Glen Cove council enacts three-month moratorium on residential pickleball courts

The Glen Cove City Council voted unanimously to adopt a three-month moratorium that bars new private pickleball courts on residential property, city documents show. The measure, passed at the council’s Feb. 10 meeting, aims to halt construction and conversions of lawns, driveways, and other surfaces into private play areas while the city reviews zoning and regulatory implications.

The moratorium “prohibits the ‘construction and/or development of pickleball courts on residential property, including the conversion of any surface on residential property for the purpose of playing pickleball,’” city documents state. Enforcement language in those same documents warns that “people who violate the moratorium will be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day of each violation.” The measure will not take effect immediately; “the moratorium will go into effect after being approved by the state, according to city documents,” and the city has not published a timeline or named the state office involved.

Council business that evening also included local recognitions and an appointment, providing context to the session that adopted the moratorium. The meeting honored three youth athletes, a cheerleader and two football players, and installed Connor Dunleavy to the city’s zoning board. The city’s agenda materials from prior sessions show the council has previously considered temporary moratoria on other subjects; a May 13, 2025 city council agenda listed a proposed temporary moratorium on battery energy storage system facilities and named Pamela Panzenbeck as mayor on that docket.

For homeowners, clubs, and backyard builders, the moratorium introduces immediate uncertainty. Anyone planning to construct a private court or convert an existing surface should pause those projects until the ordinance is posted and state approval is confirmed. The civil penalty provision means noncompliance could be costly while the temporary ban is active. The city documents released with the council action do not specify whether existing private courts are grandfathered, whether public courts are affected, which municipal office will enforce the rule, or the exact legal mechanism for state approval.

What happens next is procedural: the moratorium must clear state approval before taking effect, and the council’s temporary pause will last three months once it is active. Residents and property owners who want clarity should monitor the city’s official postings and council minutes for the full ordinance text, details on enforcement, and any grandfathering provisions. For now, backyard court builders will have to hold their serves until the city and state complete their review.