Pickleball's popularity is growing. Photo: Park City Municipal

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City Municipal staff are currently considering Land Management Code amendments for planning commission and city council review.

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Amendments include:

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Requiring an Administrative Permit, public notice to adjacent properties, and a public hearing for pickleball courts
Modifying the definition of Private Recreation Facilities to identify pickleball courts as a type of facility that requires additional mitigation due to the noise associated with the sport
Adding a new Land Management Code Section specific to mitigation strategies for pickleball courts:
1. Establishing a minimum required lot size of 0.5 acres (21,780 square feet) for pickleball courts
2. Requiring a minimum 100-foot setback from lot lines of adjacent residential properties for pickleball courts with no noise mitigation
3. Requiring a minimum 50-foot setback from lot lines of residential properties for courts that include a twelve-foot-tall noise reducing fence, noise reduction floor panels, and the recommended use of “quiet” paddles
4. Limiting pickleball court use to daylight hours and prohibiting outdoor lighting of the court
5. Prohibiting on-street parking for properties with permitted pickleball courts
6. Requiring Homeowner Association approval for properties that are part of a Homeowner Association
7. Requiring further mitigation if three noise complaints are filed within a one-year period of permit issuance

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Pickleball has grown immensely in the past several years, nationally and locally. Members of the Park City Pickleball Club have signaled that they will have over 1000 members this year. When the group was established in 2019, it had 30 members.

Pickleball grew in 2020 to 4.2 million players in the US, a growth rate of 21.3% from 2019 per the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) 2021 Topline Participation Report, released in Feb. 2021.

“We seek direction to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to consider the scope and construction costs of new indoor pickleball courts at the PC MARC,” Park City Recreation Director Ken Fisher wrote in a recommendation to Park City Council.

“We also strongly recommend the RFP include consideration of additional PC MARC upgrades, including an expanded indoor fitness space, updating aging aquatics facilities, and updating the outdoor tennis bubble.

“The RFP also looks to consider pickleball courts and other recreational amenities at the Quinn’s Junction PC Sports Complex. The RFP will focus on design services to determine the potential amenities at different sites, cost, and timelines for construction.”

The RFP was approved at the Park City Council meeting on Thursday:

The USA Pickleball Association describes a pickleball court as follows:

A pickleball court is 20’ x 44’ for both singles and doubles. The net is hung at 36” at the ends and hangs 34” in the middle. A non-volley zone extends 7’ back from the net on each side, commonly called “the kitchen.”