Pickleball’s popularity has prompted some neighbors of the Round Pond tennis courts to complain of noise disturbances and a lack of privacy. The local complaints echo debates in other Maine communities about the noise associated with the game. (Christina Wallace photo)
As the popularity of pickleball increases in Maine, so do the related noise complaints, the turmoil of which has recently reached the village of Round Pond in Bristol. The Round Pond tennis court, which the Round Pond Village Improvement Society oversees, was converted to accommodate pickleball in 2021.
Although the number of players has steadily increased since the court’s conversion, neighbors have spoken out against the level of noise emanating from the court. Residents Jesse and Karen Dunbar, who own the closest property to the court, said they have been dealing with noise and privacy disturbances since this spring.
“The sound is 10 times louder,” Karen Dunbar said. “What had been two or four people is now sometimes 12 people, not counting spectators.”
She also stated the noise was having a negative impact on day-to-day life for her and her husband, Jesse Dunbar.
“Seven days a week, we get up in the morning and plan our entire day around leaving the house,” Karen Dunbar said. “We can’t work from home … we end up packing food. My husband works in the library, and if I have to stay home to get something done … I have to put in a podcast.”
Karen Dunbar also outlined visual privacy issues, including cars parking along the grass on the sight line of their property, and a port-a-potty being placed in sight of their kitchen window.
According to Karen Dunbar, the port-a-potty placed near the court by the Round Pond Picklers, the town’s unofficial pickleball team, has a lock that only team members have access to.
Karen Dunbar said that a man urinated outside of the port-a-potty after trying, and failing, to enter it when she was standing in her kitchen window.
“He smirked at me because he saw me see him,” she said.
The Dunbars wrote a letter to the Bristol Select Board after attending a meeting on May 7 to discuss their concerns over the disturbances. The letter, dated June 11, requested that additions be made to the pickleball field to improve visual privacy and reduce noise. These additions included requiring the use of noise-deadening pickleball paddles, signage to be posted on pickleball use times, and soundproof fencing.
The letter also requested that trees be planted along the property line closest to their house, which they said was in the original permit when the court was built in 2004 but had never been planted.
During a select board meeting on Wednesday, July 16, the Dunbars discussed the letter, which they shared with the Round Pond Village Improvement Society. Other members of the community attended the meeting.
Other residents have also complained about the noise levels. During the meeting, Karin Tichy, who lives two doors down from the Dunbars, said that she is also dealing with noise disturbances.
“I would really like to be able to sit outside on one of the days of my weekend and not listen to pickleball,” said Tichy. “Give us a chance as homeowners to enjoy our property.”
Members of the pickleball team who were in attendance were unhappy with the way the Dunbars were handling the situation.
“It saddened me to read Mr. Dunbar’s seven-page letter … because it leads one to believe that the modern rise of recreational facilities in Round Pond has become a detriment to this community,” resident Chris Bennett said in a written statement. “As a matter of fact, it’s an asset, and it continues to be. The increased use of recreational facilities over the years, with the presence of people, has created communities and fostered friendships among a group of responsible, mostly retired people who appreciate and respect what Round Pond has offered them.”
Resident Matt Hermon also spoke out against the Dunbars.
“This is a very small village, and instead of coming in and writing a seven-page letter making demands about what needed to happen to improve your life, you could have talked to the community members,” said Hermon. “Do you really think that the way you are going about this is the way to go about getting anything done in this small community?”
After the meeting was over, the Dunbars left to find that someone had thrown eggs on their car, and called the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
“There is no grocery store around there,” said Karen Dunbar. “Nobody got mad at the meeting and went and purchased eggs because of an incited passion, they obviously brought them. There’s nowhere to get them.”
She said that this is not the first time her and her husband have faced retaliation because of their complaints about the pickleball noise.
“We were at Muscongus having dinner, and we were threatened by a local resident and pickleball player who told us that if we didn’t ease off, there would be an economic boycott,” said Karen Dunbar.
She said that her and her husband utilize local businesses and contractors because of their community connections, and found the threat distressing.
Round Pond’s pickleball turmoil is reminiscent of similar debates throughout Maine.
Similar noise complaints happened in Christmas Cove, leading to the implementation of a new policy that requires players to use noise-deadening paddles.
In March of this year, complaints of pickleball disturbances in Kittery led the town to contact sound engineers to perform a sound study on the pickleball court to find solutions for noise reduction.
Currently, the Bristol Select Board has no concrete plan on how to address the issue, said Town Clerk Rachel Bizarro.
“We have looked into making sure we are compliant as far as our insurance goes, but there have been no firm decisions made,” she said. “It is my recommendation that a conversation is had with the Round Pond Village Improvement Society.”
The next select board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6. For more information, call 563-5270, or go to bristolmaine.org.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
