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Tennis community urges council to block Libby Park pickleball tournament, calls it a precedent
Summary
Several tennis‑community members and neighborhood residents urged the council to nullify a rec‑department approval permitting a pickleball tournament at Libby (Liberty/Libby) Park, arguing the city spent hundreds of thousands on dedicated pickleball courts elsewhere and that allowing the event would set a damaging precedent.
Public comments at the March 24 council meeting focused heavily on a contested decision by the Ojai Recreation Department to hold a pickleball tournament at the four‑court Lower Libby Courts on a weekend when community tennis users were denied reservations.
Ian (introduced himself as a downtown resident and Ojai Valley Tennis Club board member) asked the council to nullify approval for the Libby Park tournament, saying the tennis community has fought for years to protect historic courts and spent public funds to create dedicated pickleball courts at Soul Park. He said allowing a ‘one‑off’ tournament would create a precedent the tennis community could not easily reverse.
Other commenters echoed that concern and directly criticized one organizer by name as pursuing commercial interests that displace public tennis; several urged the council to enforce existing posted rules on courts or be explicit in policy when exceptions are allowed. Councilmembers took note and asked staff to consider clearer web posting and communications about park reservations and rules to reduce neighborhood conflict.
