To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: CAMERON HARDING, COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
TITLE
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DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE PICKLEBALL FEASIBILITY STUDY
RECEIVE AND FILE THE STUDY AND THE INPUT FROM THE RECREATION AND PARKS COMMISSION AND COMMUNITY AND PROVIDE DIRECTION ON ANY PROPOSED PICKLEBALL LOCATIONS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As part of the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Budget, the City Council approved funding for the completion of a pickleball feasibility study. The City obtained the services of Hirsch & Associates, a landscape architect with experience in parks and recreation amenities, to complete the study. Hirsch & Associates analyzed seven park sites for potential pickleball courts including Alta Vista Park, Perry Park, Anderson Park, Franklin Park, Perry Allison Playfield, Dominguez Park, and Aviation Park. Each location has its own advantages, disadvantages and physical limitations that impact the number of possible pickleball courts.
The Recreation and Parks Commission considered the results of the feasibility study and provided feedback that is included in the report. Additionally, input from a number of pickleball players and members of the community has been collected and is attached to the report.
BACKGROUND
Hirsch & Associates completed its analysis of potential sites for pickleball courts in November 2021 and identified the following locations:
• Alta Vista Park
• Perry Park
• Anderson Park
• Franklin Park
• Perry Allison Playfield
• Dominguez Park
• Aviation Park
Additionally, Dale Page Park was considered, but was not found to be ideal for permanent courts due to parking limitations and proximity to residences and was not, as a result, included in the feasibility study. Each location noted in the study has its own pros and cons and is limited in the total number of pickleball courts that can be installed. In addition, the sites were evaluated to determine if a dual use concept with other sports was viable (i.e. with tennis or basketball) or if there is space for dedicated courts for pickleball play only.
Alta Vista Park
Alta Vista Park is located at 801 Camino Real. The park is 19.42 acres and is a combination of parcels owned by the City and the Redondo Beach School District including three individual multi-purpose sports fields, one little league field, Alta Vista Community Center, a picnic shelter, and tennis and racquetball courts. Options for future pickleball facilities at this location include the conversion of one tennis court to become four pickleball courts and/or the addition of a new, stand-alone single pickleball court on existing green space.
This location is ideal for the conversion of pickleball courts as it would benefit from the existing sport court infrastructure and lighting of the tennis court facility which would also result in cost savings and a shortened installation time. Additionally, Alta Vista Park has on-site, dedicated parking already available so nearby neighborhoods would not be impacted by visitors to the park. Concerns with this location include the need for additional site work for necessary ADA enhancements; the reduction of one tennis court (which is currently well used by the tennis community); and potential noise concerns associated with pickleball play to those living nearby the park, specifically on S. Juanita Avenue.
Perry Park
Perry Park is located at 2301 Grant Avenue. It is a 4.13-acre park featuring a teen center, Senior Center, Scout House, sports field, basketball courts, play equipment, and picnic areas. Additionally, skate park elements were installed in early 2022. Future pickleball court opportunities have been identified on the basketball courts with enough space for three pickleball courts. Informal pickleball play has been taking place on the basketball courts for quite some time with little to no issues. The site configuration and lack of immediate proximity to nearby homes is a positive attribute and reduces noise concerns, especially when combined with the existing vehicular traffic from Grant Avenue. Perry Park has dedicated, on-site parking as well as existing sport court lighting and fencing on the basketball court, which make it a good location for consideration of permanent pickleball courts.
On the downside, the surface of the basketball courts would need to be repaired prior to the installation of a permanent pickleball court, which would be an added expense and take time. Site work for ADA enhancements would also need to be completed.
Anderson Park
Anderson Park is located at 2229 Ernest Avenue and is surrounded by residential properties and Lincoln Elementary School. Anderson Park is a 12.4-acre park that includes the following amenities: Anderson Park Senior Center, Anderson Park Scout Houses, children’s play area, and basketball and tennis courts.
