Despite noise concerns from condo residents, Palm Beach approves two pickleball courts

The pickleball debate is over in the town's South End — for now.

After months of discussion, the Town Council agreed to a site plan that will include the town's first dedicated pickleball courts for the public at Phipps Ocean Park.

In a 4-1 vote at its meeting Feb. 14, the Town Council approved two courts as part of a $30 million redevelopment project spearheaded by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach.

Council members granted special exception and site plan approval for the project at its December meeting, but they delayed a decision on whether to keep pickleball in the plan after concerns were raised about noise and other issues.

Related:Palm Beach to look at funding, iguana removal as Phipps Park redesign plans move forward

The new courts will expand the number of pickleball opportunities for the town's residents and guests.

There are no dedicated pickleball courts on the island, but pickleball players have the opportunity to play on two indoor courts in the Smith Family Fieldhouse at the Mandel Recreation Center. That space is shared with basketball, fitness classes and other activities.

Pickleball players also have access to an outdoor, multi-use hardcourt at the recreation center, and they can play on two multi-use clay courts at the Seaview Park tennis facility.

"We have limited facilities for pickleball," council member Ted Cooney said. "You have to book a court at Seaview after tennis has had every other opportunity."

The original site plan for the Phipps Ocean Park redevelopment project called for four pickleball courts that would be built on the south side of the park's six tennis courts.

The new plan calls for two pickleball courts on the west side of the tennis courts, farther away from the Reef Condominium complex, which sits to the south of the tennis courts.

The new design was a compromise between the town and the Preservation Foundation, said Amanda Skier, the foundation's executive director.

The foundation, which works to preserve the architectural and cultural heritage of the town, is leading renovation plans and raising funds to redevelop the park. It underwrote the $160,000 cost for a phased master plan for the project, and is working closely with Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles, Inc., on design development.

“The original plan had four courts that were closer to The Reef condominium to the south," Skier said. "The new location is a compromise that reduces the total number of courts and moves them further away from the south property line."

Related:Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach has raised $21M of $30M goal for park redo

Residents of the Reef condominiums oppose the addition of the pickleball courts, citing noise as their chief complaint.

Their concerns were echoed by council member Julie Araskog, who cast the lone vote opposing the pickleball courts.

"I know tennis players get very upset when pickleball is close by because of the noise," she said. "I know it's pretty noisy for them."

Carolyn Stone, deputy town manager for Business Enterprise and Culture, agreed that pickleball can be a loud sport because of the materials that are used to make the paddles and the ball.

But, she said, a decibel test that was performed near the pickleball site didn't detect any noise from pickleball activity.

A decibel reader that was placed on the ground-level border of the Reef Condominium complex and the south property line did not pick up any readings from pickleball because of other noise nearby, she said.

"Landscapers were there doing work at the Reef Condominiums, and cars were driving by," Stone said. "Pickleball didn't register on the decibel reader, and we were yelling and making a lot of noise. We used the loudest paddles and balls. And as usual, there was a lot of traffic on A1A that day."

Other locations at Phipps Park were scouted or suggested as potential pickleball sites, but moving forward on any of them would impede on the design of the park, Guy Champin, a senior associate with Raymond Jungles, told council members.

Converting one of the seven tennis courts at Seaview Park into pickleball courts also was discussed as an option, but it wasn't given serious consideration.

Council members said they understood residents' concerns about noise, but they also agreed that it was important for the town to expand recreational opportunities for them. Placing two new pickleball courts at Phipps Park, they said, would be a big step in that direction.

"This is an almost 20-acre site, and as it gets improved, the door of opportunity for us to add additional recreational facilities will close," Cooney said. "I don't want to miss that opportunity."

With its approval of the two pickleball courts, the council also reserved the right to revisit the need for additional courts in the future.

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach has been involved with Phipps Ocean Park since 1990, and operates its living history program at The Little Red Schoolhouse, a one-room schoolhouse built in 1886 that now serves as a place of learning for fourth-grade students from Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties.

Two years ago, the foundation commissioned Jungles to design a phased master plan for park improvements. Last June, the Town Council agreed unanimously to proceed with design development and permitting for the project.

Phipps Ocean Park, which sits just north of the Par 3 golf course in the town's South End, was donated by the Phipps family in 1948. It has not undergone a significant redesign since it opened, the foundation said.

Redesign plans call for restoring and moving the Little Red Schoolhouse to a more visible spot in the park, near the base of a 22-foot beach dune. The schoolhouse will anchor the great Great Lawn and wildflower garden to the west.

Visitors and passersby will be able to view the schoolhouse across the wildflower garden and Great Lawn.

A new feature to the north of the schoolhouse will be an outdoor classroom, which was designed in collaboration with the Garden Club of Palm Beach.

Another educational centerpiece of the park will be the Coastal Restoration Center, a nursery and propagation area for native plants that will support healthy beach dune ecosystems within the park and throughout the island.

The park’s recreational facilities will be improved with ADA accessible walking paths, spaces for the community to gather, a bespoke playground inspired by native fauna, and new cabana bathrooms and beach pavilions.

Construction is expected to be complete in mid-2024, Skier said.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Pickleball comes to Palm Beach: Town OKs first dedicated courts