A belated Nov. 7 public input meeting regarding a plan to build a 12-court pickleball complex at the Tucker Recreation Center did little to appease the plan’s opponents.
The meeting, attended by more than 200 people, saw the majority of speakers opposing the complex, citing the proximity to homes on nearby Morgan Road, the cost of building the courts on TRC’s remaining greenspace, the approximately $3 million price tag, and the lack of public input before the design phase.
Tucker Mayor Frank Auman, who led the meeting, apologized for how the project had been handled thus far.
“In a couple ways we’re off the rails on this project,” he said. “We failed to follow through with the public meeting, and now we are taking a step back to where we should be.”
Michael Kidd of Root Design Studio spent the better part of an hour going over the details of the design plan, including photometric data showing the impact the lighting may have on nearby residences, proposed buffer landscaping, and efforts to ensure water runoff would not affect nearby homes.
He also pointed out that Avondale Estates has pickleball courts that are closer to homes than the proposed ones at the TRC.
“We did take this very seriously and took steps to design the courts in a responsible manner,” Kidd said.
During public comment, the majority of speakers said they were not opposed to the concept of having public pickleball courts in Tucker, but rather to their location.
Many of the people who spoke during public comment live on Morgan Road, which abuts the proposed courts. They complained about the lack of communication by the city until the November meeting and questioned the wisdom of the courts’ location in light of the proximity to their homes.
“Would you vote for pickleball courts if they were 100-300 feet from your homes?” asked Rebecca, a Morgan Road resident. “I don’t think you would.”
Other speakers said they were concerned about the increased traffic and noise a pickleball complex would bring to the area and asked if the city has considered reducing the number of courts.
Only a couple of people spoke in favor of the courts, although there appeared to be a large contingent of supporters in the crowd.
Auman assured attendees that although the design portion of the project is complete, no contract had been awarded, and public input would be taken into account before making any other official commitments.
