Oakmont pickleball plan in Santa Rosa council’s court

Oakmont’s divisive pickleball debate lands in front of the Santa Rosa City Council today, with fans of the fast-growing sport expected to face off against residents worried about the noise from four new proposed multi-use courts.

The city’s Planning Commission in December unanimously approved plans by the Oakmont Village Association to build the courts on a former putting green beside a quiet community pool.

But residents worried about the project’s cost and impact on their poolside views, as well as the incessant plonk-plonk sound created when paddles volley the plastic pickleballs back and forth, have appealed that decision to the council.

Opponents have gathered more than 1,100 signatures against the estimated $310,000 project, which has been dubbed Oakmont Village Central Park.

The sport of pickleball, with an estimated 100,000 players nationwide, is played on a smaller court than tennis, with participants swatting a small ball over a net.

The controversy is unusual for Oakmont, an age-restricted community of more than 4,500 residents in east Santa Rosa that tends to be unified on major issues affecting it.

Planning Commission Chairwoman Patti Cisco acknowledged as much during the December meeting, calling the unusual show of discord “very uncomfortable.”

“It really is hard for us to have Oakmont, in particular, come out divided, because we’re really used to seeing you come out united for something,” Cisco told residents.

Some have suggested that the rift, at its heart, is a generational one - between older Oakmont residents who have no interest in the sport and newer baby boomer residents seeking more active lifestyles.

But Ellen Leznik, the retired attorney who is organizing the opposition, denied an age gap exists. She said while some older residents are worried about their fees going up, opponents are from all age groups and incomes.

“It’s really a cross-section,” said Leznik, 58, who moved to Oakmont less than three years ago. “There is very serious and broad opposition to this.”

She cited the increased parking demands, loss of green space and other improvements needed at Oakmont, such as the renovation of the aging Berger Center auditorium, as reasons the project should be abandoned.

Leznik says it would be more economical to convert two of the community’s eight tennis courts into six pickleball courts.

But that’s not something homeowners who live near the tennis courts will support, said Frank Batchelor, president of the Oakmont Village Association board.

“This is the best location to mitigate the sound,” Batchelor said.

Supporters also cite the health benefits of the sport and say the concerns about parking, sound and views are overblown.

Asked why the board supports a project that a quarter of Oakmont residents oppose, Batchelor said he’s not convinced residents would continue to oppose the new courts if they were fully informed about the project.

Whether Oakmont ultimately moves forward with the project hinges on several unknowns - including the actual cost, which can’t be established until the project is approved, and the future makeup of the homeowners board.

Batchelor said the issue has created such controversy that some of the candidates running for three open seats on the seven-member board next month are campaigning on a platform of blocking the project.

He said he doesn’t know why the opposition is so fierce, but lamented that the project had become so divisive.

“This thing has consumed my life for the past year,” Batchelor said.

The council is scheduled to take up the issue sometime after 5 p.m. today.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.