Montgomery zoning board approves pickleball courts at Nassau Racket & Tennis Club with lights, noise and tree protections

The Montgomery Township Zoning Board voted to approve a minor site-plan and use-variance application permitting the Nassau Racket & Tennis Club to remove an outdoor pool at 1800 Route 206 and install two outdoor pickleball courts, the board decided March 24.

The applicant’s representative told the board the pool had fallen into disuse and that demand for pickleball had grown, particularly since the COVID period. The club’s controller, identified in the record as Mr. Camper, said the new courts would serve club members only and that the proposal would not change the site’s parking or access to Route 206.

Michael Ford, a licensed engineer with Van Cleef Engineering Associates, presented site plans and supporting exhibits showing the courts occupying the existing pool footprint on the approximately 12.7-acre parcel. Ford said the plan calls for two outdoor courts, two pole-mounted lights per side, a mounting height of 20 feet and a 3,000 K color temperature to limit glare. He also said the applicant had secured a Somerset Union Soil Conservation District approval for the small area of disturbance and a Somerset County Planning Board approval dated 03/12/2026; pending items include a jurisdictional determination from the Delaware Raritan Canal Commission and a letter of no interest from the New Jersey Department of Transportation because the proposal does not change Route 206 access.

The board’s technical review and the applicant’s testimony addressed neighborhood impacts. The applicant agreed to shift the proposed courts slightly toward the building to avoid disturbing a 24-inch-diameter tree near the northwestern corner of the pool, subject to review and approval by the board’s landscape professional. The applicant also proposed installing a sound-attenuation material on the north and west sides of the court fencing and argued that existing outdoor tennis activity already produces comparable sound; the applicant committed to complying with applicable county and state noise standards.

Board members pressed for operational limits. The club said its general operating hours are roughly 8:00 a.m. to 10:30–11:00 p.m.; the board asked for and the applicant accepted a condition to install a timer that would turn the court lighting off at 10:00 p.m. The applicant testified the courts would not be tournament regulation in size and would not be programmed for large tournaments that could increase parking or traffic on Route 206.

On lot-coverage accounting, the parties clarified that historic clay courts were not previously counted as impervious in older approvals. The applicant’s updated calculations (including the clay courts) show existing lot coverage at about 27.4% and proposed coverage at about 27.3%, a slight net decrease; the board’s counsel indicated a new lot-coverage variance would be set out in the resolution and explained the prior approvals’ omissions would be addressed in the board’s findings.

After board discussion — during which several members said the proposal met a recreational need and that proposed conditions mitigated negative impacts — the board voted to approve the application with the conditions described above (lighting to be turned off at 10:00 p.m., preservation of the 24-inch tree subject to professional review, installation of sound-attenuation matting, and compliance with planner and engineer memoranda and required outside-agency approvals). The chair called for a motion to approve, the motion was seconded, and the roll-call vote recorded affirmative votes from the members present; the record shows the application was approved.

The board also approved minutes from its January 27, 2026 meeting and adjourned. The board’s next regular meeting was announced for April 23 at 7:00 p.m.

Representative quotes from the hearing include the club controller’s explanation of demand: “Pickleball is very popular … the growth in pickleball has exceeded our expectations,” and the engineer’s note on lighting and mitigation: “We will reduce the lighting to the suggested 3,000 K and design the distribution so there is no light spillage onto neighbors.” The approval resolution will contain the board’s specific variance findings and the written conditions the board discussed at the meeting.