The ongoing dispute between the village of Lake Bluff and the Lake Bluff Park District over pickleball play has taken a new twist as the village is now prohibiting play at one of the parks.
Last month, the village told the Park District pickleball play would have to stop at Blair Park, located at 355 W. Washington, on grounds the noise generated by the sport exceeded state and village regulations.
While tennis is still permitted at Blair Park, the pickleball option at a public court inside Lake Bluff is now at Artesian Park, located on the first block of Sheridan Place, next to the public safety building.
The village’s stop-play directive represents the latest chapter in a clash between the two government agencies regarding pickleball play, where interest has grown tremendously throughout the nation in the last few years. The Lake Bluff Park District has provided pickleball open play and programming since 2015.
However, with the increasing popularity of the sport, residents who live close to courts have expressed frustration with the noise associated with pickleball play. Last year, some Blair Park neighbors complained to the village about the noise leading to a temporary shutdown of pickleball.
The courts re-opened after some changes were made in terms of hours of play, reducing the number of courts and permitting play at Artesian Park. Since the start of the year, open play was allowed at Blair from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with programming such as classes Mondays through Fridays.
But the situation turned again in May when the village received a study from an Elgin-based sound mitigation firm pointing to excess noise impacts on the greater community and directing that pickleball play be stopped at Blair.
“It’s not ideal, but this is the village’s duty by enforcing regulations and make sure things are done by proper procedures,” Village Administrator Drew Irvin said. “Whether it is a public agency or some other member of our community, everything has to follow the appropriate process.”
Park District Executive Director John Bealer said the village’s decision was unexpected.
“It was a little disappointing to shut down before we had been able to finish the review process, and further limiting what we have offered the community,” he said.
The stop order occurred after the Park District submitted zoning applications to the village requesting pickleball play at both Blair and Artesian.
Park District officials appeared at the April meeting of the village’s Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals presenting its own sound study and acknowledging the sounds exceeded local and state guidelines. But, they offered mitigation with the goal of reaching acceptable decibel levels, according to a June community letter from Park Board President Jennifer Beeler.
With the stop order in place at Blair, the village is now awaiting another sound study on Artesian and the noise impacts at that site, where the courts are temporary. With the submission of the next report expected soon, the Park District is then scheduled to come back before the PCZBA in July.
Despite the very unusual dispute between the two government units, representatives of both hope that a solution can be found for pickleball play, even though Irvin does not believe that will be possible at Blair.
“The delta between what is permissible and how effectively you can mitigate that is extremely difficult at Blair,” he said. “Effectively, you have to play in a box.”
Yet there may be another site in the village that can work.
“The plan would be that we would sit down with the Park District and their consultant, and review the outcomes, and be solution-oriented here and try to find a place that works and can be effectively mitigated in a cost-efficient manner,” Irvin said.
In an April letter, Village President Regis Charlot said the village would be willing to invest up to $100,000 for construction of a pickleball facility.
Bealer labeled the offer as “helpful,” but estimated the cost of such a facility to be approximately $250,000, in addition to ongoing maintenance needs.
He also took a larger look at the situation that has generated controversy in the small village.
“I am frustrated that it has been as difficult a process as it has been,” Bealer said. “I hope we can work together and make it better, because the residents want to play more pickleball. But we want to be good neighbors and cognizant of those sound issues.”
