Lake Bluff park district expands pickleball courts at Artesian Park

Lake Bluff moved Artesian Park one step closer to dependable pickleball access, approving a plan that converted one existing court for exclusive pickleball use and carved out space for additional courts. For players who look for a place that can anchor a weekend, the change matters because it shifts the park away from improvised shared use and toward space that is reserved for the sport.

That is the direction Lake Bluff has been inching toward for years. Park district records show the community has offered pickleball open play and programming since 2015, and the district’s schedules page still lists indoor open times on the Open Gym schedule while pointing users to summer program information online. In other words, Artesian Park is not becoming the area’s first pickleball stop; it is becoming the more formal one.

The path there was not simple. At a March 4, 2024 special board meeting, resident Randy Pavlik raised concerns about noise from the courts. Village President Regis Charlot and Trustee Taryn Fisher said the village wanted to support pickleball and help the park district improve facilities. By August 21, 2024, the Village of Lake Bluff Joint Plan Commission & Zoning Board of Appeals supported the park district’s request to amend zoning regulations so pickleball could be played at Artesian Park with sound mitigation fencing.

Park district materials from August 2024 said the village’s sound consultant found the Artesian Park concept, which called for four permanent pickleball courts and the reduction of one tennis court, would have minimal impact on nearby residents. That same planning period also saw the district abandon earlier pickleball proposals at Blair Park, a sign that Artesian Park had become the preferred location for the sport’s next phase in Lake Bluff.

The process advanced again in February 2025, when board materials said the village had approved the second reading of an ordinance granting RIO development plan approval and pickleball courts at Artesian Park, along with a five-year extension of the plan. Staff said the project would return to commissioners for final plans and timing.

Now the board’s latest approval has pushed the site closer to what traveling players and local organizers actually need: reserved court time, a clearer schedule, and a park that can handle more than a temporary arrangement. After years of noise debates, zoning reviews and alternating proposals, Artesian Park is starting to look less like a compromise and more like a destination.