Massachusetts
Massachusetts homeowner struggling to sell her $1M house over noisy feud with Pickleball players at nearby club
A Massachusetts homeowner claims she has failed to sell her $1 million Cape Cod home for eight months due to the noise from the newly installed pickleball courts from a nearby country club.
Judith Ann Roan Comeau says she listed her Sagamore Beach home and expected it to be sold within 30 days like other similarly priced homes in the neighborhood, but was surprised to find it still on the market over half a year later.
“We have a beautiful view of the bay, we have beautiful gardens, and we’re so close to the beach,” Comeau told Boston.com. “There was something wrong.”
She listed the three-bedroom, three-bathroom property for more than $1 million before she was forced to remove her listing on Aug. 10, the outlet added.
Comeau alleges that the pickleball courts at the Sagamore Beach Colony Club, a 100-year-old private tennis club, were “snuck in during COVID” and placed 30 feet from her property line are the culprit to her unsellable house.
With the home on the market for eight months, Comeau says she had over 60 people view the home, including many coming back for a second look.
“Each time, no matter what time it is, someone is playing PICKLEBALL,” she wrote on Facebook.
“They refuse to use quiet balls or paddles (the members don’t enjoy them as much), will not limit the hours, said only 1 court, now added another,” she railed to the “Pickleball Noise Relief” Facebook group.
The Facebook group is dedicated to “connecting families who are dealing with the unintentional but significant noise nuisance of pickleball courts.”
Comeau says she bought her home knowing the club was nearby and never ran into an issue with the tennis players.
“Not once have we ever complained about tennis, I actually kept an eye on the courts and kicked kids out who were damaging the courts late at night. Now 16 people can play at once,” she said.”
Having fought and complained about the Pickleball courts for the past four years, Comeau says no one has done anything including “every department” in town, as her arguments for softer balls and paddles have “gone on deaf ears.”
Her attempts to drown out the noise by playing music at her house are often stopped by Pickleball players complaining to her about her noise.
“They knock on my door and send emails to lower my music on my deck so they can enjoy their tournaments and event,” Comeau said.
“Imagine being that (entitled) not to care what your neighbors are dealing with. I have always had great caring neighbors until we moved to THE VILLAGE,” she added.
Comeau has taken to recording the noise level from her deck with readings consistently staying in the high 70s-low 80s weighted decibels.
“Pickleball Noise Relief” founder Rob Mastroianni says it has become a “new phenomenon in residential communities.”
“It’s really insidious, this noise that people are enduring now so close to their homes,” he told Boston.com.
A real estate lawyer representing Comeau and two other residents says he is writing a letter to the club urging they move the courts.
“This is actually a growing issue,” Jonathan Polloni told the outlet. “With the rise of the pickleball we were also seeing a rise in more complaints.”
“I can’t imagine any judge saying that it’s OK for us to have to deal with this,” Comeau said. “I hope that it can just be ended, I can say no pickleball, I could put my house on the market, and ride off into the sunset.”
Massachusetts
State police investigate fatal crash on I-93 in Quincy
A person has died after a single-vehicle crash on I-93 in Quincy on Sunday morning.
Troopers responded to the single-vehicle crash around 6:05 a.m. and found two people injured. One person has died, and another was seriously hurt.
The right lane remains closed at this time to allow for an investigation, according to Massachusetts State Police.
The victim’s name is not being released at this time.
Massachusetts
Here’s what’s on tap during Mass Beer Week
Calling all beer lovers…More than 200 small, independent breweries from all over the state are participating in Mass Beer Week, a celebration that highlights the craft beer community by bringing businesses together.
Gov. Maura Healey has officially proclaimed March 7-14 as Mass Beer Week in the Commonwealth, formally recognizing the vital role that local breweries play in the state’s economy, culture, tourism and communities.
“From Boston to the Berkshires, our craft breweries are anchors in their communities and significant contributors to our regional economies,” Healey said in a statement. “I’m proud to proclaim Mass Beer Week and encourage everyone to go celebrate at their local brewery safely and responsibly!”
