Planning Commission unanimously approves new pickleball courts at Hyatt Regency on Jamboree Road

The Newport Beach Planning Commission unanimously approved plans earlier this month to convert six existing tennis courts into 22 pickleball courts for use by a private club at the Hyatt Regency.

The club, TTC Newporter, is owned by the Hyatt on the 1100 block of Jamboree Road and would share parking as well as restrooms with the hotel. In addition to re-striping of courts, the project entails minor improvements to the shared parking lot.

Six members of the club comprised the majority of speakers during public comments at a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 9. They said it would help foster a growing pickleball community in Newport Beach.

“It wasn’t until I went over to the pickleball club that I realized that half of the people I live with are there,” club member and Corona del Mar-based real estate agent Bud Mastropaolo said. “I actually got to know them. We have conversations, and that’s where I made real connections.”

(Bob - stock.adobe.com)

Mastropaolo said he also believed the new pickleball courts would add value to nearby properties. He noted that at least one San Diego couple interested in moving to Orange County he was working with had specifically listed proximity to such facilities as a requirement for their new home.

The courts could generate as many as 300 additional trips to the location per day, according to reports by city staff. Residents of the nearby Sea Island condominiums raised concerns about how the additional traffic and other issues might impact their quality of life and public safety.

Sea Island resident and former Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter said he frequently sees heavy congestion on Jamboree Road. He said the new courts would exacerbate that, increasing the likelihood of crashes and deterring prospective buyers who might be considering moving into the area.

Another Sea Island resident, Janet Sanders, said her family can already hear noise from the existing tennis courts from their home. Pickleball uses smaller courts that allow for more games to happen simultaneously, and she feared the project would create an even louder nuisance.

“I hear the tennis courts,” Sanders said. “I hear the ball hit, and it’s day and night, but especially at night. The sound carries up ... so Sea Island is highly impacted by any noise that goes on on those courts.”

A noise study was conducted and found that “the project would not create an increase in decibels perceptible to the human ear at the hotel and residences,” according to city staff. A traffic study found that existing streets and infrastructure would be able to handle the increase in trips to the location.

Members of the Planning Commission expressed confidence in city staff’s capacity to evaluate the accuracy of commissioned studies before unanimously voting in favor of the pickleball court conversion.