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Council delays action on Rainier Trails pickleball lines after residents and parks board press for removal
Summary
Neighbors told the Enumclaw City Council that daily pickleball play at Rainier Trails Park has generated sustained noise since lines were added in May 2025; the parks board recommended removing the lines, but councilors agreed to defer final action until new courts at Garrett Park are resurfaced and online.
Residents and council members traded sharply different views Thursday on whether to remove recently added pickleball lines at Rainier Trails Park.
At a public comment period, Stonebrook resident Richard Gardine read a written statement saying neighbors are not opposed to pickleball generally but are troubled by daily summer noise from players using lines that were added in May 2025. "We want to be clear that we are not opposed to pickleball," Gardine said, but he added the impact on nearby properties has been "significant" and asked the council to "remove the pickleball lines and restore the court to tennis only," noting the parks board voted two weeks earlier in favor of removing the lines and that funding is available to do the work this year.
Council members discussed the request during committee reports. Several councilors said they sympathize with nearby residents but urged patience until Garrett Park's new courts are resurfaced and available, a project that staff said should start May 18. "Let's get the new courts surfaced and lined out and then see what the use is," one council member said, arguing that removing lines before replacement courts are ready could unnecessarily take play options away from the public.
Councilmember Storton took a different tone, saying he supported removing the Rainier Trails lines now. "I will go on the record and say that I'm personally as long as Garrett is there, that the... I don't see a reason why the lines at Rainier Trails shouldn't be removed," he said, citing neighborhood disruption.
Others flagged fiscal and equity concerns. One councilor said spending tax dollars now to remove lines could be wasteful if the lines will be made unnecessary once Garrett Park is open; another urged finding a compromise that preserves recreation access while addressing neighborhood impacts.
Rather than adopting an immediate policy change, the council agreed to discuss the matter again at its May 18 meeting so members can see how play patterns change after Garrett Park's resurfacing and to consider timing, funding and possible mitigation steps.
The parks board's recommendation and the neighborhood request will return to council for further deliberation at the May 18 meeting.
