Board backs plan for 18 new pickleball courts at Boca Raton park
A flock of hopeful pickleball fans filled Boca Raton’s Planning and Zoning Board meeting Thursday evening, rallying for the board to recommend a proposal for new pickleball courts.
By the end of the meeting, the group roared with applause, as the board unanimously voted to approve having 18 covered pickleball courts at Patch Reef Park, at 2000 Yamato Road.
Earlier this week, the proposal, brought forth by the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, was met with opposition by the city’s Environmental Advisory Board over concerns about land preservation.
Part of the proposal includes an allotment for 0.84-acres of conservation, which satisfies a city requirement for applicants to set aside at least 25% of the native plant communities in an affected area. Some of the Environmental Advisory Board members felt that wasn’t enough green space, and the new pickleball courts would unnecessarily disrupt the native species in the area.
The crowd on Thursday evening did not exhibit the same concerns. No one from the public expressed any dissent for the proposal; rather, every resident who addressed the board pleaded with them to move forward with the plan for more pickleball.
“I encourage you to really look at this project as a great asset,” said Carl Foster, the co-owner of Boca Raton Picklers team in the Pro Champions National Pickleball League. “This is another step for us to bring the community together with pickleball.”
Several relied on the arguments that pickleball is accessible for people of all ages and creates a space not only for exercise but for socialization, too.
“I play with my daughters, my sons, my grandkids, it’s a sport from 8 to 80,” Foster said. “That’s the beauty of pickleball.”
Boca Raton resident Ross Stern asserted the proposal would be economically beneficial for the city as pickleball players often hold tournaments and may be seeking more places to do so.
“There is no reason why a city like Boca should have facilities that are inferior to cities like Bradenton, Florida, which I have traveled to, that put up covered facilities as well,” Stern said. “As a city, as renowned as Boca Raton, we should have a facility that reflects the people and the need that clearly exists here.”
Initially, the board members appeared to express some skepticism toward the proposal and its slashing of some environmentally sensitive land.
Board member Timothy Dornblaser questioned why the beach and park district couldn’t convert more of the tennis courts into pickleball courts. As of now, the proposal is turning two of the pre-existing tennis courts into six pickleball courts.
The current tennis court usage justified the district’s decision not to convert more into pickleball courts, said Eoin Devlin, the city’s geographic information system planner.
At the Environmental Advisory Board meeting last week, the beach and park district estimated about 3,000 monthly tennis court users.
Board member Joe Panella wondered how the 0.84 acres of conservation land would support all the wildlife that exists on the currently unadulterated site.
“We can’t guarantee everything,” Devlin said.
Devlin also discussed a plan to further expand upon the plot of preservation land, but he was uncertain about by how much the plot would increase.
Whatever concerns some of the board members expressed in the beginning of the meeting appeared to have dissipated by the end when they voted 6-0 to approve the plan with little discussion after public comment.
Arnold Sevell, the board’s chair, thanked everyone who spoke during public comment for their enthusiasm.
“I appreciate the comments, particularly about the socialization aspect,” he said. “I understand that’s huge as being an old guy.”