions “across the board,” with several receptor locations showing drops of a few decibels and at least one location with reductions on the order of roughly 6 dB. He summarized that measured levels at the receptor locations remained below the Town of Tiburon exterior residential guideline and that the changes reduced sound energy reaching nearby homes.

Why it matters: neighbors had raised concerns about impulsive, staccato noise from pickleball play during prior hearings. The commission required a follow-up report and additional measurements after approving a conditional use permit amendment in 2024. The report and the consultant’s measurements were intended to show whether the mitigation steps taken by the club have reduced off-site impacts.

What the club did and what the study found - The club spent roughly $165,000 on sound-containment measures and materials and reported hiring and staffing a court attendant (the club cited roughly $67,000 per year for staffing the courts). - The club replaced older reflective wall material with a softer, more absorptive material (the consultant described a material with a high noise-reduction coefficient) and added a fourth side to the court enclosure to limit escape paths for reflected energy. - The consultant presented multiple monitoring sites (L1–L6 and NAL sites). He said levels measured during periods of play showed ambient-plus-activity levels generally in the mid-40s to mid-50s (decibel LDN/Leq measures at the receptor locations cited in the presentation), below the residential exterior guideline used by the town. Laverty told the commission that some receptor locations recorded reductions of about 2–6 dB after the change in material. He also explained that many of the high short-term “peaks” on the graphs were traffic events (cars and trucks) and that true pickleball peaks were identifiable in the recordings but often lower in level at more distant receptor locations.

Public comment: split between neighbors and players Public comment was large and split. Several nearby residents who live uphill from the club said they still hear intrusive, impulsive noise from play and asked for continued limits on hours. Roger Borchard, a resident with a science background, urged the commission to consider that short impulsive peaks can be more annoying than average metrics suggest and questioned whether the monitoring captured the short-time peaks that neighbors perceive.

At the same time, many club members and other residents urged continued pickleball play and asked for more flexible hours so working adults can play after work. Scott Miller, a TPC board member, asked the commission to consider a seasonal adjustment to hours — keeping the current early-evening cutoff during short winter days but allowing play until roughly 6:30 p.m. from March through October. Several speakers said an indoor facility would be the best long-term solution.

Commission deliberations and next steps Commissioners praised the club and neighbors for working together and for the club’s investments. Commissioners noted the consultant’s data showing reductions at the measured receptor locations and the absence of new complaint calls to town staff since mitigation actions began. At the end of the discussion the commission voted unanimously to receive the status report and to direct town staff to return with an item that would consider an amendment to the Tiburon Peninsula Club conditional use permit to address possible expansion of pickleball hours (the amendment would be agendized and noticed separately for future action). Chair D'Fever and commissioners said the item will allow a properly noticed hearing on any proposed hours changes so neighbors and interested parties can comment again.

Votes at a glance - Receive TPC pickleball status report and direct staff to bring back an item considering an amendment to the Tiburon Peninsula Club conditional use permit regarding expansion of pickleball hours — Motion by Commissioner Sy Tsai; second by Commissioner Williams; vote: 5–0, approved. - Continuance: Conditional Use Permit (Caprice restaurant valet/parking item) — motion to continue to Feb. 12 — approved unanimously (5–0). - Minutes: Adoption of Dec. 11, 2024 regular meeting minutes — approved (4 ayes, 1 abstention; Commissioner Daniel Meir abstained).

Context and immediate implications The club is operating under a conditional use permit amendment approved in 2024 that placed conditions on hours and required follow-up monitoring. The commission’s vote to direct staff to return with an amendment item does not itself change hours today; any change would require a separate, noticed amendment and a formal vote. Several commissioners said a seasonal approach to expanded hours — later cutoffs in months with longer daylight — would be a possible compromise to consider. Neighbors who remain concerned asked staff to ensure monitoring and reporting continue, and several speakers urged pursuit of a permanent indoor facility as a long-term solution.

What’s next Staff will prepare a noticed agenda item for a future meeting to consider specific hour changes to the Tiburon Peninsula Club CUP and will circulate the club’s detailed sound study and recording files for commissioner and public review ahead of that hearing. The Caprice valet conditional use permit item was continued to the Planning Commission’s Feb. 12 meeting by unanimous vote earlier in the same session.

Ending The commission closed the hearing after the vote and confirmed staff will return with a noticed item that would present concrete hour-change options for public review and a formal decision.