Judge sides with Pine Hollow Club in lawsuit with Oyster Bay over pickleball courts

A state Supreme Court judge denied the Town of Oyster Bay’s request to close pickleball and tennis courts, as well as a driving range, at an East Norwich country club, court documents show.

The town filed the lawsuit against the Pine Hollow Club in February. In court papers, the town argued the country club built those amenities without proper permits. Lawyers from the town said the pickleball courts were a nuisance to neighbors whose backyards bordered the club. The club said closing the amenities would have a disastrous effect on business.

State Supreme Court Judge Danielle Peterson on Thursday sided with the club, writing in a nine-page decision the town had “failed to demonstrate” that the courts and driving range “constitute a public nuisance or are otherwise in violation of the Town’s zoning ordinances.”

The town plans to appeal the decision, said Brian Nevin, a spokesman for Oyster Bay.

Bram Weber, an attorney for the club, said his client “wants to continue to have a good relationship with the Town of Oyster Bay and their neighbors.” 

The town’s lawsuit came after a pair of East Norwich residents raised issues with the constant noise associated with pickleball games at the club’s newly erected courts. Newsday reported on the dispute in October 2023. Lawyers for the town also argued that golf balls from the driving range were landing on the properties of neighboring homes, court papers show.

Oyster Bay investigated the complaints and said in court documents the club had failed to obtain a certificate of occupancy “consistent with the change of use of the tennis courts/pickleball courts, the golf driving range, and the retaining wall."

The town's lawsuit argued the club needed permits to convert tennis courts into pickleball courts. But lawyers for the Pine Hollow Club said under the town's broad definition of a country club, pickleball is an allowable use. 

Peterson sided with the country club. She wrote that the town code’s definition of a country club is “undeniably broad,” adding it is “axiomatic that tennis courts and golf driving ranges are both typical amenities that are commonplace at, and arguably integral to, the operation of Country Clubs in Nassau County.”

Peterson said the town failed to demonstrate why changing tennis courts to pickleball courts required new permitting.

“Merely playing a slightly different game with a varying rule set does not necessarily constitute a violation of Town Code,” Peterson said. She said the club has taken steps to curb noise by installing noise barriers and making “quiet paddles” available to its members.

Oyster Bay said the club built a 6-foot-by-20-foot retaining wall without a permit. Peterson said the club received a violation for that offense. Both sides agreed to settle the dispute for $900, she wrote in the decision.

Court documents show the club began operations in the 1940s and has about 1,200 members. Membership provides access to the driving ranges and tennis and pickleball courts. 

As pickleball rages in popularity, Long Island municipalities have been weighing measures to muffle the popping sounds, Newsday has reported. Earlier this year municipalities including Southold Town and Southampton Village announced plans to mitigate noise complaints.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