Options for future pickleball facilities at this location include:
• Restriping of one existing tennis court to allow 4 pickleball courts;
• Restriping of one existing half-court basketball court for a single pickleball court; and
• Three new, stand-alone pickleball courts using the open field area.
Although this location provides a lot of space for consideration, there are a few drawbacks that should be considered including additional site work for ADA enhancements; the transition of existing tennis and basketball court play into a shared space with pickleball play; and noise impacts to those living nearby with the addition of pickleball play. Alternatively, future pickleball courts could benefit from this location due to existing sport court lighting on the tennis court that could allow pickleball to be played longer hours; the half-court basketball court includes existing sport court lighting and the surface is in good shape, so the required site work would be minimal; and there is existing on-site parking.
Franklin Park
Franklin Park is located at 807 Inglewood Avenue and features play equipment, restrooms, two basketball courts, two shuffleboard courts, and picnic areas with two BBQ's. Options for future pickleball courts include the restriping of two half-court basketball courts, and an expansion of an existing oversized concrete area. Collectively, this would provide a total of six pickleball courts at this location.
Similar to Perry Park, informal pickleball is being played at this location without issue. While there is some level of concern with expanding the number of pickleball courts due to how close this park is to nearby residential property and the noise impacts this could pose, the fact that it is already taking place makes this location worthy of consideration.
Unfortunately, there are several concerns that should be considered, most notably the fact that there is no on-site parking. An increase to park amenities may result in parking impacts in the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, there would need to be a lot of site work beyond the pickleball courts such as the installation of pathways, ensuring ADA compliance, and fencing and sport court lighting.
Perry Allison Playfield
Perry Allison Playfield is located on 190th Street between Cluster and Blossom Lanes. It is a 0.59-acre park that includes a fenced in grass area. The feasibility study provides an option for future pickleball facilities at this location to include a single, stand-alone court. The use of this open space for a future pickleball court is ideal in the fact that it would not impact an existing sport court. Additionally, the vehicular noise from 190th may be helpful to negate some of the potential noise impacts from the sport to those living adjacent to the playfield. However, this location has a number of concerns including a lack of available on-site or dedicated parking; no existing sport court lighting, which would limit pickleball play to only daylight hours; proximity to houses, and the need for additional site work for ADA enhancements.
Dominguez Park
Dominguez Park is located at 200 Flagler Lane and is a 24-acre park that includes grass areas, picnic areas, play equipment, a dog park, Heritage Court, and two Little League fields.
The feasibility study identifies the open grass area between the dog park and the baseball fields as a potential location that could accommodate six pickleball courts. These courts would need to be installed on their own individual concrete pads due to concerns with ground movement and differential settling as a result of this site being on top of an old landfill. While this would not impact game play, it would increase project costs for installation and maintenance. City engineers have expressed concern with the potential effects of the differential settling and, therefore, do not recommend this location for future pickleball courts.
Aviation Park
Aviation Park is located at 1935 Manhattan Beach Boulevard and includes two indoor gymnasiums, a track and field, and the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.
OPEN FIELD OPTION: Located behind the gymnasium facilities is an unused open field area that has been identified as a potential site for pickleball courts. As noted in the study, up to six pickleball courts could fit within this space.
This is an ideal location as it would not displace any existing recreational sport or amenity. Its location away from residential areas greatly limits noise impacts, although these impacts should be considered for Northrop Grumman’s Child Development Center on the northwest side of the field.
Additional concerns for this location include the added project costs and installation time associated with the construction of pickleball courts from the ground up. Unique to this location is the fact that parking adjacent to this area is privately owned by Northrop Grumman. If this site were selected for future pickleball courts, staff would need to determine a parking plan in concert with Northrup Grumman that would ensure pickleball players do not use these private parking spaces.
