Chinmaya Mission in Adams Township looking to add pickleball court
ADAMS TWP — The local branch of Chinmaya Mission on Mars Valencia Road is looking to add a private pickleball court for its members.
Township supervisors tabled a motion to approve the addition of the court during their meeting on Monday night, Nov. 25, as multiple residents raised concerns about the level of noise a pickleball court could raise.
The court is intended to serve as a recreational activity for the members of the mission. Unlike the pickleball courts at Adams Township Community Park, the court at Chinmaya Mission would be open only to members of the mission.
“We're hoping to build this sports court so that the kids who attend our functions can participate in good physical activities,” said Satish Muluk, president of the Chinmaya Mission Pittsburgh board of directors.
The complex, located on Mars Valencia Road, is one of two Pittsburgh-area branches of the Chinmaya Mission and is known as Chinmaya Amarnath. The other Pittsburgh center, located in Monroeville, is dubbed Chinmaya Sanjeevani.
According to the mission’s website, the Adams Township facility, which opened in July 2022, takes up 21,000 square feet and already features a community center and an auditorium.
“We're a spiritual and cultural center, and we encourage everyone of all backgrounds to participate in spiritual development and cultural activities,” Muluk said.
Multiple residents, including those who live nearby, spoke up during the meeting and questioned whether the mission had done enough to mitigate potential noise at the court. This included one resident who says the mission already has caused enough headaches for him before the proposed pickleball court.
“It's our position that the temple’s current use and layout, coupled with its business zoning designation, has already created some significant challenges for the neighborhood. Continuous noise, increased traffic and visual disruptions stemming from the operations have already taken away from the environment that the neighborhood was used to,” said Brian Kreit, who lives near the mission. “The proposed addition of a recreational pickleball court would … bring further noise, traffic and visual disruptions.”
“Noise is going to be an issue,” said Dominic Gigliotti. “'I just don't understand why you need to have (a pickleball court) behind a residential community. You have parks that have multiple pickleball courts.”
Another resident took issue with the proposed hours of play: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“My concern is 7 a.m.,” said Darlene Bartos. “It's hard enough to go to bed as it is, and we just want to have a quiet environment in our neighborhood.”
In response to noise complaints, representatives from Chinmaya mentioned they planned to install special acoustic panels along the perimeter fence designed to filter the distinctive sounds of pickleball.
“There will be acoustic panels mounted the entire way around,” said Greg Banner of Key Environmental, who presented the plans for the court. “We will be monitoring sound levels at the property line to see where they are. We feel that these acoustic panels do the trick, but nevertheless we’re going to monitor them. And if we find noise levels greater than 90 (dB), then we'll look into seeing what needs to be done.”
Township supervisor Russell Ford says talks are being organized between concerned residents and representatives of Chinmaya about how to work out a compromise.
“We’re going to set up a meeting between both parties, facilitated by Adams Township,” Ford said.
If no extension is granted, the board of supervisors will have to make a decision on whether or not to approve the addition of the pickleball court during their next meeting on Dec. 8. Only one meeting is scheduled for the month of December instead of the usual two, due to Christmas.
