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Ross Council weighs limits on private pickleball courts after noisy-court complaints
Summary
After hours of public comment and council debate, Ross staff were directed to draft rules limiting private pickleball as a residential use — including a 250-foot distance guideline or a requirement for a noise study and mitigation — and to pause consideration of pending sports-court applications while outreach continues.
Ross — A drawn-out debate over whether private pickleball courts should be allowed in residential parts of Ross ended Tuesday with the Town Council directing staff to craft an ordinance that would sharply limit new pickleball uses while the council seeks more public input.
The discussion followed a staff presentation on options ranging from an outright prohibition within 250 feet of a property line to requiring a conditional-use permit supported by a sound study and mitigation measures. Staff said the town’s existing exterior residential noise limit is 55 decibels and that, without mitigation, pickleball play would likely exceed that limit at typical property lines.
"The noise limit for exterior use areas is set at 55 decibels," staff told the council as part of the planning briefing. Council members and residents repeatedly raised that technical threshold during the meeting.
Residents who spoke described how the sharp, repetitive sound of paddle-and-ball impacts can carry in quiet canyons. "The New York Times ... says the most grating and disruptive sound ... may be the staccato pop pop pop emanating from America's rapidly multiplying pickleball courts," said Dennis Mearin, who lives near two proposed courts. Another resident and longtime flood-historical volunteer urged clear sourcing for any technical claims in staff reports.
Club and institution representatives urged caution about a wide ban. A speaker representing the Lagunitas Club said their conversion added tremendous usage and "we have not had one complaint from anyone," and noted the club self-limits hours (for example, no play before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m.). Other residents said topography and lot patterns in Ross make a single-distance rule blunt and potentially unfair.
Council members advanced a middle-path direction. Mayor Kirschner proposed that sports courts should be allowed only if a property has about 250 feet to the nearest residential property line; for properties with less than 250 feet, owners would need to complete a sound study and implement mitigation (for example, the types of sound barriers discussed in staff research) and obtain required approvals. The mayor described the proposal as a prospective rule for new courts, not an immediate retroactive ban on courts already used for pickleball.
Staff were directed to prepare draft ordinance language and return with further information to the October meeting; council also asked staff to distribute notice (an e-blast and Morning After newsletter item) and to report back on neighboring jurisdictions’ experiences (including Belvedere) and on quieter equipment options. Pending ADR (Advisory Design Review) sports-court applications will be treated under the council’s direction until the ordinance is finalized.
Multiple council members said they wanted to avoid ad hoc exemptions and to keep enforcement pragmatism in mind. Town staff cautioned that enforcing equipment requirements (for example, forcing a switch to quieter paddles) would be difficult for a small department.
The council’s next step is a staff-prepared ordinance and a focused public notification to solicit broader community feedback before any final code change.
