New pickleball courts at a park in Martinez are now being recommended to close permanently just a year after opening because of noise complaints from neighbors, city officials said Friday.
The Martinez City Council on Wednesday will decide whether to close the eight pickleball courts at the Hidden Valley Sport Courts, located in a residential area across Center Avenue from the larger Hidden Valley Park.
The courts, funded by federal grant dollars, opened in February 2025 and quickly grew popular, but may have been too popular for their own good since pickleball games brought noise and parking complaints from nearby residents.
The City Council in September reduced the available hours and days that people could use the courts, but the problems continued. A survey sent last fall to residents within 500 feet of the courts found more than 40% of respondents said pickleball activity there had negatively affected them.
One respondent in the survey wrote, “I hate these pickleball courts. The noise level from the paddles striking the stupid plastic balls is way too loud. This noise most likely exceeds what is allowed in the municipal code for noise. These pickleball courts need to be closed immediately and permanently.”
A staff report for Wednesday’s meeting notes that national research shows pickleball noise issues have been a problem in communities across the country, with some cities facing costly litigation from residents. Some cities have adopted standards of putting the courts at least 300 feet from homes, while Martinez’s are located just 50 to 100 feet from some homes.
The staff report recommended discontinuing pickleball at the Hidden Valley courts, though an adjacent tennis court would remain open. That leaves Martinez pickleball enthusiasts in a pickle since there are no other courts free and open to the public in the city, though there are 23 in nearby Concord, 10 in Walnut Creek and four in Pleasant Hill.
If the City Council approves the closure, city employees “will immediately begin implementation, which will result in locking the current pickleball facility and removing its nets,” the staff report said.
The meeting is planned for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the council chambers at 525 Henrietta St., Martinez. The agenda for the meeting and more information can be found at https://www.cityofmartinez.org/government/meetings-and-agendas.
Should have anticipated that before opening them …. what relative of the “city council” benefitted $$ from that?
Try changing the rules.
.
Instead of yelling out score before each serve, use hand gestures.
Yea, I can think of a few hand gestures but I’d direct them towards the neighbors that have nothing better to do then whine.
Have the city build some pickle ball courts right next to your house. You could go out and play around the clock.
YMCA in pleasant Hill have multiple courts
and many hours every day.
Stop by or give them a call
Umm, allow tennis courts to remain open but not pickleball? Doesn’t a tennis ball hitting a racket make the same noise? Tennis ball travels slower, that doesn’t make it any less noisy.. Equal time here people!!
Also, what is the noise curfew in Martinez, 10:00pm. Quit whining people, you probably have more Yappy dogs making more noise you just got use to it SO get use to people enjoying themselves. Maybe you whiners should try it, you might like it. Everyone started as a beginner.
Bub,
.
No, a tennis racket hitting a tennis ball doesn’t make the same noise as a pickleball paddle hitting a pickleball ball. A tennis ball is hollow and made of rubber covered in a fibrous felt-like material, while a pickleball ball is hollow and made of plastic covered in holes. A tennis racket is made up of a frame and strung with synthetic materials allowing air to flow through the racket, while a pickleball paddle is solid and made of wood, plastic, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and other materials.
No the ball used in Pickleball is a first cousin to a wiffle ball. It’s hard plastic. So you have hard plastic hitting wood. And it’s not a sport it’s a kids game created on Bainbridge Island a gazillion years ago by a couple of drunk men trying to find something to keep the kids entertained one summer. The used a wiffle ball, ping pong paddles and badminton net. Some how it has been pirated by a bunch of middle aged & old people to become a sport
Noise level? Not even close. You might want to check into hearing aids.
Pickleball has been around for a while and like airports, shooting ranges and hog rendering plants, they can’t just be popped down anywhere. Doesn’t the Pickleball association, State or Federal zoning laws or the UN publish guidelines to avoid these conflicts?
This is government in action. Launch pickleball program to jump on the trend and make residents happy. Now that it’s successful let’s close the pickle ball courts to make residents happy.
A screwup like this by the City of Martinez reminds me of the time the City of Concord installed restrooms in Meadow Homes Park back in the 1990s, and neighboring residents were so unhappy with the unique design of the restroom that the city had to remove it. In both cases it’s government wasting a lot of money.
What a bunch of Karens!
Pickleball noise?
Geez! and I thought Walnut Creek was a contender for Pickiest Pansie Ass Community Of The Year with their leaf blower ban.
What’s next… no golf? ban baseball? basketball? ping pong?
Frisbee Only Zones ?
Where does the whining end?
NIMBYism at it’s finest. Where were these people before the courts were opened?
They were living there and paying property taxes! This is Not a “The Railroad was there 1st argument”. The city only recently added the courts = It makes noise and affects the quality of life of those who actually live nearby and Pay Taxes. The End.
It would be a shame to close them. Perhaps limit the hours the courts are open?
Pickleball is actually a kids game created on Bainbridge Island a gazillion years ago by a couple of drunk men trying to find something to keep the kids entertained one summer. The used a wiffle ball, ping pong paddles and badminton net. Some how it has been pirated by a bunch of middle aged & old people to become a “sport” because it is far less physical than tennis
Maybe try closing half of the pickle courts and that would resolve any parking issues and it would also cut down on some of the noise… and then have the remaining courts only open 6 hours a day.(Monday thru Saturday)
“….more than 40% of respondents said pickleball activity there had negatively affected them.” So not half the people are complaining? I heard some people don’t like the local dog park because of all the barking noise? Who didn’t think a dog park would have barking noise. People are stupid.