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‘Quiet paddles’ now required at Laguna Beach pickleball court due to noise complaints

A closeup of a pickleball paddle hitting a ball
Pickleball players who play at Lang Park in Laguna Beach will have to switch to a quieter paddle.
(Mark Von Holden / Associated Press)

The growing popularity of pickleball has created a noisy dispute in Laguna Beach, where a new city ordinance that took effect Thursday requires players to use quiet paddles or risk a fine.

The Laguna Beach City Council adopted the new ordinance in March in response to complaints from residents in a senior living facility dubbed Vista Aliso who say the sound of pickleball matches at nearby Lang Park cause them severe anxiety and stress.

Pickleball players at Lang Park will have to pony up about $100 each to switch to quieter paddles. If they fail to do so, the ordinance says players can face a citation.

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Pickleball is similar to tennis except the court is smaller, the ball is plastic and perforated and the paddles are not as big as tennis rackets.

The adoption of the new ordinance did not please everyone on both sides of the pickleball feud.

New padel centers are cropping up around the county: Padel Up at Westfield Century City, Pura Padel L.A. in Sherman Oaks and at the courts at L.A. Galaxy Park in Carson.

The council has already reduced the hours that pickleball can be played in the park and has built a fence around the park to block noise.

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“While I am supportive of this quiet paddle ordinance as a compromise, I support expanding the hours at Lang Park,” said Laguna Beach Mayor Alex Rounaghi in a statement to The Times. “Pickleball is a life-changing sport for so many that brings community together, and I’m committed to creating more recreational opportunities for our town.”

Some seniors at Vista Aliso said the ordinance would not do enough to mitigate the noise issues, while members of the pickleball community said they are tired of the council giving the seniors so much favorable treatment.

The law “will be ineffective,” said Susana Cruciana, a resident of Vista Aliso, who has argued the pickleball courts should be moved entirely.

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“They will continue to create a hostile environment,” she said.

Pickleball players have yelled and insulted her for complaining about the noise, Cruciana said.

“Allegations that I hate children, outdoor sports or laughter are ludicrous and false. Unlike general traffic noise or other park activities, the noise from pickleball is high-pitched and excessive,” she said.

But pickleball players have volleyed back.

“The pickleball players have acquiesced to losing days, spending 24k on new paddles. … I’m not quite sure what the gal behind me has acquiesced to,” said Hillary Caston, referring to one of the complaining Vista Aliso residents.

Caston called on the council to bring back some of the play hours that pickleball players lost due to the complaints. The council closed the courts to pickleball on Mondays and reduced the hours on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

A bluff collapsed in Laguna Beach on Friday morning, sending private staircases crashing to the sand and prompting officials to cordon off a section of Thousand Steps Beach.

“I think we’ve come to the point where as pickleball players we’ve acquiesced enough. … It’s time to recognize this is our community,” Caston said.

In the long term, City Councilmember Sue Kempf told the Orange County Register, the council is considering moving the pickleball courts further away from the senior living facility altogether.

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Battles over the noise from pickleball courts have raged from coast to coast as the game took off in popularity over the past decade. In 2020, 4.8 million people played the sport at least once, a 40% increase from just two years earlier.

Lawsuits have been filed over the noise associated with the game all across the country. Researchers say that the sound of a solid pickleball hit can be 25 decibels louder than the loudest tennis racket strike.

“The medical effects of this are so profound and people don’t understand it, but it triggers a fight-or-flight response that triggers all kinds of stress hormones,” said Nalini Lasiewicz, who runs a nonprofit called Pickleball Noise Relief that has helped conduct studies on the harmful effects the sounds of pickleball can have on nearby residents.

Lasiewicz testified last month at the city council hearing about the quiet paddles, saying they did not do enough to address the harm to seniors.

“Even when the players stop hitting, people who suffer from this syndrome continue to hear the noise even when it’s not happening,” she said.

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