Updates are coming to State College area country club. Pickleball courts have neighbors concerned

Centre Hills Country Club in State College is planning some major updates, but neighbors have concerns about noise and lighting from four new pickleball courts.

The State College Borough Planning Commission met Wednesday afternoon to review a land development plan for a new pool and court facility at the eastern end of the Centre Hills Country Club property. According to the plan, the project site is about 11 acres and the new facilities will be accessed through an existing private access drive off of Scenery Drive in College Township.

The plan includes constructing a new private swimming pool and pool house, tennis courts, four pickleball courts and other associated infrastructure.

Pickleball — which combines many elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, and can be played both indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court and a slightly modified tennis net — is played with a plastic paddle and a plastic ball with holes. It’s been said to be one of the fastest growing sports in the country.

But as Anita Genger, vice chair of the planning commission pointed out, it’s also caused noise complaints across the country. Because pickleball uses different equipment than tennis it makes a different, louder noise than tennis.

The applicant is also seeking a variance to the borough’s lighting ordinance from the Zoning Hearing Board to allow an additional five feet of height to the proposed lighting for the tennis and pickleball courts. Mark Torretti, a project manager at PennTerra Engineering, said the proposed lights are on motion sensors so the lighting will be at 25% until someone is playing, at which point the lights will be on fully. With the borough’s lighting regulations, the lights will be required to be off fully between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Genger questioned why the lighting was needed.

“I don’t know why you need light that badly. I don’t play pickleball, or tennis for that matter. But with the school system, there was (a) terrible fight about the lights even though they were properly down shaded. … But I think you need to consider all this just to help the neighbors. Especially the noise, I think,” Genger said.

Pickleball noise has already been an issue for some in Centre County. After neighbors of the Green Hollow Park in Patton Township complained about noise coming from the pickleball courts, the township took action. In 2021-22 the Patton Township Supervisors spent more than $100,000 to convert pickleball courts at Green Hollow Park back to tennis courts, and constructed new pickleball courts at another, more secluded park.

Simba Zaffino said her residence in the Nittany View Meadow Complex looks directly out onto the proposed plan at the country club. While she isn’t for or against the project, she has concerns about the lighting, pickleball noise and impacts on wildlife.

“I’m really concerned about the light projecting into the back of my townhouse since I am the closest to the courts and the building site. Especially my bedroom which … overlooks the entire area. I’m also highly concerned about the noise from the pickleball courts projecting into my unit,” Zaffino said.

The plan does include landscaping and fencing to help reduce noise levels. Torretti said they’ll have galvanized screen fencing around the tennis courts, which will also help reduce light pollution, and will have a windscreen around the courts as well. Keith Bocchicchio, president of the Nittany View Meadow Condominium UOA and the Windmere Park Association, also worried that the plan wouldn’t comply with the borough’s noise level control ordinance.

“There is mitigation that can be done and can be included in these courts but it comes at a very high price, and I suspect that the issue is that the country club does not want to spend the money to provide the noise suppression that’s needed. These trees and buffering and the type of fence that they’re talking about are not going to attenuate sound adequately at less than 200 feet from those courts,” Bocchicchio said. “Plus we have the issue of outdoor recreation and activity from members and participants. And right now it is virtually silent there. We don’t even hear a golfer say ‘fore.’ So it’s a huge change to the area and a huge impact on residential communities surrounding this project.”

Because the country club is near the municipal boundary between College Township and the borough, Murry Nelson lives next to it, but is in College Township. He asked if he could utilize the borough’s procedures for noise abatement, light distance and unlawful noise. Planning Director Ed LeClear said he hasn’t been able to get a clear answer on it but will continue to look into it.

“Obviously, we would hope that there is some regulatory tool, either from the borough or from College Township,” he said. “But from a staff standpoint, we want to get to the bottom of that so we know if there are noise violation requests coming from College Township residents, how that might be enforced in the borough. I just don’t have a clear answer yet.”

What does the plan entail?

The plan proposes a pool with a surrounding pool deck, patio and lawn area, and a 5,600 square foot pool house area that has changing rooms, restrooms, life guard station, casual dining area and kitchen, and two golf simulators. There’s 100 parking spaces planned.

The area has some lawn areas that can be used for special events and a small paved patio area for people to sit out on.

The building design will be a “contemporary farmhouse aesthetic” and will include materials that blend into the environment.

The plan also includes the two tennis courts and four pickleball courts. The courts will be surrounded by a 10 foot high black, vinyl coated fence and wind screen.

LeClear said staff is still reviewing the plan and will soon send a conditional approval letter to the applicant that outlines which parts of the borough’s ordinance they did or did not meet. If requirements aren’t met, they’ll need to correct it and submit the changes to the borough. When everything is met, the plan can be recorded at the county.