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RECOM MEN DA TIONS FOR PLANNING & SITING lfl /lC/'t--02--Lp
NEW PICKLEBALL COURTS
Checklist:
□ Evaluate distance from nearby homes.
□ Conduct or review a sound study before siting.
□ Consider site and court orientation. hours of play. surrounding buildings and terrain. □ Review anticipated impact on neighbors.
FACT BASED GUIDANCE:
1. Indoor courts are the best solution. when siting pickleball courts near residential housing.
2. Setbacks are the most effective way to prevent harm to neighbors, minimize social conflict, and avoid unnecessary use of municipal resources over the long term, for outdoor pickleball courts.
3. Within 350 feet of homes, courts are NOT recommended. unless completely enclosed. Rare exceptions may occur with required foam balls, OWL paddles, and strict supervision.
4. Between 350-800 feet a combination of thick vinyl sound barriers, limited hours, AND quiet equipment ™ provide adequate noise relief. However, recent research shows this is not always true; neighbors still may report harm from noise.
5. Beyond 800 feet, fewer people seem to be affected. However, some residents living more than 800 feet away report that they still are deeply impacted.
6. Extreme caution is advised. when placing courts within 1 ooo feet of homes. hospitals, or schools, even with mitigation.
7. A sound study is recommended for all court locations within 1000 feet of homes, schools, or hospitals.
8. Even larger setbacks may be needed where terrain carries sound. such as valleys or water, or near multi-story homes, schools, hospitals or senior housing.
9. Ongoing research may help with decisions about how to combine various forms of sound mitigation. Within 1000 feet, there are vecy few success stories. 1 0. Converting tennis courts, without sufficient setbacks. is discouraged.
Although less expensive, many conversions have failed nationwide, causing additional expense and conflict.
Adapted from The National Task Force on Pickleball Noise, Quiet Communities. Inc. https:/ /pickleballnoise.org/?mc cid=371c0667a8&mc eid=84e 128833a#recommendations
CONCLUSION:
1. Near residential neighborhoods, INDOOR COURTS are the preferred solution.
2. OUTDOOR PICKLEBALL COURTS should be sited with ADEQUATE DISTANCE from RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY LINES (>500-1,000 h.J. 3 . IN ADDITION, COMBINED SOUND MITIGATION STRATEGIES
are almost always necessary.
a. ADD and MAINTAIN VINYL BARRIERS:
b. ADD MANDATED and ENFORCED use of QUIET EQUIPMENTi
c. REQUIRE LIMITED HOURS and DAYS OF PLAY (e.g .. Sundays and holidays}
REFERENCES:
1. Wyerman, B. and Unetich, R. (2023). Pickleball Sound 101 -The Statistics of Pickleball Sound and a Recommended Noise Standard for Pickleball Play. Inter-Noise and Noise-CON Congress and Conference Proceedings 266(2): 1-9. Doi: 10.3397 /NC.2023.0001 .
2. Centennial , CO report. Spenderian and Willis, 2023
3. Romito, KM. (2025). Pickleball noise-A qual itative description ofthe psychological and physiological effects on nearby residents. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 157( 4 Supplement): A27 4-A27 4. doi: 10.1121/10.0038039.
4. Vulnerable Populations. Van Kamp, 2013
5. Leahy, C. (2025). "Managing Pickleball Noise Through Zoning." Zoning Practice.
Available from: https://www.planning.org/publications/document/932092 1/
6. USA Pickleball. Quiet Category Equipment.
Available from: https ://equipment.usapickleball.org/acousti c-equipment/
7. USA Pickleball. About Equipment Evaluation Committee (EEC).
Available from: httos://equipment.usapickleball .org/about-usa-pickleball-eec/
8. Pickleball Noise Relief Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/pickleballnoiserelief
9. Leahy, C. "Why t he Pop, Pop, Pop of Pickleball Needs a Zoning Solution." Planning Magazine, American Planning Association, November 14, 2025. Available from:
https://www.planning.org/planning/2025/nov/why-the-pop-pop-pop-of-picklebal l-needs-a-zoning-solution/
10. Thornton, W. (2022 ). "Birchwood Country Club Pickleball Court Development Community Noise Impact 7 Study:" Mill Run, PA Thornton Acoustics. Available from: httos://westportjournal.com/wp content/uploads/2022/07 /TAV Birchwood-Country-Club-Copy.pdf
