South Burlington to Scale Back Pickleball Courts After Noise Complaints

South Burlington, Vermont, has done something that many communities talk about but few actually do: it has decided to reduce the number of pickleball courts at a local park in direct response to sustained noise complaints from residents.

The decision comes after two years of friction between players and neighbors — a timeline that will feel familiar to anyone who has followed the pickleball noise debate across the country. Complaints tend to begin shortly after courts open, escalate when initial mitigation efforts fall short, and eventually land on the desks of elected officials who have to make an actual call. South Burlington has now made it.

Scaling back courts rather than just adding acoustic barriers represents a different kind of answer to the noise problem. It prioritizes neighboring residents over sport participants in a way that will inevitably frustrate pickleball players who view the courts as a community asset they helped build. That frustration is legitimate. So is the relief of residents who have spent two years asking for action.

What makes this outcome notable is its rarity. Most municipalities caught between these two constituencies tend toward delay — commissioning studies, exploring mitigation options, holding additional public hearings. South Burlington took a longer path to resolution, but it arrived at one. For better or worse, neighbors who showed up to meeting after meeting finally got an answer.

The precedent this sets will be watched closely by other communities navigating the same conflict. If reducing courts becomes a legitimate tool in the planning toolkit — alongside barriers and time restrictions — it changes the calculus for cities considering new pickleball installations in parks abutting residential neighborhoods.

Two years is a long time to live next to a noise problem. South Burlington's neighbors know that better than most.

[Read the full piece](https://www.wcax.com/2026/05/05/south-burlington-scale-back-pickleball-courts-after-noise-complaints/)