Mountain View is asking players and neighbors to weigh in on a pickleball complex proposed for a vacant commercial site on Clyde Avenue near the Sunnyvale border, with city staff presenting two competing designs — one with nine courts, one with 12 — for the site. About 60 people showed up to a meeting at the Mountain View Community Center on October 12 to learn about the options, and several attendees said they preferred the bigger build. Residents can indicate their layout preference through a city survey.
The site in question sits on 3.72 acres at 485 and 495 Clyde Avenue, land the city is leasing and redeveloping after the City Council approved a plan earlier in 2026, according to the Mountain View Voice. The property sits adjacent to the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course, and the city plans to demolish two vacant buildings on the eastern portion of the lot to make way for the courts.
Two Layouts, One Survey Deadline
Faryal Saiidnia, the city's senior project manager, is overseeing the project, per the Mountain View Voice's reporting. The nine-court option would arrange courts in three groups of three with two gathering areas, while the 12-court option would group courts in four sets of three around a single gathering space. Community members can weigh in on which layout they prefer through a city survey that closes October 21.
Mountain View resident Alok Sonthalia was among those favoring the larger project at the meeting, though he also questioned the city's timeline for getting the courts built. Saiidnia has said construction will likely start in early 2028, the outlet reported.
Courts Come First, Park Comes Later
City plans call for the pickleball courts to be built before the surrounding public park takes shape. The initial court facility will include lighting, drinking fountains, fencing, temporary restrooms, and movable tables and benches for gathering areas. A future park phase would add permanent amenities, but that project has no established timeline yet and will go through its own separate community engagement and planning process.
The push for a dedicated facility follows earlier site proposals. The city considered Cuesta Park and its annex before the Clyde Avenue proposal. Opponents of the Cuesta Park proposal had argued that courts would pave over valuable green space and disrupt the area's tranquility, while residents who fought the San Rafael Avenue plan cited noise, parking congestion, and lost open space — concerns Hoodline previously detailed when the city acquired that land for a future Terra Bella Park.
Noise and Stray Golf Balls Top Resident Concerns
Not everyone at the meeting was thrilled about the Clyde Avenue location either. Anita Moreci, a Sunnyvale resident and bookkeeper who works in an office building on Clyde Avenue, requested sound barriers and noted the risk that stray golf balls from the neighboring course could strike pickleball players, saying parked cars in the area are frequently hit already, according to the Mountain View Voice's account of the meeting.
City staff plan to conduct a noise analysis once a design is selected and will consider mitigation measures, including noise barriers, along with wind screens for the facility. The concern isn't hypothetical: acoustic research from sports-surface analysts shows hard pickleball paddles striking plastic balls register roughly 70 dBA at 100 feet compared to 40 dBA for tennis, with unmitigated impact noise peaking between 99 and 106 dBA at contact, according to Pickletile. Those frequencies, between 1,000 and 2,000 Hz, fall squarely in the range human ears are most sensitive to.
Regional precedent underscores why Mountain View is testing the waters early. In San Jose, courts placed near homes at Cataldi Park produced measured noise levels reaching 72 dBA at nearby property lines — exceeding that city's 55 dBA legal limit — and generated 119 logged incidents along with public calls to relocate the courts, according to a post shared on Instagram.
Earlier Site Proposals
The city considered other locations, including Cuesta Park and its annex, before pursuing the Clyde Avenue site.
Cliff Chambers, president of Mountain View's pickleball club board, said the Clyde property was a good location despite windy conditions and some isolation, per the Mountain View Voice. He added that complete agreement among players and neighbors is unlikely.
