Kittery shuts outdoor pickleball court after noise study finds violations

Kittery is closing its outdoor pickleball court after a noise study showed the game’s sharp paddle strikes were crossing the town’s daytime limit and creating a nuisance for nearby families. The move turns a neighborhood complaint into a hard land-use decision, with town officials now trying to keep pickleball in town without repeating the same mistake.

Town Council materials presented on April 13, 2026 said individual paddle hits frequently exceeded Kittery’s daytime noise criterion of 55 dBA. The report noted that fabric netting installed on the fencing did reduce noise somewhat, but not enough to solve the problem. That finding gave officials a concrete basis to treat the dispute as more than a matter of personal preference, especially after the sound study confirmed that the noise from paddles striking plastic balls exceeded the decibel limit in the town ordinance.

The conflict had been building for at least a year. In a 2024 complaint, a neighboring homeowner in Admiralty Village said the property line sat just 14 feet from the courts. By August 2024, the owner’s attorney was threatening legal action over pickleball noise and sleep disruption, saying the resident worked nights as a trauma nurse and was losing sleep during the day. Town comments also described the sound pollution as challenging and frustrating, and said the wind screens were not effective because the courts sat below street level.

The court itself was a recent investment. Emery Field Phase 2, approved in 2023 and opened to the public in June 2024, added the pickleball courts along with a basketball court, walking path, parking improvements, and a playground. The town listed the project cost at $706,872, excluding design costs, with $300,000 covered by a grant. That makes the closure especially notable for a community that had only recently expanded its outdoor recreation options.

Town Manager Robert Richter said Kittery is considering repurposing the current court area for basketball or another activity while looking for a better location for a future pickleball court. Players will still have access at the Kittery Community Center, where pickleball is available on the gym floor. The town’s own review said a court may need to sit at least 500 feet from a home or neighborhood to avoid disturbing residents, a sign that future siting, hours, and sound mitigation will matter as much as the game itself.