Retirement community worried about noise from pickle ball courts

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Pickleball is getting more and more popular.

But with the sport can quite a racquet.

“It’s a high-frequency ping sound," said Eddie Nash.

And that high-pitched pop sound makes people living in The Colony Cove neighborhood so worried.

“Extremely loud and uncomfortable to your head," said Wendy Nash.

New Port Richey city officials are redesigning Meadows Dog Park just over the fence from the retirement community.

Space for the dogs will remain, but pickleball courts are going in right here.

Wendy Nash says those three courts are just 35 feet from where she and her husband, Eddie, sleep.

“I think pickleball is a lot of fun. We have them here at Colony Cove in our tennis area. Yes, we are familiar with them," she said.

But she says the courts at Meadows Park will be open from dawn to dusk.

She said, "35 feet to our bedroom window and 35 feet to our neighbors and the other neighbors on the side of us that are just gonna be devastated by the noise that it makes. Constant and jarring noise."

A study by the Journal of Environmental Psychology found the impulsive sound that comes when the plastic pickleball hits the paddle is more annoying to people than a constant sound like an air conditioning running.

The sound also falls in the range most sensitive to human beings.

There are stories nationwide about pickleball courts leading to neighborhood disputes, petitions calls to the police, and even lawsuits.

New Port Richey officials say they plan to meet with the people living here to find ways to soften the noise.

“They have not given any specifics. The sound engineering firm, they say most all the remedies are not really effective," said Eddie Nash.

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