Pickleball players plan legal action

If you thought the pickleball conflict at Kendale Woods was over when the parks department marked the courts for tennis only, you are wrong.

Broyhill Crest pickleball players are still fighting for the chance to play the sport on their neighborhood courts.

They are in the process of hiring legal counsel to help them bolster their argument that the park administration failed to follow its own policies and regulations when it banned pickleball at Kendale Woods Park.

“The answer to this should be quite simple, but no one can provide insight,” wrote pickleball player Sarah Wysocki in response to the group’s petition.

Related story: Parks Department removes pickleball from Annandale Park

Wysocki also wants answers to these questions: “Why was it so important for FCPA to take something valuable away from the community? When is it OK to act against the will of an entire community because of one person? Is it OK for someone who has publicly stated that making a person listen to pickleball noise is unethical to run FCPA?”

“One person’s stance on anything is dangerous and a dangerous endeavor and should never dictate the decisions of communities,” she says.

Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez has scheduled a meeting with the pickleball players for July 18 at 1:30 p.m.

Jimenez had verbally agreed to meet with the group on July 4 and sent an email on July 8 saying, “The Park Authority is a separate legal entity governed by its own board of directors that sets policies and makes decisions regarding park operations. Due to the Park Authority’s oversight here as well as the pending litigation, I am unable to arrange a meeting.”

When several news outlets, including London’s Daily Mail, reported on the pickleball controversy, Jimenez apparently changed his mind.

His staff sent the pickleball players an email inviting them to his office on Thursday. “The supervisor hopes that we can arrange a meeting sooner rather than later, given the importance of the matter and its priority to him,” the message said.

Wysocki notes that much of the media coverage has been misrepresented. “There seems to be a desire to turn our court battle into a tennis versus pickleball battle, which was never the case,” she says.

Related story: London tabloid picks up story about pickleball conflict in Annandale

Many media outlets also reported that there had been several noise complaints. “That is inaccurate,” she says. One noise complaint was filed in 2022, “and that was enough for the FCPA to bypass all policies and established regulations and work at top speed to redesign our shared space for tennis only.”

The park service had re-marked the Kendale Woods courts for pickleball before issuing guidelines recommending a minimum distance of 250 feet between pickleball courts and residential homes.

The courts at Kendale Woods may not be the only ones that could be used exclusively for tennis.

In a February presentation to the Park Authority Board on “Current Sports Fields,” the FCPA said there are 17 parks in the county with pickleball courts within 250 feet of residents. These include Roundtree, Spring Lane and Lillian Carey in the Mason District, as well as Kendale Woods Park.

This report recommends that new pickleball courts be located at least 250 feet from residential areas, or 200 feet if there is a buffer of trees or a significant change in topography.

“Existing pickleball courts located within 250 feet of residential homes should remain in place unless there are noise complaints,” the report recommends. “If there are noise complaints, noise mitigation measures should be considered or the pickleball courts should be relocated to a more suitable park.”