Revived Elk Grove pickleball plans get trustees’ unanimous approval

The Elk Grove Park District’s revived pickleball court plan earned a unanimous vote from village trustees Tuesday, following two hours of debate and public comment from neighbors who don’t want the noisy sport in their backyards, and paddle enthusiasts who do.

Mayor Craig Johnson and the six trustees already indicated their willingness to support the park district’s plan to add six courts to the recently renovated Marshall Park, but public outcry in March led district leaders to withdraw the proposal to try to find another location in town.

They evaluated eight other sites, but Marshall Park — a 6-acre space in the middle of town where a $4 million renovation already was underway — was deemed to be the favorite.

Nearby homeowners complained pickleball was never part of the park plans presented to them when the district was applying for a state grant in 2021. They say they were caught off guard in March when the district came to the village plan commission to ask for a special use permit for the courts.

“The larger issue is not pickleball or no pickleball. Unfortunately how it’s been handled has turned into a contentious issue,” said Connie Cundiff, a 50-year resident who lives across the street from the park and has led an opposition group of neighbors. “It’s a piece of property that has been tranquil, and it’s offered the kind of feeling that people like to have about a park. Parks are supposed to be recreation and fun, but they’re also supposed to be other things.”

Her neighbor, Victor Anderson, argued adding pickleball to Marshall Park “is just maybe a little bit too much.” The recent park upgrades include a new playground, splash pad, shelter, basketball court, walking path and lighting for the existing soccer field. Anderson said he’s seen more traffic and cars parking on nearby streets — despite the park’s 68-space lot — since the park reopened less than two weeks ago.

“We really enjoy the quiet neighborhood,” Anderson said. “That was what attracted us to that area. And now we feel like our privacy and that quietness is being invaded.”

Pickleball supporters, though, thanked the park district for responding to their calls for more court space as the sport grows in popularity. The district currently has six outdoor courts at Rainbow Falls Waterpark and three indoor courts at the Jack A. Claes Pavilion.

Vicky Frankel compared the park district’s amended Marshall Park plans to a house remodeling project.

“They changed their mind on certain things, and that’s OK,” Frankel said. “Broaden your horizons, people. Change is good. Pickleball will be going on for years and years and years and years.”

Park board Commissioner Bill O’Malley called the original 2021 park plan a “blueprint,” and said that “things change.” He vowed to mitigate any issues that might come up.

“There’s so many things that people want to complain about, but give it a chance to work,” O’Malley said.

Johnson, who lives a block from the park, pushed to require that soundproofing barriers be installed on two of the four sides of the court’s fence enclosure, landscaping be added, and court lighting shuts off at 9 p.m. He said those mitigations were ways to protect the interests of neighbors who don’t want the pickleball courts, but he believes the majority of residents want them.

“When people tell me, ‘Mayor, put the pickleball court over there, put the pickleball court over at that park,’ … you know what they’re telling me? They don’t mind pickleball. They just don’t want it in their own backyard,” Johnson said. “But we can’t govern that way.”

The village board’s formal ordinance approval will come on the consent agenda at the next meeting July 16.