Pickball is no match for Carmel-by-the-Sea.
The Carmel City Council voted earlier this month to advance a permanent ordinance extending a temporary pickleball ban at Forest Hill Park after nearby residents complained about noise.
Forest Hill Park, just five blocks from California city’s Ocean Avenue, is home to the only public pickleball courts within city limits. While other municipalities in the Monterey Peninsula offer public or private courts, none have carried out a total ban like the one now under consideration in Carmel – all because the competitors are distrubing the neighbors.
The council initially imposed the temporary ban in October, hoping to test sound-mitigation strategies such as “quiet” paddles and soft balls. Yet many residents argued that these compromises were unenforceable without formal supervision, pointing out that the park lacks a dedicated parks department or consistent staff.
“There’s gonna be a problem,” resident Kimberly Edwards, who supports the ban, told the City Council about the lack of enforcement, SFGate reports.
Edwards rejected the idea of allowing a quieter version of pickleball, arguing the city had no way to enforce it.
“These aren’t supervised courts,” Edwards told the outlet. “You know that. They’re not — there’s no parks and rec department. So as I addressed in my letter: Who’s going to enforce this? … Am I going to have to hear a noise and then call the police? Is a police officer going to have to be, you know, sitting there on these courts, supervising them?”
Edwards urged the council to permanently ban pickleball, arguing their primary duty was to protect the neighborhood from noise rather than accommodate pickleball players.
Pickleball has seen a massive spike in interest across the U.S. in recent years, led mainly by older players picking up the sport. According to Pickleheads, nearly 20 million people played the sport in 2024. That has led many parks to convert space for pickleball courts, which resemble tennis, for players.
But, apparently, it has become a problem in California because of the noise.
Meanwhile, competitive pickleball player Barbara Lang, who no longer uses the Forest Hill Park courts, urged the council not to ban the sport, saying even a “quiet” version would be better than eliminating play, according to SF Gate.
“If you want to try it with the quiet ball, I think it’s only fair to the players to give that a chance,” Lang told the city council, adding that she speaks on behalf of absent pickleballers because they thought the sport was no longer allowed at the park.
“… I just keep coming back because I guess I’m like a pit bull. I just kind of have that New York staying power,” Lang said.
The City Council unanimously voted to maintain the temporary ban and directed the city attorney to draft a permanent ban, which opponents can appeal in two future hearings.
Mayor Dale Byrne supported banning pickleball to spare residents from further disputes, especially because it will be difficult to enforce.
“And I can’t ask the [police] chief to send his people up there. … It’s really sad that we can’t figure this out,” Byrne said at the meeting, the outlet reported.
The Independent has contacted Byrne for comment.
Carmel Police Chief Todd Trayer told The Independent on Tuesday that enforcement of the ban will occur only if someone reports an issue, but no reports have been received.
“This is a beautiful community of people, and most understand the concerns of sound today. Fortunately, the pickleball community has a few other local options not too far away,” Trayer added.
