By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Fairfield County Hunt Club wants to add two pickleball courts to its grounds and do other work, and neighbors have concerns.

The 39-acre equestrian center at 174 Long Lots Road has tennis courts, pools, and tennis and paddleball courts.

It would like to expand its tennis courts by 20 feet, add the pickleball courts and install a sewer for the pool club house and gatehouse, Aris W. Stalis of Aris Sustainability and Land Architecture, said in application documents to the Planning and Zoning Commission on behalf of the club.

Pickleball has been an issue in Westport, and around the country. While it has surged in popularity and is enjoyed by people of all ages, it can also be much louder than similar sports. Birchwood Country Club off Kings Highway South encountered significant opposition from neighbors when it sought to add courts.

The sport is played on a badminton-sized court with hard paddles and balls similar to a Wiffle ball. The equipment used is noisier than tennis, and people tend to get more excited.

Three neighbors of the Hunt Club have written to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

• Deborah and Walter Derish of Sprucewood Lane wrote that they play pickleball at various venues, and noted that while it is fun, it is noisy. They asked the P&Z to deny the application and require the courts be relocated.

“In the 11 years that we have lived here, we have found the club to be mostly respectful neighbors.

We have been made aware of the proposed changes to the main entrance, as well as an expansion to the existing tennis courts and most disturbingly, the addition of the multiple new courts to accommodate pickleball to be built almost directly across the street from our backyard, back porch, and family room.

This will unquestionably create additional noise and activity that must be considered a nuisance and a violation of the covenant of quiet enjoyment all homeowners enjoy.

… With the many acres of open land available to the Club, we request that the placement of any new courts be moved to a different location more suited to absorb the noise and other disturbance that will undoubtedly follow.”

• Lee Waldman, who lives with his wife on Hunt Club Lane, wrote that the location of the courts and time allowed for the activity “are of the utmost importance.”

“For location of the courts, it would be best near the paddle tennis courts and the pool side of the Hunt Club. That is currently where all the activity is and has been since we moved here and would make the most sense.

As for sound, it’s important to realize this club is right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It is an incredibly loud sport as neighbors near Longshore have told me they can hear the platform courts from at least a mile away (and pickleball is supposedly louder) …

• Ed Diamond, who live across from the Hunt Club on Sprucewood Lane with his wife, Melissa, said the club has been a good neighbor the 30 years they’d lived there, and been receptive to their concerns about operations in the past.

“We do not object to the addition of the two proposed pickleball courts as long as the two conditions are met.

The first is that the new courts are not lighted. (We believe that is the case.)

The second is that steps are take to mitigate the now famous noise that is associated with playing pickleball. I am sure you are all well aware of this issue given the national prominence that it has received in the media in recent months.

We believe this could be accomplished by the Hunt Club locating the proposed courts much further into their property; that is much further away from Long Lot Road, and also by providing some type of noise barrier, also between the proposed courts and Long Lots Road.”

The club will need a special permit because, the application states, it is required for riding academies, boarding stables over 10 acres.

The hunt club is a private club located within the AAA Residential Zone. The current use is a riding academy with boarding stables.

The Planning and Zoning Commission isn’t scheduled to meet until 7 p.m. Sept. 11. An agenda has not yet been posted.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 35 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.