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Date: 12/5/2023
AMHERST — The proposed construction of pickleball courts identified for Kiwanis Park has been met with resistance from some community members who live in close proximity to the park and the location where the courts would be installed.
At the Nov. 16 meeting of the Community Preservation Act Committee, residents on both sides of the issue expressed their thoughts which supported the construction of the pickleball courts but conveyed unease at where they will be situated.
Committee Chair Sam MacLeod noted the receipt of letters from 28 individuals all in favor of the pickleball project at Kiwanis Park.
Willow Lane resident Ryan Harb acknowledged being part of the Misty Meadows Property Association in South Amherst which is opposed to the planned construction of the courts at the park which is near their neighborhood.
“Our community got some letters about this and has taken some steps to just meet and talk about it because there were some concerns that were brought to us about, citing pickleball courts in residential neighborhoods and some of the negative impacts that are happening in other communities around the country,” Harb said. “This led us to actually kind of take an investigation approach and to visit other pickleball courts in other towns to interview residents who are actually living in close proximity to other pickleball courts and to just ask their honest opinions on whether or not there’s any negative impacts to their living environment.”
Harb told the committee that their findings indicated there were negative impacts and concerns raised according to those who were asked.
Harb also said that the property association voted unanimously to oppose the current plan and sent a letter outlining their concerns and objections about the pickleball court proposal to Town Manager Paul Bockelman.
“We did not take that lightly, it’s not something that we’re anti-pickleball by any means,” Harb said. “It’s the proper location of the pickleball courts that our community has concerns about.”
Harb cited several specific concerns raised by association members including noise and sound created by the presence of the pickleball courts as well as potential parking, traffic and other issues. Also mentioned was any alteration of the existing uses of the field areas and a negative impact to nearby home prices.
Speaking on behalf of the property association, Harb asked the committee for due diligence in order to not rush the process against their concerns.
Resident Carolyn Mailler addressed the committee on behalf of the pickleball community and responded to concerns raised by Harb and other community members opposed to the proposed location of the courts.
“I have been working closely with the town, we have for the last several months,” she said. “We have considered abutters at every one of our meetings and have done research and have several ideas for mitigating the noise and the other problems.”
Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek told the committee that town officials would be sitting down with concerned community members to discuss the issues as soon as possible.
“I hope that we can still hear the proposal from [Assistant DPW Superintendent] Amy Rusiecki and [Recreation Director] Rey Harp from the recreation department and DPW respectively and we are committed to meeting with the neighborhood association.”
Back in October, Harp told Reminder Publishing that letters were going out to the neighboring communities detailing the project and the proposed plans for the installation at the park.
Mailler told the committee that the receipt of CPA funding for the courts would not necessarily guarantee that they would be constructed at Kiwanis Park.
“There are other options so I wouldn’t want the controversy here to prevent us from getting the money we need to do courts wherever they are,” she said.
Following public comment, Rusiecki presented an overview of the proposal, the original CPA funding and the decision to locate the courts in Kiwanis Park.
In regard to the concerns raised through public comment, Ziomek said that town projects have to go through a rigorous and remitting pathway including the Planning Board and a site review process.
A public hearing on all CPA funded projects is scheduled for Dec. 7.