San Dimas council clears way for pickleball court at Sportsplex, debates second site at Lone Hill

After several months of outreach and a school‑district demonstration, the San Dimas City Council on May 27 voted to proceed with converting one tennis court at the Sportsplex (a Bonita Unified School District site) into four pickleball courts and directed staff to continue negotiations with the district over liability and operational agreements.

Parks staff summarized prior direction: the council had previously allocated $49,900 to convert one tennis court at Lone Hill Park into four pickleball courts but asked staff to hold purchase of acoustic panels until after one year of operation. A March bid for Lone Hill returned a low bid of $34,087; that procurement remains unsigned pending council direction.

Bonita Unified staff conducted an unscientific demonstration with about 10 students playing pickleball on three courts and concluded the noise appeared comparable to tennis. While the district indicated it is amenable to a conversion at the easterly-most court at the Sportsplex, staff said the district expressed concern about potential public pushback and liability and asked for time to negotiate an agreement that addresses those concerns.

Councilmembers debated siting (proximity to homes, access for residents, and county apps that track court locations), noise mitigation measures (acoustic panels, curtailing lights/hours, dedicated quiet rackets) and liability allocation. Some councilmembers favored proceeding quickly to provide facilities for waiting residents; others urged caution, additional neighborhood outreach and consideration of alternative parks (e.g., Pioneer Park, Ladera Serra, Via Verde).

In a pair of motions the council first approved proceeding with the Sportsplex conversion (motion carried 5–0). A separate motion to appropriate funding and proceed simultaneously with a second location at Lone Hill was put to a roll‑call and failed (2‑3). Later the council directed staff to bring back an analysis of all city parks with tennis courts as potential second sites, including usage estimates and distance from residences, for consideration in the next budget cycle.

Parks staff said converting a Lone Hill court would take about four weeks once a contract is executed; converting at the Sportsplex may cost an estimated 10–15% more because of larger fencing and resurfacing needs and would require a formal agreement with the school district and school‑board approvals before construction could begin.