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Council deadlocks on Lonehill pickleball conversion; directs staff to pursue Sportsplex and re-evaluate locations
Summary
After public complaints about parking and noise at Lonehill Park and a split council, a motion to convert a Lonehill tennis court into four pickleball courts using $49,900 failed on a 2-2 vote. Council directed staff to pursue a Sportsplex conversion and continue evaluating secondary sites and budget timing.
San Dimas City Council members debated whether to convert existing tennis courts into pickleball courts at several parks and split on an immediate conversion at Lonehill Park on June 10.
Staff presented options and prior outreach, noting an active bid for the Lonehill conversion that expires June 30. Parks Director Scott Wasserman said the city had done public outreach to households within 500 feet of Lonehill and had not received negative feedback earlier, but public commenters at the meeting described repeated weekend disruptions: early-morning amplified sound, parking in red zones and driveways, litter, alcohol consumption and what residents characterized as semi‑commercial use of public fields.
A council member moved to convert one Lonehill tennis court into four pickleball courts using the previously appropriated $49,900 with a contingency to hold funds for sound mitigation; another councilmember seconded the motion. The motion failed in a 2-2 split (recorded as yes votes from council members Brittacos and Nakano; no votes from Weber and Mayor Badar). Councilmembers said they were weighing competing concerns: the risk of bid escalation if the city delays, and residents’ noise and parking complaints at Lonehill.
Council discussion then focused on the Sportsplex (a school district joint‑use site). Staff said they had met with the Bonita Unified School District to address financial and complaint‑response concerns and expect to memorialize those terms in a joint‑use amendment requiring coordination on maintenance and noise complaints; that amendment will return to the city council and the school board for approval. Several council members indicated support for proceeding with the sportsplex conversion while postponing or re-evaluating a second site until the next budget cycle.
Residents said leagues at Lonehill—especially periods of tournament play—intensify parking and noise impacts, while league leaders said they are cooperating and agreed to stop amplified sound before 8 a.m. if asked. Staff and council directed enforcement (parking and code enforcement) and continued outreach as near‑term mitigation.
Next steps: staff will pursue the Sportsplex conversion amendment with the school district, continue enforcement and outreach at Lonehill, and return to council with recommendations for a secondary location and budget timing.
