Planning commission backs recommendation for pickleball courts and dog-park complex at 7654–7664 Main Street

The Woodstock Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend City Council approval of a conditional use permit and four concurrent variances for 7654 and 7664 Main Street, a proposal that would create a recreational complex with six pickleball courts, a roughly 20,000-square-foot turfed off-leash dog park, an 880-square-foot kennel/daycare area, two food-truck stalls and a 2,500-square-foot commercial building that would include a bar and pro shop.

City planner Cameron Dunn told the commission the two parcels total just under three acres, are zoned DTRO and include a significant stream buffer on the northern parcel; the applicant is not proposing any development in the stream buffer. Staff described required variances for fence height, sidewalk supplemental zone depth, block-size standards and a waiver from certain downtown architecture facade rules. The Development Planning Committee considered the project and voted 6–1 to recommend approval subject to staff-recommended conditions designed to limit sound, light and other neighborhood impacts.

The project design calls for sound-dampening glass walls around the pickleball courts, a canopy over some courts, a 6-foot fence separating the dog park from the courts, dark-sky-compliant LED lighting, and a membership/fee business model for the dog park and courts. Parking is shown as 62 spaces and the applicant proposes two points of ingress with a deceleration lane and an inter-parcel connection to Walkers Point; a 10-foot greenway/trail connection is shown extending to Ridgewalk Parkway.

During questioning, commissioners focused on the fence location, hours of operation and sound and light mitigation. Dunn said staff recommended hours tied to the city noise ordinance and that staff would require the pickleball glass to be wrapped around three sides of the first court, per a condition of approval. The plans as presented show the primary commercial building sized below the 4,000-square-foot threshold that triggers additional CUP questions in the code; staff noted floor-area language in the LDO is based on enclosed area definitions.

Applicant counsel Parks Huff described the proposal as "a commercial amenity package" for surrounding neighborhoods and said the design was intended to invite neighborhood residents while limiting off-site impacts. Huff told commissioners the courts would use "pickleball glass" for sound attenuation and that the turf is synthetic in part because it is easier to maintain for a dog facility. He also said the applicant would be willing to pull the decorative fence back from the back of the sidewalk and to add perimeter landscaping.

The commission approved the staff-recommended conditions with two changes made on the floor: a modification of operating hours for the site on Fridays and Saturdays to 7 a.m.–11 p.m. (staff had proposed a 7 a.m.–10 p.m. baseline) and a requirement that the applicant meet with the Walkers Point Homeowners Association before submission of site-plan documents. The motion was made by Commissioner Greg, seconded by Commissioner David, and carried by a unanimous vote.

The item will go to City Council for final action; the commission’s recommendation includes detailed conditions addressing daycare hours, a sunset clause on allowed accessory uses, trail-connection requirements, and multiple buffering, lighting and sound‑attenuation measures.