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Ojai council halves planned Libby Park pickleball tournament, directs staff to move first two days
Summary
After hours of testimony from neighbors, tennis-club leaders and tournament organizers about noise and policy, the Ojai City Council approved a compromise: the tournament may use Lower Libby courts for one day only while staff works to place the first two days at alternate venues.
The Ojai City Council on April 28 approved a compromise on an appeal of a facility-use permit for a pickleball tournament at Libby Park, directing staff to identify alternate locations for the first two days and allowing a single day of tournament play at the Lower Libby tennis courts.
Neighbors and members of the Ojai Valley Tennis Club urged the council to rescind the permit, citing a 2023 acoustic study and the Parks & Recreation Commission’s recommendation against locating pickleball at Libby. Alex Mooney, speaking for neighbors, argued the permit “disregards both, a, the established no-pickleball at Libby Park policy, and b, the 150-person event limitation,” and asked the council to “rescind this permit, refund fees paid, and formally adopt a resolution that pickleball is not permitted on Libby Park tennis courts for any reason.”
Representatives of Ojai Valley Pickleball Inc. said staff followed the municipal code when it approved the permit and stressed the event is temporary. Brenda Kraut, a pickleball organizer, told the council that temporary courts use low‑tack tape and that “there is no damage” to the surface. Applicant representatives also said the projected 320-person total in the application was a cumulative number over several days and that per‑day attendance could be kept below relevant thresholds.
City staff and the city attorney framed the decision around the municipal-code criteria for facility-use permits, stressing that the council must decide whether the specific permit application met the code’s six review factors. City Attorney Bethany Burgess told the council, “the issue before the council tonight is not whether to prohibit all pickleball special events at Libby Park. It’s limited to the scope of reviewing what was approved in the application.” Parks and Recreation staff said they reviewed reservations, priority uses and the application materials before granting the permit.
Public comment on both sides was lengthy and emotional: neighbors described the sound of pickleball as intrusive and documented in the city’s prior acoustic work; tennis-club representatives and longtime residents said Libby Park’s courts are a historic tennis resource and urged council action to preserve them for tennis. Several speakers noted the city’s investment in dedicated pickleball facilities and asked why the tournament could not be held there or spread among existing venues.
After deliberations that weighed statutory language, the sound study findings and the practical logistics of running a multi‑court tournament, a majority of the council approved a motion to allow Libby Park to be used for one day (the final day) and to direct staff to identify and secure appropriate alternate locations for the first two days of the tournament. Council members asked staff to pursue options that minimize costs to participants (waive/offset parking or entry fees where possible) and to return with recommended logistics and any permit conditions. The council did not adopt a blanket prohibition on pickleball at Libby Park.
Next steps: staff will identify and contact alternate venues, work with the tournament organizers to reconfigure the schedule so per-day attendance and hours are consistent with city requirements, and return to council with the logistical details and any recommended permit conditions.
