Pickleball in Whitefish Bay draws noise complaints from neighbors, proposal to cut hours at courts
WHITEFISH BAY, Wis. (CBS58) -- Pickleball has quickly become a popular sport in Wisconsin, but with the growing players, come noise complaints.
In Whitefish Bay, some neighbors have voiced their frustration with the sounds that come from the previously used tennis courts.
Klode Park has two tennis courts that, about five years ago, were converted to pickleball courts. There's now room for twice as many people to play. Earlier this year, Paul Smith created an ordinance that limited the times people could play at the courts. Instead of it being open all day every week, the hours have been cut to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. But neighbors are still frustrated with the noise, so the Village of Whitefish Bay is considering an ordinance that would further reduce those hours to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"I just want to play Pickleball. That’s not an unreasonable request" said Whitefish Bay resident and pickleball player Carolyn Noori.
"To be honest, it’s a big annoyance. It's constant all day long. The noise is not like when it was tennis" shared Steve Kappes who lives 24 feet from the pickleball courts.
The playing, he said, is impacting his family's quality of life because "You can't go out and enjoy your backyard, you can't have people over and talk because you can’t hear each other speak."
Across the street from the courts, Dave Beatty said his neighborhood is very different from what it was when he moved in 26 years ago. "Imagine someone doing a roof next door to you every day of the year," he said. His wife was an avid tennis player and said they didn't mind it when tennis was played because it was quieter.
Changes have already been made this year to try to compromise and be considerate of neighbors, said Smith. He even said he's called police on players who don't respect the time limits. Sound barriers have also been added, and they encourage players to avoid parking near the park as to not take away spaces from families.
"The hours they're proposing cuts out a significant part of our population, and I think that’s unwarranted," shared Smith, as hours could be reduced by two-thirds. Noori questioned why playing would be limited to four hours and said it's a public park, so she doesn't believe "freedoms" should be taken away.
The proposed ordinance would also ban pickleball at Cahill Square Park. Players are voicing their desire for a community space. Smith shared he loves pickleball because "it gets people outside and friendships are formed. So, it’s just a wonderful asset for the community. There's no other sport that does this as well as this does." He said he wants to come up with a collaborative compromise with the village, residents, and players.
Meanwhile, neighbors like Beatty are asking for respect and peace. "We're not against pickleball. This isn’t a good venue of pickleball, at least not for the hours today - 10 to 2 is a huge cut... but you need to be respectful of the neighborhood."
Whitefish Bay Police say they've been dispatched to Klode Park 12 times this summer because of complaints from neighbors, mostly of people playing pickleball after hours. There were no complaints last summer.
A meeting will be held at Whitefish Bay Village Hall starting at 6 p.m. to discuss this issue.
CBS58 reached out to members of the Village Board for comment but have not heard back yet.