Manoa Board meeting recap
October 3 , 2024
Manoa Valley District Park, on the Wednesday mid-morning after the Board Meeting
Manoa, O’ahu—The Manoa Neighborhood Board meeting was held on the evening of October 3, 2024. On the agenda was a Manoa Resident asking the Board to adopt a resolution to ban pickleball within 500 feet of homes.
THE OUTCOME
The Board did not move the Resolution forward to a vote…so there is no pickleball ban at the Manoa Courts.
What happened?
To be fair, petitioner made it clear that he isn’t against pickleball or pickleball players. He stated that pickleball is a “wonderful sport”, “people are happy” and that he wants to see pickleballers play…he doesn’t believe DPR has done their due diligence to study the matter and to provide appropriate spaces for pickleball to be played.
He also stated that he’s never argued against the health benefits of pickleball, he acknowledges “it’s great for people’s health" but that the Parks Department needs to do a better job of providing places to play that aren’t unhealthy for nearby residents.
A number of points were made at the meeting, among them:
Petitioner’s Arguments:
He provided a diagram of the courts with concentric circles around it, illustrating how far the courts should be located from homes, etc. at 500 feet. He maintained that Manoa Elementary is within the 500 feet radius, which is too close. He stated that the elementary school students are subjected to the noise, which occurs 900 times per hour (10,000 times per day), in violation of the noise ordinance and which impedes their learning.
Some of the closest homes to the courts are 100 feet away and there is no jurisdiction in the country that allows pickleball to be played that close to homes.
Pickleball is nothing like tennis; it’s 7-8x louder than tennis, 700-800x more intense than tennis, the sound travels a mile in every direction. Homes 1500 feet away on Huelani Place hear the sounds from PB.
PB noise is like a shooting range; it’s unpredictable and uncontrollable, and as such, has commonalities with techniques of noise torture.
Pickleball sounds increases blood pressure and stress hormones.
He presented a World Health Organization study about chronic exposure to any level above 53 decibels; for every 5 decibels over 53 decibels there is a 10% increase for risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death.
The noise pollution from PB occurs up to 15 hours a day.
This is a last resort; he’s been bounced around from the Department of Health to HPD, and if not resolved here, may end up in a lawsuit.
Questions/Issues from the Board:
A Board Member asked about a study done by DPR, which reportedly, its results did not exceed “OSHA levels of concern”. Petitioner said the sound study was misleading; it was not done by professional sound engineers; they didn’t use professional equipment and didn’t follow ANSI standards. He said OSHA standards are not appropriate for environmental noise pollution issues.
A Board Member suggested that Petitioner install soundproof windows, put up sound buffers and use noise-cancelling headphones to mitigate the sound, in order to protect himself.
Petitioner was asked about an illegal sign put up at the Manoa Park. The flyer had a City and County insignia on it and stated that pickleball had to be played indoors or that players should use quiet paddles and balls. Petitioner denied knowledge of the sign.
Another Board Member stated that the subcontractor who did the sound reading did not use adequate equipment to measure the sound level. He suggested that if the City is to make a statement about the noise level, the subcontractor should have adequate machines.
Community statements and concerns:
Petitioner does not present with clean hands; there is no way the sound level measures 120 decibels. He used to play in a band and knows there is no way the sound level is that high. Also, no one plays PB during the day.
Would like to see an official sound study. To be in violation, the noise needs to occur for 2 minutes in a 20 minute period.
Home values are not negatively impacted by pickleball.
No decibel readings were done in people’s homes and results don’t reflect whether sounds are tennis, volleyball, basketball, laughter, etc.
Manoa rains a lot, which reduces the number of days that pickleball is played.
Pickleball is not played all day long at the Manoa courts. Some statistics that were quoted are from professional players, and many of the players are older and play only recreationally.
Mayo Clinic study shows pickleball increases life expectancy by 6-10 years.
After a few community members voiced their arguments, Board Chair Nagaji shared that Parks and Recreation Director Laura Thielen was not supportive of the proposed 350-500 foot ban on pickleball near residences. She was not present at the meeting, so he read her email response to the Petitioner:
“May I offer an alternative solution? Trees will diffuse noise by breaking up the sound waves. Perhaps our Urban Forestry Division can work with you to plant trees between your house and the courts. We have to determine if it is possible as I do not know where your home is located and what improvements are nearby, but if this is an option you’d like to pursue, please let me know. Or else you can approach the Department of Health authorities to lodge a complaint against the activities violating the noise statutes. I’m not an expert and I’m not going to engage in a discussion on interpreting statute…”
To bring the matter to conclusion, Board Chair Nagaji asked if there were any Board Members who would make a motion to consider the Resolution for a vote. No Board Member made such a motion, and therefore, Petitioner’s Resolution did not move forward and pickleball was not banned at the Manoa Courts.
WHAT TO KNOW AND QUESTIONS REMAINING:
No formal sound study by sound engineers with adequate equipment has been done to date (that we know of).
DPR referenced sound study results in relation to OSHA standards, and it’s unclear what the results were and whether these standards can be used to evaluate environmental noise.
The results of noise mitigation efforts on the mainland have not yet been fully reported.
The assertion that home values drop because of pickleball noise has not been proven, either way.
There is confusion around what level of noise is considered acceptable; it’s not clear what statute or ordinance governs this type of complaint/dispute.
Are others in the neighborhood similarly affected? If so, does anyone have documentation that they are suffering from the physical symptoms (as a result of PB noise) that Petitioner mentioned?
What department has actual jurisdiction over this noise complaint? Is it DPR, DOH, City Council?
This may not be the end; he mentioned a possible lawsuit if the issue was not resolved at the Board Meeting.
Although this was a big “W” for the Hawai’i PB community, it’s probably not the last dispute we’ll face. As we navigate our way through these uncharted waters, remember to show aloha at the courts and beyond. Be knowledgeable about the issues at hand and let’s be one united front, measured yet enthusiastic, and the happiest bunch of people in the 808, advocating for the sport we love!
Manoa Neighborhood Board Meeting August 2024 (Go to 2:40)
Manoa Neighborhood Board Meeting September 2024 (Go to 1:06)
