California town of Carmel votes to ban pickleball over noise complaints

Alex Lantz

Team The Kitchen

Last Edited

Nov 20 2025

Category

News

The California beach town of Carmel is likely to permanently ban pickleball after years of noise complaints from neighbors who live near the only public courts in the area.

The town's city council unanimously voted earlier this month to review a permanent ban on pickleball at the courts in Forest Hill Park after initially enacting a temporary ban in October, according to news reports.

The city attorney will now draft the permanent pickleball ban for the city council to vote on at a later date.

Carmel Mayor Dale Byrne told ABC News that the town's government has tried to find a solution to the noise issues for two years, including limiting hours of play and providing quiet paddles for players to use at the park.

"Unfortunately, consistent enforcement proved impossible, and the topic continued to consume significant staff, commission and Council time," Byrne said. "As I said at the meeting, it’s disappointing that we couldn’t find a solution that balanced everyone’s interests. We fully recognize the health benefits and joy that pickleball provides. However, those benefits must be weighed against the peace and quiet of the surrounding neighborhood, something that remains a core priority for our village."

Carmel Police Chief Todd Trayer told ABC News that people using the banned court will get a warning first -- although he said he's not aware of anyone violating the temporary ban.

"If we do get called, people will be warned first and provided the new ordinance/education. This is a beautiful community of people and most understand the concerns of sound today," Trayer said.

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