PARKING LOT NORTH OF AVIATION FIELD OPTION: Following the Commission’s discussion of the feasibility study, staff requested Hirsch & Associates consider the viability of a vacant parking lot privately owned by Northrop Grumman located just north of the Aviation Park track and field. This analysis considered whether this location would provide enough space to support pickleball court(s) and looked at the general conditions of the site. This review concluded that up to eight (8) pickleball courts could fit, but it would require substantial work including removal of trees, curb and gutter, and light poles; and a complete resurfacing of the lot. Preliminary estimates total approximately $1.3 million for this transition, but a more in-depth and on-site review would be required to provide a more direct assessment. Further, it should be noted that while the City has access to this lot for periodic parking use, the lot is owned by Northrop Grumman and would require a license or use agreement to be developed as pickleball courts. Preliminary information on the feasibility of this site is included as Attachment 2.
Recreation and Parks Commission Input
The findings of the Pickleball Feasibility Study were presented to the Recreation and Parks Commission at its regular meeting on January 12, 2022. The Commission showed strong support for finding a location to bring the sport to Redondo Beach and carefully considered each of the identified locations. The Commission received multiple letters and correspondence from the community, which are included as Attachment 3. Through a series of motions, the Commission made the following recommendations:
• Eliminate Franklin Park, Perry Allison Playfield, and Dominguez Park from consideration. This was due to site-specific constraints as well as a desire to maintain the open space at Perry Allison Playfield;
• Resurface and convert one tennis court at Alta Vista Park to a total of four dedicated pickleball courts;
• Resurface the Perry Park basketball courts to become dual-use with removable fencing for two pickleball courts; and
• Consider looking at the Aviation Park Open Field site for a long-term approach.
Specific to the final recommendation, Aviation Park Open Field was found to be the most ideal location as it could support six courts, which lends well to tournament and round-robin play. Due to the high projected costs and the amount of time it would take to build a new facility, the Commission elected to find alternate locations as the initial focus. These locations, including Alta Vista and Perry Parks, were identified because they were located in both the north and south areas of the City; would be more cost effective to complete; and the work could be completed fairly quickly.
Alta Vista Use Information
Following the Commission’s discussion of the feasibility study, there has been heightened concern from the tennis community about the possibility of losing one tennis court at Alta Vista for pickleball. Throughout the City, there are a total of ten public tennis courts with eight located at Alta Vista Park and two at Anderson Park. For consideration, six months of tennis court usage data for Alta Vista Park from January to June 2021 is included below in Table 1:
Table 1: Alta Vista Tennis Court Use Data - January to June 2021
Overall, the Alta Vista tennis courts are a heavily used facility; however, the data demonstrates that the courts are not used to capacity with times where court(s) are vacant.
Should the Council desire to convert one of the tennis courts at Alta Vista Park, staff recommends consideration of courts seven or eight, which are the two most southerly courts. Courts one through six are preferred by the tennis community due to better spectator viewing opportunities and provide an ease in the implementation of United States Professional Tennis Association (“USPTA”) matches.
The completion of the pickleball feasibility study is a helpful and critical step in the development of future pickleball courts in Redondo Beach. Although the results of the study did not find a location void of any major concerns or potential issues, there are a number of viable locations that could be workable with creative approaches to noise abatement materials or other infrastructure modifications.
COORDINATION
The City obtained the services of a landscape architect, Hirsch & Associates, to complete this study.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City appropriated $15,000 for the completion of the feasibility study, which mirrored the cost of the contract services with Hirsch. Additionally, the City has allocated $50,000 for the installation of a pickleball facility. Depending on the approved location(s), additional funding may be required. The estimated cost of the various options are included below in Table 2.
Table 2: Cost Estimations for each Location Identified in the Pickleball Feasibility Study
These costs are for construction estimation purposes only and do not include the cost of possible pre-engineering work such as site surveys, conceptual drawings, noise abatement, and other potential site-specific needs.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Pickleball Feasibility Study
2. Aviation Park North Lot Preliminary Information
3. Written Communication from the January 12 Rec. & Parks Commission Meeting
4. Written Communication from Susan Higgins
5. Written Communication from Jonathan Frey
6. Joint Letter from the Pickleball Community
7. Written Communication from Dallas Poffenroth