MANOA PICKLEBALL NOISE DISPUTE OCTOBER 2024

Oct 1

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

A group of students from JABSOM taking a PB break at Manoa Valley District Park Courts

Manoa, O’ahu—As avid pickleballers, we’ve undoubtedly heard about pickleball noise and nuisance complaints cropping up on the mainland.

Well, they’ve arrived onshore.

A few months ago, Civil Beat wrote an article about pickleball noise “tearing neighborhoods apart”.

Now, the issue of banning pickleball within 500 feet of homes is on the agenda at the Manoa Neighborhood Board meeting—scheduled for tomorrow night.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: DEEP DIVE

What’s at Stake:

A resident has asked the Manoa Valley Neighborhood Board to adopt a resolution to ”prohibit pickleball from being played within 500 feet of private residences.”

Why?

We reached out to the Petitioner online for his side of the story, and he responded via chat, “We’re as close as 100 feet from the courts. The constant, loud, shrill pops from the paddles go on from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. It’s relentless. We’re closing our windows, avoiding our lanais, wearing headphones, and turning up our TVs just to drown it out.”

Why You Should Care:

An ban of pickleball played within 500 feet could set a precedent (and the standard) for how noise complaints are handled across the islands in the future.

Let’s examine both sides of the issue:

Arguments in Support of a Ban*:

*From the August/September Manoa Neighborhood Board Meeting recordings and proposed pickleball resolution

• Pickleball sound levels taken at 200 feet from the Courts measure 72 decibels, 17 decibels over the City’s limit.

• The Revised Ordinances of Honolulu outlaw noises greater than 80 decibels 10 feet from the source for more than 5 minutes cumulatively, and pickleball generates noise at 80-120 decibels.

• Pickleball produces sounds in the “mid range frequency”. The human ear is most sensitive to sounds in this mid-range. Think emergency sirens, dogs barking and children crying–sounds that are impossible to ignore.

• The noise level from volleyball, basketball, and tennis are around 40 db, which is within the acceptable range and isn’t problematic.

• Pickleball noise can cause health problems when exposed for long periods of time; to include high blood pressure, headaches, poor sleep, concentration issues, and increased stress hormones leading to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke and premature death.

• The World Health Organization recommends that long term exposure to noise should not exceed 53 decibels during the day.

• Property values are negatively affected by an estimated 20%.

• The topography, proximity and elevation of homes near the courts in Manoa make sound mitigation impractical, if not impossible.

What We Don’t Know:

• According to KITV4 News, a study was done in June 2024 where the noise levels from the pickleball courts weren’t found to exceed “OSHA levels of concern”. To our knowledge, this study wasn’t referenced in the Board Meeting discussions. What were the results of this study?

• The sound levels at the residential property line was measured at 72 decibels. Who ordered this measurement and what other data is available?

• Were any formal noise assessments done other than the one in June? If so, what were the results?

• Are there any other homeowners that support this resolution?

• How do we know that sound mitigation is impractical and/or impossible?

Screenshot from a KATU News story from Lake Oswego, Oregon

Context: What’s Happening Around the Country

Cities are banning pickleball due to noise complaints.

In January of 2023, the City Council in Lake Oswego, Oregon banned pickleball at George Rogers Park. Denver, Colorado closed pickleball courts at Congress Park in April of 2023, followed by a ban at Eisenhower Park in late 2023. Walker, Michigan closed pickleball courts in August 2023. This year, a lawsuit was resolved in Falmouth, Massachusetts which resulted in a ban on pickleball at Lawrence School courts, and Centennial, Colorado banned permanent outdoor pickleball courts within 250 feet and temporary outdoor pickleball courts within 350 feet of residential property.

Yes, bans are happening, but there are other cities across the country, like Los Altos, CA, Long Beach, CA, Piedmont, CA, Avondale, GA, Vienna, VA, Seattle, WA and community associations like Sun City Grand, that have adopted less drastic approaches, including*:

• Installing sound barriers or acoustic fencing

• Relocating courts away from residential areas

• Restricting playing hours

• Implementing quiet paddle policies

• Conducting sound studies for optimal court placement

• Using reservation systems to control player numbers

*Note: this is not an exhaustive list of cities/locations that have adopted these alternate approaches

Arguments Against an Outright Ban:

You already know this, but I’ll outline them below:

Health and wellness: Pickleball offers a great low-impact workout, improving heart health, balance, and flexibility. A study in the International Journal of Research in Exercise Physiology showed that playing three times a week for six weeks improved blood pressure, cholesterol, and fitness in middle-aged and older adults. A recent study also shows significant improvements in personal wellbeing, life satisfaction, depression, stress and happiness.

Longevity: Research shows racquet sports can significantly extend life expectancy. A 2016 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that regular racquet sports players lowered their risk of death by 47% compared to inactive people. A 2018 Mayo Clinic study also found tennis players live an average of 9.7 years longer than non-players.

Popularity: Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. for five years in a row, with 48.3 million US adults having played at least one game in the last 12 months. Banning the sport would go against public demand; it would displace those who play at Manoa and overburden already crowded courts elsewhere in Honolulu.

Cost: It’s affordable to play pickleball (with starting costs as low as $20 for an entry level paddle) making it accessible to everyone.

Alternative solutions: Instead of banning pickleball, noise reduction strategies can help. For example, this blog post written by Bob Unetich of Pickleball Sound Mitigation explains how sound barriers and equipment can cut noise by up to 12 decibels, bringing noise levels down to acceptable levels.

Intergenerational activity: While 75% of core players (those playing 8+ times per year) are 55 or older, the statistics show that the sport is growing fastest among players under age 24.

To sum up, here’s the nutshell version of arguments on both sides:

For the ban: Residents argue that the noise from pickleball disrupts their lives and that long-term exposure causes a variety of serious and negative health and emotional issues. They believe pickleball courts are too close to homes and that sound mitigation efforts would be ineffective and a waste of money.

Against the ban: If the noise level is proven to be above acceptable levels, there are alternatives to consider without banning pickleball. City officials in other states have adopted noise reduction measures like quieter paddles and sound barriers. Also, from what we’ve heard, planting 55 trees around the courts is already in the works.

If you made it this far, consider yourself informed!

Together, let’s help shape the future of pickleball in Hawai’i by advocating for the sport we love, while embodying aloha and pono in all that we say and do–at the Courts and beyond.

I’ve heard some of you may be attending the Board Meeting in person…I’ll be attending online.

See y’all tomorrow!

MEETING INFORMATION:

When: Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 7:00 P.M.

Where: Kapālama Hale, 925 Dillingham Blvd., Conference Room 153

—OR ONLINE VIA WEBEX—

Meeting Link

Meeting Number/ Access Code: 2483 095 1817

Password: NB07 (6207 from phones and video systems)

Join by Phone: 1-408-418-9388

Resources:

Meeting Materials