11. The National Task Force on Pickleball Noise, Quiet Communities, Inc. Available from:
https:/ /pickl ebal lnoise.org/?mc cid=371c0667 a8&mc eid=84e 128833a -evidence
12. Leahy, C. (2025). "Managing Pickleball Noise Through Zoning." Zoning Practice.
Available from: https://www.planning.org/publications/document/9320921 /
13. Paunovic K, Pejic S, Susa A, Todorovic A, Drakulic D, Bobic K, 0 urdevic K, Jakovljevi c 8. (2026).
Underest imated Environmental Risks for People with Arterial Hypertension -A Narrative Review of Issues that National Guidelines Should Consider. Noise Health 28: 290-298. doi: 10.4103/nah.nah_241_25
14. Romito, K. (2025). The Noise Nobody Pl anned For: A Community Perspective on Pickleball Noise. Presented at the 189th Meet ing of t he Acoustical Society of Am erica . Available from: https://acoust ics.org/the-noise nobody-planned-for-a-community-p erspective-on-pickleball-noise/
15. Hahad 0, Prochaska J.H., Daiber A, Muenzel T. (2019). Environmental noise-induced effects on stress hormones, oxidative stress, and vascular dysfunction: key factors in the relationship between cerebrocardiovascular and psychological disorders Oxid Med Cell Longev Article 4623109, doi:
10.1155/2 01 9/4623109
ALSO RECOMMENDED:
Adapted from:
1. The National Task Fo rce on Pickleball Noise, Quiet Communities, Inc. https://pickleballnoise.org/?mc cid=371 c0667a8&mc eid=84e128833a#recommendations
2. Leahy, C. "A Solution for the Pop, Pop, Pop of Pickleball." Planning Magazine, Spring 2026; pp. 16-18.
3. Lennertz 8, Lutzenhiser A (2003). "Charrettes 101: Dynamic Planning for Community Change." Building Blocks 4(1 ). Available from:
https://community-wealth.org/content/charrettes-101-dynamic-planning-community-change 8 Checklist:
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMMUNICATION
WHEN PLANNING NEW PICKLEBALL COURTS
NEAR RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS :
□ Start outreach early. with public meetings that share plans and studies.
D Create a positive, collaborative a,p_proach to planning that meaningfully incorporates residents' input into the planning process. □ Do not ignore or minimize neighbors' concerns.
□ Staff reports should evaluate the potential human and community impact of pickleball noise.
FACT BASED GUIDANCE:
1. Early, frequent communication with neighbors is crucial! When neighbors are involved in the design and creation of the plan, they are more likely to support the results. A thoughtful and collaborative process that incorporates neighbors' input into project planning can result in a better final project for developers.
2. Consider convening multidisciplinary charettes, for a positive, collaborative planning process. A properly-panned, facilitated charrette can channel public interest constructively, incorporate nearby neighbors' ideas meaningfully, improve the final design and reduce opposition, and streamline the development process.
3. When residents' concerns are minimized or ignored, local opposition is more likely to arise. This needlessly wastes both developers' and City officials' time. If neighbors feel that their legitimate concerns have not been addressed adequately, they perceive the City's planning process as unfair. This actually can lead to a heightened perception that nearby pickleball noise is intolerable.
4. The potential health impacts from repetitive, impulse noise, even at low decibel levels, are SERIOUS and REAL. They include severe distress, disturbed sleep, mental health concerns including trauma reactions, anxiety, hearing phantom pickleball pops, and heart problems.
1 s. Open communication leads to improved trust and can help to lower the stress responses to noise. Once that trust in leadership is broken, however, it is almost impossible to repair,.
6. The social conflict between avid players and concerned neighbors adds to the negative community response to pickleball noise. Residents of The Farm want our "fitness club" to be a COMMUNITY ASSET. and am a source of neighborhood conflict!
References:
1. The National Task Force on Pickleball Noise, Quiet Communities, Inc. Available from:
https://pickleballnoise.org/?mc cid=371c0667a8&mc eid =84e128833a#recommendations
2. Lennertz, B. and Lutzenhiser, A. (2003). "Charrettes 101: Dynamic Planning for Community Change." Building Blocks 4( 1 ). Available from: https://community-wealth.org/content/charrettes-101 -dynamic-planning-community-change
3. CON EXPO-CON/ AGG 365 . The Importance Of Community Engagement In Construction: Building Beyond Structures. Available from: https://www.conexpoconagg.com/news/the-importance-of-communit y-engagement-in constr.uc.
