Tensions are rising between residents of the Kokomo Park community in Port Stanley, Ont. — all because of pickleball.
Kokomo Park is a quiet neighbourhood, with a condo building, a block of single-family homes, a playground and four public pickleball courts that are popular with some residents and their friends.
“We hang out together, we laugh together, we joke together,” said Ashley Hennessey, who plays regularly at the courts. “The good thing about pickleball is it brings you out so that you’re getting good healthy workout, good community and get to know people you didn’t know before.”
But for others, the courts are a source of constant noise.
After receiving a number of complaints, the Municipality of Central Elgin decided in July that the courts could only be used from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., a change from the previous policy of dawn to dusk.
At a municipal council meeting on Monday, the players submitted a petition with 130 signatures, asking to change the hours to 8 a.m. to dusk, and for the municipality to conduct a noise study and include the players in future discussions.
At the same meeting, St. Catharines-based lawyer J. Patrick Maloney submitted a letter on behalf of Richard Robson, one of the condo owners, and Kokomo Affected Neighbours, a group of condo residents.
The letter threatens legal action if the pickleball courts aren’t removed, claiming the use of the courts would exceed provincial noise guidelines and “contravene the general legal principles associated with the tort of nuisance.”
“We understand that the pickleball users are pushing for expanded hours, which demonstrates they are not concerned with such nuisance impacts or our clients legal right to the quiet enjoyment of their property,” Maloney wrote.
Maloney did not respond to a request for a statement. CBC News spoke with two of the Kokomo Affected Neighbours, but neither wished to comment.
The municipality received both communications at Monday’s meeting, but no decision has been made regarding either the players’ or the residents’ requests.
Hennessey, who started the players’ petition, said he and the others want the courts to remain open earlier in the morning due to concerns over the heat and humidity, noting the “advanced age” of many of the people who use them.
“Playing in 30- to 35-degree weather is not healthy,” he said. “So we come out, we play earlier in the day and to us that is a reasonable alternative.”
The disagreement has led to tensions between neighbours, he said, describing multiple occasions on which condo residents have yelled at him and other players if they arrive at the courts too early or leave too late.
Hennessey said he and the other players are willing to work with the community to find a way to reduce the disruption, and he was surprised to read the lawyer’s letter asking for the courts to be closed outright.
“That is absolutely not fair because what we want to hear is the joy … the laughing, the joking, chirping each other back and forth,” he said. “This is what life is about, it’s supposed to be about getting along, being peaceful and having a good time.”
In 2025, Lloyd Mulroney moved into the home directly in front of the pickleball courts, fully aware they existed and were a part of the community, he said. Mulroney said he has even taken to sitting and watching from his porch some mornings, and he and his wife occasionally play.
But the courts can get busy, he said, particularly in the evenings, with upwards of 20 people playing and 15 to 20 cars in the small parking lot.
“There’s a lot of cheering and activity that’s happening. But if it closes down by 8 p.m., people are respectful, then that works for everybody, right?”
He said there are a lot of “camps” in the community, where the courts are concerned. Some want them gone, some don’t care and some, like him, “kind of lay in the middle.”
“I think it could have been dealt with a little bit better,” he said. “A little bit more collaboration and a little bit more folks concerned for their neighbour.”
