Email to City Council

Yesterday I emailed you a Petition targeting Pickleball Noise that I’ve been circulating online using the Change.org organization. As of today, we have over 120 signees and counting.

My wife and I live on San Marco Road, directly behind the Pickleball courts at the Marco Island YMCA. We bought the lot and built our dream retirement home there years before the YMCA changed their original plans for the lot, an expansion of the tennis courts, and instead built nine Pickleball Courts.

The continuous, loud clacks of the game echo into our lanai and those of our neighbors every day, for several hours a day. The noise created by Pickleball is unlike that associated with tennis or any other sport played on Marco Island. Besides being unique, the noise is constant, all-day-long, and has led to a deteriorating quality of life in our neighborhood.

Marco Island has been renowned for its peaceful environment. However, the increasing popularity of Pickleball and the noise it generates are threatening this tranquility. It's crucial to recognize that the quality of life for residents should not be compromised by the unique noise-related problems associated with pickleball. Therefore, immediate and long-term actions are needed to curb this noise pollution.

For immediate relief we are urging the City Council to take action tonight and direct the City Staff to modify the City’s Noise Ordinance (Ordinance 20-05) to require the use of quiet pickleball balls and paddles on all public and private courts on Marco Island.

By mandating the use of quiet equipment island-wide for all pickleball facilities, the City Council can take a big first step to preserve the serenity of our community without any additional cost to the City or the YMCA.

For a long-term solution we are urging the City Council to take action tonight and vote to halt the planned construction of all new Pickleball courts and to stop the expansion of existing outdoor Pickleball facilities until comprehensive building codes specifically addressing Pickleball are developed. It should be obvious to you that we can no longer manage Pickleball effectively with our Noise Ordinance.

It's time for the City Council to take these two giant steps to solve the Pickleball noise problem while respecting the needs of all who are affected by this issue. Please take action tonight and do not kick this can down the road until it is too late to do anything.