ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Relief from pickleball noise could soon be coming to Alpharetta. City council is set to have a final vote on a proposed ordinance that prohibits pickleball courts from being located less than 250 feet from a home.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The proposal comes after residents of the Glen Abbey subdivision complained about the persistent noise of plastic pickleballs hitting rackets.
“It is very bad, it is loud,” said Karol Mason, whose backyard overlooks pickleball courts. “It’s hard to work, it’s hard for my kids to study.”
She said the homeowners’ association converted tennis courts into pickleball courts last summer. “It affects our daily lives,” she said.
Mason and her neighbors took their concerns to Alpharetta officials. That resulted in an ordinance prohibiting any portion of a pickleball playing surface from being within 250 feet of a home. Any court built within 800 feet of a home must have a conditional use permit that requires noise barriers, an acoustical analysis by a licensed professional and limited hours of play.
“I’m happy for anybody that this could potentially happen to, where pickleball just pops up in your backyard,” Mason said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- I-285 lanes to shut down again for weekend in Fulton County
- Judge had sex in chambers with senior police official during business hours, report says
- $2M in fake luxury bags lead to charges for 2 moms, police say
The ordinance, however, would not help the neighbors in Glen Abbey because the pickleball courts would be grandfathered in. But they hope to get enough support from neighbors to convince the homeowners’ association to remove the courts.
“Knowing that this is going to be a future issue, I think (the city) resolved it and got something in place so people wouldn’t have to suffer going forward,” Mason said.
City council members approved the ordinance on first reading May 18 and will have a second and final reading on June 1.
“As much as we love people enjoying the outdoors – we enjoy the outdoors – having people in your backyard all the time is a little unnerving and not comfortable,” Mason said.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
