Johnson County faces a new noise challenge in backyard pickleball courts

by Kathleen Romito, MD

Photo credit: K

Out of Johnson County, Kansas, comes yet another story about a growing trend: neighborhood disputes over pickleball courts popping up in residential areas. But this case is different. Instead of a park or HOA facility, a private homeowner is building a pickleball court directly in their own backyard — and nearby residents are worried.

This issue isn’t going away. With the rise of apps that let people rent out private pickleball courts, what used to be a personal recreational project can quickly turn into a quasi-commercial activity. For neighbors, that means more players, longer hours, and more noise.

The city council president in Overland Park got it exactly right: homeowners have property rights, and cities also have ordinances meant to protect residents from excessive nuisance and noise. The problem is that pickleball is pushing those boundaries. Yes, the sport is loud — typically 85–90 dB courtside, but it becomes less as you move away from the courts. The problem is that it’s the character of the sound that becomes intrusive. The sharp, repetitive pop-pop-pop is impulsive, unpredictable, and can be heard even 1000 feet away.  And with the popularity of pickleball, courts can be in use from sun-up to sun-down.

What’s most notable in this particular article is the council president’s acknowledgment that the city may need to revisit its development codes to address the issue. That’s a significant shift. Most cities haven’t recognized that their ordinances — and even their planning and zoning frameworks — were never designed to handle a new and unique noise source like pickleball. 

And the timing couldn’t be better. A new article published by the American Planning Association, by Charles Leahy, lays out why traditional noise metrics fall short and how city planners can begin to address the issue of pickleball noise in their communities. One key recommendation: prohibit rentals of residential courts.

As pickleball’s popularity continues to grow, backyard courts may become the next big challenge for local governments — and a test of how well cities can balance recreation, property rights, and the right to quiet.