Council adopts compromise schedule at Grand Avenue Park: pickleball league expanded, roller‑hockey hours adjusted

The Chino Hills City Council voted Aug. 13 to adopt a modified schedule for Rink 1 at Grand Avenue Park that increases open pickleball hours and adds a second pickleball league, while preserving dedicated roller‑hockey and Derby Dames rental time on several evenings.

Jonathan Marshall, the city’s community services director, explained staff’s findings that pickleball demand has grown and that weekday daytime use patterns allowed staff to propose more pickleball hours without loss of weekday evening roller‑sports activity. Marshall said staff will line five courts during daytime hours and revert to a four‑court configuration when the park becomes busier in the late afternoon.

Marshall told council the proposed change “is dictated by what we’re seeing out there, as it relates to the uses and stuff,” and said staff will continue to monitor patterns after the rink resurfacing scheduled for mid‑September.

Several council members urged a middle ground between the competing user groups. Mayor Moran and others recommended preserving Thursday and Friday evening roller hockey while increasing weekday pickleball play; one council member asked staff to give the expanded schedule a trial period and report back if the changes fail to meet demand.

The council approved a blended calendar that keeps Derby Dames rental hours intact, adds additional weekday daytime pickleball time (including a five‑court configuration before 4 p.m.), and expands league hours by adding a second Sunday evening league. Staff said the rink resurfacing and the Vilano parking‑lot work will require temporary adjustments and that the city will phase changes to preserve access during construction.

What happens next: staff will implement the revised hours when resurfacing is complete, monitor usage and parking, and return to council with any recommended adjustments.