Pickleball-Fueled Dispute Takes an Interesting Twist in Upscale San Francisco Neighborhood

Some things in life are worth fighting for. Getting your pickleball courts back is one of them.

Remember the story from a few months ago of Karl and Holly Peterson, the mansion owners in an upscale neighborhood of San Francisco who complained about the noise coming from nearby pickleball courts, despite having a pickleball court themselves on their property?

Well, they're in the news again. Or at least the people they wronged are in the news again.

Presidio Wall residents say 'good riddance'

Pickleball enemy numbers one and two are about to sell their multi-million dollar home (see the $29 million home on Realtor.com), and the residents of Presidio Wall are demanding their courts back.

After all, it was the Peterson protests (and likely their deep pockets) that got the city to remove six of the 12 pickleball courts and force the players to remove their nets in the first place. The city even stripped the lines off the court.

Now that the two are departing – with quite the return on their real estate investment, the pickleballers in the area want their once-vibrant community to flourish again.

"Now that the house is selling with a pickleball court, I hope the new owner plays pickleball," Mary Hickey, a Bay Area ambassador for USA Pickleball, said. "We’d also like our six courts’ lines back."

City Hall says 'not so fast'

Unfortunately, the city isn't budging. They claim that the decision wasn't based on one or two people's complaints but on what's best for everyone in the area.

In the article from The San Francisco Standard, a spokesperson from Rec and Parks responded:

"Your question belies a profound misunderstanding about this issue and how we make decisions, which isn’t based on any particular individual."

He continued, "The truth is, we constantly balance opportunities to play with a responsibility to limit neighborhood congestion and other issues — not just with pickleball, but all sports communities."

Peter Blatman, a member of the good side of all this (the pickleball side), says he doesn't think pickleballers will get their way just because the Petersons are moving.

"Just the fact that the Petersons are selling their house to someone new, it’s not going to trigger any action from parks," Blatman said. "I don’t believe they’re going to do anything with Presidio Wall."