In a nutshell
Rollingwood Mayor Gavin Massingill said the Rollingwood Police Department used their new meters to measure decibel levels when pickleball was not being played at various time periods, and the meters measured the noise at 50 or more decibels every time.
Council member Brook Brown said she would like to see what the decibel levels are when pickleball is being played before moving forward with adjusting the ordinance.
Council member Alec Robinson said he has looked at noise studies on ambient noise, and that those usually hover around 50 decibels.
“The device will always read 50 decibels or above because of ambient noise,” Robinson said.
Quote of note
“I think council’s decision to set the noise decibel level did not have an intent to ban pickleball play, but I think the ordinance at 47 decibels does do that,” Massingill said.
What’s next?
The ordinance was not amended, and no action was taken at the Feb. 21 meeting, but it will be brought back to City Council after readings are measured during pickleball play, according to city officials.
