With the rise in popularity of pickleball, conflict has sparked in some residential communities over the noise generated on the court. 

Hoping to prevent such issues from happening within its borders, the City of Centennial is considering potential noise mitigation requirements and is asking for community input.

Through June 30, residents can submit comments and questions to the city through its website, bit.ly/cenpickleball. As of June 26, there were more than 100 comments made. 

On the comment page, the city asked residents to consider what level of government regulation of outdoor pickleball courts they would like to see, as well as any other comments or questions the residents have about outdoor pickleball courts. 

Neil Marciniak, the city’s director of community and economic development, said during a presentation to the city council in June that pickleball sound is different from other sports such as tennis. 

“The pickleball paddle hitting that plastic wiffle ball-type thing is a high frequency and it’s actually, the frequency, is in one of those most sensitive ranges of human hearing,” he said. 

Pickleball is played daily at the Apex Center.

To give the city time to review and consider potential noise mitigation requirements, the city council passed a temporary pickleball moratorium in March. Under this moratorium, the establishment of new permanent, outdoor pickleball courts near residential areas is not permitted in Centennial through Sept. 30. 

The moratorium applies to projects that have not been built or established by the city yet and are proposed to be within 500 feet of residential properties, residentially zoned areas, or residential land uses.

Pickleball courts that are already established, permitted and in use currently are not subject to the moratorium. It also does not apply to indoor pickleball courts, courts that are more than 500 feet from residential areas, or temporary courts. A temporary court, for example, is when a tennis court is temporarily altered to be used as a pickleball court. 

“The goal of the moratorium is time to review and evaluate and determine if regulations are necessary to ensure predictable outcomes, if (or) when pickleball courts are built within the City of Centennial, regardless of who’s building those,” Marciniak said. 

Brett Peterson, 19, shows that pickleball is not just a sport for seniors anymore.

One of the challenges in considering regulations is that there is a lot of subjectivity when it comes to noise, he explained. 

“We’re trying to move towards a more objective view on this and determine: Do we need some regulations around this? Do we need to regulate pickleball?” Marciniak said. 

To help in this effort, the city has hired a noise consultant, Lance Willis, who is the principal acoustical engineer of Spendiarian & Willis Acoustics and Noise Control, a company that offers consulting services on noise control.

“He’s conducting a noise study,” Marciniak said. “What he’s charged with is really characterizing the sound of pickleball, adding some objectivity to that sound that is happening out in the environment.” 

Willis will also identify variables that affect how the sound travels, provide advice on what are appropriate techniques for measuring pickleball sound and offer site planning considerations, he said. 

According to Spendiarian & Willis’ website, Willis is a member of the Acoustical Society of America and the Audio Engineering Society. He also wrote an article in 2018 titled, “Why are your pickleball courts receiving complaints from neighbors?” which discusses pickleball sounds and site planning considerations for pickleball courts. 

In that article, Willis wrote courts located within 350 feet of residential structures often require abatement treatments, such as freestanding walls or sound-absorbing panels. 

A co-ed team plays pickleball during an Apex league match.

“Once we have that (noise) study in a draft form or final form, that’s gonna be allowing staff to look at some recommendations that we might want to bring forward to city council. We’d be bouncing that off stakeholders within the community,” Marciniak said. 

Following public and stakeholder outreach, the Centennial City Council is expected to consider potential regulations around August or September, according to the city’s website. 

“The goal is to add some … predictability not just for those that want to build and operate these, but also those that interact (and) live around them as well,” Marciniak said. 

If residents have questions or concerns, the city said it is available via email at centennialplanning@centennialco.gov. Those interested in learning more can visit centennialco.gov/pickleball.