4. Windon, S. and Adhikari, A. (2024). Engaging Community Members in Participatory Planning Processes -Part One.
PennState Extension. Available from: https://extension.psu.edu/engaging-community-members-in-participatory plann ing-processes-part-one
5. Windon, S. and Adhikari ,A. (2024). Engaging Community Members in Participatory Planning Processes -Part Two.
PennState Extension. Available from: https://extension.psu.edu/engaging-community-members-in-participatory planning-processes-part-two
6. Empoweri ng Communities Th rough Participatory Urban Design. Gresham Smith Insights. October 7, 2024.
Available from : https://www.greshamsmith.com/news-and-insights/empowering-communities-through-participatory urban-design/
7. California State Coastal Conservancy. (2020). Tips for meaningful community engagement: Increasing the level of p ublic impact. Available from: https://scc.ca.gov/files/2020/06/Tips-for-Meaningful-Community-Engagement.pdf .
8. Tamarack Institute. (2020). Community Engagement Planning Canvas Tool. Available from :
https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Community-Engagement-Planning-Canvas-2024-Fillable.pdf?hsLang=en us.
9. Gordon, M. and Webster, K. (2025). Developing a Community Engagement Framework. Webinar available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rchzOpnGtAM . Slides from webinar available at: https://capire.com.au/wp content/uploads/2025/02/Developing-a-community-engagement-framework-webinar-slides.pdf)
10. Kaner, S., Lind, L., Toldi, C., Fisk, S., & Berger, D. (2014). Facilitator's guide to participatory decision-making. Jossey Bass.
11 . Liu, Y. , van Marrewijk, A., Houwing, E. J., Hertogh, M. (2019). The co-creation of values-in-use at the front end of infrastructure development programs. International Journal of Project Management 37(5): 684-695. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2019.01 .013.
2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SOUND STUDIES:
Checklist:
D Assess whether a sound study will be helpful.
D A good sound study will specifically discuss impulsive noise. □ A sound study should not stand alone. Pair it with studies of potential health and well-being impacts on nearby neighbors.
FACT BASED GUIDANCE:
1 . Sound studies measure noise levels but do not assess the impact of noise on health.
2. A sound study may or may not be needed. Some cities have relocated courts that were too close to homes -even without a sound study, because of the negative impact of noise on nearby residents.
3. Sound studies are recommended for sites up to 1000 feet from homes. For most pickleball courts within 350 feet of homes, sound studies and mitigation are unlikely to provide relief; relocation is often required.
4. _ A good sound study should assess the loudness, the number of noise events per day (during hours of play), and the duration of exposure.
5. THERE ARE TWO RECOMMENDED APPROACHES TO SOUND STUDIES:
a. The preferred method uses Adjusted Sound Exposure Level CSELl.
The SEL combines the loudness and the number of pops into one decibel reading. It helps explain the expected impact on a community over a specific period of time. An adjustment penalty of 5-12 dB (per ANSI 12.4) should be added to account for impulsive noise. A sound professional using a Type 1 sound meter can determine SEL and the appropriate time period (hours to days).
b. Another option is to gather the 3 measurements separately:
i. Loudness (dB). How you measure dB is important.
Use a metric that measures the noise over 1 /8 of a second or less (e.g. LAFmax or LpeakJ, because the pickleball pop is very short (<1/50th of a second).
• LAFmax measures a sound averaged over 118 of a second. • Lpeak measures the highest peak value over a much shorter time period. • Many acoustic professionals currently use LAFmax. However, recent recordings have shown that audible pops at 1000 feet do not always get recorded when using LAFmax.
• If you use Lpeak. measure several values over time. not only the highest value. 1 b. Gathering sound study measurements separately (continued):
ii. The estimated number of noise events/day (900/court/hour). iii. Expected duration of exposure (e.g. days/weeks/years). c. A sound study should also discuss:
□ Where the noise can be expected to be heard inside homes D Environmental factors that affect sound (e.g. hills, la kes, court orientation, multi-story homes) □ Expected impact of noise at night or weekends.
6. LAeq and LAS are not acceptable measures for measuring the decibel levels for pickleball,_because they average noise over longer time periods.
Adapted from The National Task Force on Pickleball Noise. Quiet Communities. Inc. https:/ /pickleballnoise.org/?mc cid-371 c0667a8&mc eid=84e1 28833a#recommendations 2