Planning, Zoning and Variance Board recommends approval of Marbrigia Homeowners Association pickleball courts

The Town of Indian River Shores Planning, Zoning and Variance Board voted on a recommendation to the Town Council to approve an amended site plan from the Marbrigia Homeowners Association to install two pickleball courts adjacent to the community clubhouse.

Jeff Barquette, an engineer representing the applicant, told the board the project team worked with the homeowners association to fit the two courts into an open area beside existing tennis courts and that plans had been revised to address review comments. "Everything, you know, is in conformance with with the rules, whatever they are," Barquette said, adding the team had received confirmation from the reviewing agency.

Board members focused questions on drainage and noise. The chair asked whether the added impervious surface would create drainage problems; Barquette replied that drainage had been "verified through St. Johns River Water Management" and referenced Mark Crosby in that review. On neighbors' concerns, Barquette said a nearby resident had told him she frequently hears cheering from the site and that the applicant plans to install a landscape buffer along the northern property line to reduce noise intrusion.

A committee member asked whether the change would remove or alter existing parking. Barquette said no parking spaces would be removed and that the courts would not be open to the general public, which he said made existing parking adequate.

The board also confirmed it was considering a narrow amended site-plan approval only, not a variance. After public comment was opened and no members of the public requested to speak, a committee member moved to approve the request and another member seconded. The chair called for the vote and, after recording an affirmative response with no opposition, declared the motion carried and said, "We recommend it to the town council for approval." The board did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.

The recommendation will be placed on the Town Council's agenda for further action; no council hearing date was specified in the record.