Carmel City Council bans pickleball at Forest Hill Park while suggesting alternatives.

In a meeting punctuated by raucous clapping, angry words and threats of legal action by pickleball players, the Carmel City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday, Dec. 2 to ban the sport at Forest Hill Park, with councilmembers collectively saying the park in a small canyon surrounded by homes is the wrong spot for a game that can get noisy.

“It’s just a bad spot for pickleball and we’re all sad that it’s true, but it’s true,” Mayor Dale Byrne said. “The answer is just somewhere else.”

In the leadup to the vote, pickleball players were bitter, upset that the Council veered away from a compromise crafted by the city’s Forest and Beach Commission that limited play to three days a week, as well as backing away from ideas previously discussed in September and October like conducting a sound study to consider noise mitigating measures or requiring the use of quiet balls.

In November, councilmembers came to the conclusion that the small city, with no parks department and limited funds, would be unable to enforce rules requiring quiet equipment or limited play. Signaling they would ban pickleball at the park, council’s decision attracted media attention from around the world.

“Unfortunately pickleball has become synonymous with conflict in this town,” Councilmember Bob Delves said on Tuesday, describing himself as an avid player. “This decision is unpopular with many of you but it’s the right decision.”

Byrne said he wants to work with pickleball players to find a solution at an alternate location, possibly on courts developed by the Carmel Unified School District. “Let’s work as a team to figure this out,” Byrne said.