Glenview trustees agree on Valley Lo plan for pickleball courts

Despite some complaints, a plan for new pickleball courts and an expanded parking lot at the Valley Lo Club in Glenview moved a step closer to fruition.

The Glenview village board on June 6 forwarded a Planned Development Amendment for second consideration despite concerns over the impact of light and noise on the surrounding environment and on neighbors.

With 548 member families, the club at 2200 Tanglewood Drive seeks to install six pickleball courts and a patio with lighting and fencing near an existing maintenance building. It also wants to expand an adjacent asphalt parking lot to nearly double its current size to around 21,000 square feet with additional lighting.

Valley Lo Club President Noah Finkel said 326 club members voted to support the project.

After four meetings with the Glenview Development Adjustments Committee in April and May, trustees agreed with the hours of operation for the prospective pickleball courts of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

During those meetings the club reduced the courts' operating hours from what it initially proposed, and added noise and light mitigations.

Lights would be turned off at the end of play, though lights in the parking lot would remain on until 11 p.m. daily to aid the club's 90 employees. Shields would be placed around three sides of the lights at the courts.

Chain-link fences would be installed around the courts with acoustic barriers around the east side of two of the courts. Another fence around the extended parking lot will have privacy screens on the east side to shield car headlight glare toward the single-family houses across the 69-acre Valley Lo Lake.

On May 17, the committee recommended the village board approve the project.

"Pickleball is a rapidly exploding sport," Finkel said. "It's a very social one that people will be enjoying into the evenings, and our members want to play on those courts with the flexibility to play at all reasonable hours."

The location is on a hill just east of the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River, at one point less than 60 feet away. Residents raised concerns about the impact of light, noise, elimination of mature trees, and further development on wildlife in the area.

Resident Patricia Walter noted two bird species either threatened or endangered in Illinois - the black-billed cuckoo and the black-crowned night heron - frequent the area. She also was concerned about pollution in stormwater runoff into Valley Lo Lake.

"Pause the project and consider the wildlife," said resident Ray Ostrowski, who believed the committee "punted" the environmental issue.

Glenview Director of Community Development Jeff Brady said the area is not listed by the village as an environmentally sensitive spot and thus falls outside of the Environmental Review Committee's oversight.

Also, he said, development review is outside of the village's Environment & Natural Resources Commission's scope.

In its determination, the Glenview Development Adjustments Committee said Glenview's Plan for Nature is in the process of being updated. Until then "any potential recommendations ... are not applicable to the current application."

In a voice vote without dissent, trustees approved the proposal plus an amendment seeking the Valley Lo Club work with staff members on further noise and light mitigation to the west of the development.

"In my line of work, a fair compromise has been reached when everyone walks away getting some of what they want, not all of what they want," attorney and Trustee Gina DeBoni said.