CA City Becomes First To Ban Pickleball: Report

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, CA — A wealthy beach town has become the first to ban the wildly popular pickle ball sport at public facilities with residents citing nonstop pop pop pop noises.

Last month, Carmel-by-the-Sea's city council voted to permanently oust pickleball and directed its staff to come back with an ordinance in December that will make that prohibition permanent, the Los Angeles Times reported.

While officials had considered a compromise that would require people to use city-provided quiet balls, officials said it would likely cause more problems, according to the Times.

Residents had been complaining for years about the booming community sport, which blends elements of tennis, ping-pong and badminton.

“It is very annoying,” Kimberly Edwards, who lives near a tennis-turned pickleball court in town told the City Council last month.

“And unless you live there, I know it’s not a problem for you, but it’s a problem for me.”

Read more from the Los Angeles Times: Wealthy California coastal city bans pickleball, saying it ‘turned into a madhouse’

After suffering a similar barrage of resident complaints, Laguna Beach, in Southern California, approved a law that fines people for using a certain kind of pickleball paddle at Lang Park.

Use of the paddles, sold by the city at cost ($120 per paddle), will be enforced by the Laguna Beach Police Department's Park Rangers, according to the city.

The law comes in response to ongoing noise complaints issued to the city by residents living in the nearby senior community, according to the city.

READ MORE: Pickleball Noise Restrictions Set In Stone At Laguna Beach Park