City of Piedmont Linda Beach Pickleball Courts

2023090164

City of Piedmont

NOE - Notice of Exemption

9/8/2023

9/8/2023

Kevin Jackson

City of Piedmont

Director of Planning & Building

Lead/Public Agency

120 Vista Avenue
Piedmont, CA 94611

(510) 420-3050

kjackson@piedmont.ca.gov

Linda Avenue near Oakland Avenue

050455200110

Categorical Exemption

15301, 15232, and 15601(b)(3)

The proposed project to restripe the existing Linda Beach tennis courts for permanent pickleball play is exempt under Section 15301 Class 1 (Existing Facilities) exemption since the proposed project involves the re-surfacing of existing tennis courts and converting the courts into permanent pickleball courts. These are activities that currently occur on the site. There will be no expansion of the footprint beyond the existing area. As to hours of usage, the facility has been used for tennis courts and utilized during the hours of 8:00AM to 9:00PM (91 hours per week). Since April of 2019, the courts have included pickleball use. During the pickleball trial period, the courts were used 84 hours per week, and at the conclusion of the trial period on July 31, 2023, there are presently 9 hours of dedicated pickleball play per week. Pickleball at the site will be for up to 55 hours per week (51 hours for dedicated pickleball play, and 4 additional youth hours for either tennis or pickleball play). Because the hours of operation for the courts generally have been 91 hours, the use of the courts for 51 hours of pickleball is negligible and involves no expansion of use. This proposed use is exempt from CEQA based on Section 15323 due to the fact that this is an existing recreational facility. The facility has been used for tennis courts for over 95 years with hours of operation of 91 hours a week. Pickleball activities have occurred on premises since April of 2019. The project and staff’s proposed use of the facility for pickleball for 51 hours a week plus 4 hours of youth activity would thus not represent a change in the operation of the facility. The activity is not subject to CEQA as provided in Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. The re-striping of the tennis courts for pickleball use does not impact overall usage of the site as the facility is presently used as a recreational facility for 91 hours per week. Increasing hours of dedicated pickleball play to 51 hours per week plus 4 hours for youth activity would not have a significant effect on the environment. Moreover, increased use of pickleball does not change the underlying use of the site.