East Point adopts ordinance to regulate tennis and pickleball court use

East Point — The City Council on July 21 voted to waive the first reading and adopt an ordinance that lets the Parks and Recreation director set and enforce rules for use of the citytennis and pickleball courts, including time limits and permitting requirements for tournaments. Council members said the changes aim to prevent private groups from effectively converting public courts into de facto private facilities.

Council action matters because Sykes Park and other municipal courts have seen growing organized use that staff says is limiting access for residents. The ordinance creates clearer enforcement authority for parks rangers and requires groups running tournaments to go through the citypermitting process.

Parks and Recreation Director said the city spent "almost a $140,000" renovating courts and has seen "tremendous amount of traffic" and programming. He told council private organizations were "using our courts as if it's a private facility" and described situations where groups "are dominating the space" and telling other users they must go through the group. He recommended posted signs with QR codes linking to the ordinance so rangers could enforce rules.

Councilwoman Martin Rogers moved to waive the first reading and to adopt the ordinance; the motion to waive the reading and the subsequent motion to adopt both passed. Councilman Freely and Councilman Butler participated in discussion, and Councilman Freeman asked for a summary of the proposed changes before the vote. The parks director reiterated the primary elements: posted rules, an hourly usage limit, and a permitting requirement for organized tournaments.

The new ordinance directs staff to install signs listing rules and a QR code linking to the ordinance text and authorizes parks rangers and staff to enforce time limits and permitting requirements. Council members said enforcement will allow more equitable public access to courts that staff said were previously dominated by recurring private groups.

The ordinance takes effect immediately; council did not record a roll-call vote count in the meeting transcript, but the chair declared the motion passed.