The statewide celebration of Massachusetts-made beer officially kicked off Saturday and continues through the next week, during which time participating breweries will host special releases, collaborative brews, tasting events, educational programming, and community fundraisers.
The Massachusetts Brewers Guild says the formal recognition of this week by the Commonwealth is an incredible honor for the brewing community.
“Massachusetts breweries are small manufacturers, employers, and community gathering spaces,” said Katie Stinchon, the executive director of the Massachusetts Brewers Guild. “This proclamation underscores the importance of supporting local businesses and the people behind them.”
The owner of Drawdown Brewing says unification is exactly how she would describe Mass Beer Week.
“Beer is intrinsically very community based and brings people together and the Massachusetts/New England community we’re definitely kind of ride or die so it’s just a great unifier,” said Liz Nicol. “We’re all making beer. We’re all moving in the same direction, but everyone has something that makes us really unique so for us we do more malt forward beverages.”
Sarah Harkness says she also loves the comraderie.
“I just love that it grows the craft beer community as opposed to pitting breweries against each other,” she said.
While others say they just love beer, period.
“It’s such a New England thing to go to a brewery after going hiking and stuff so Boston really loves their beer,” said Dylan Pollman-Blom.
Events are scheduled all over the state for the next week. Beer lovers are encouraged to visit local taprooms, try Massachusetts-made beer, and share their experiences on social media. Click here for a full list of participating breweries and event details.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners approves design of new Otis Library building – The Berkshire Edge
Otis — Earlier this year, the Otis Library announced that the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved the feasibility design for the new Otis Library building. Now, the town must vote to fund a portion of the building’s construction at its upcoming Annual Town Meeting in May in order for the project to move forward. Should the town vote in favor of this action, construction of the new library at the town-owned West Center Road site will begin in mid-2027.
The Otis Library was awarded a state grant by the MBLC that covers 75 percent of qualifying construction costs for the new building. If the library cannot fund the additional 25 percent, the grant is revoked and the project comes to a halt.
The Berkshire Edge spoke with Otis Library Director Stephanie Skinner, who has been spearheading project efforts since she was appointed director.
“It’s been a whirlwind. [The MBLC grant] is an amazing grant. It covers 75 percent of eligible costs which, if you know anything about grants, particularly capital grants, that is well above what you would expect. So, it’s pretty remarkable,” stated Skinner. “We are a tiny town, though, so there is also the need to raise additional money to offset the 25 percent the town has to throw in. So we do lots of fundraising and are looking for additional grants to go side-by-side with it.”
Why a new library?
The decision to construct a new library was based on the desire to better serve the Otis community and size constraints that currently place limitations on resource selection and community programming. There are also structural concerns at play.
“[The library is] not ADA compliant and we are an aging population in general,” Skinner explained. “We also have lots of little rooms instead of a single space, which makes it hard for staffing because you want to have line of sight to whoever is in the library. If somebody’s upstairs, we have no idea if they’re up there. You want to make sure you have a line of sight, especially if there are kids in the library. Also, the building itself was built in the 1940s and could use a refresh—but we can’t tear up the walls. Apparently, there’s asbestos in some of the areas.”
With a new building, Skinner is also hoping to meet the needs of a fluctuating population by providing a larger community space. “As a town, we go from 1,700 full-time residents to 10,000 to 14,000 in the summer, so we’ve been adding programming, meaning: lots of talks, meditations on Thursday morning, and we do cookbook club and bookclub—we do tons of different things.” The community room in the current library can only accommodate up to 25 people.
The new design
Of the new design, there was little Otis Library compromised on. In fact, the wish for a larger community room was “granted,” with a planned 750-square-foot community room. A lot of the design, however, was dictated by the requirements of MBLC.
“Pretty much everything inside is specified by the MBLC,” explained Skinner. “We have to have a children’s area, we really have to have a teen area, our adult stacks, we have to have X-amount of seating—these are all prescribed by people who have been librarians all their lives, so they really do know what is needed in the library. … Things like how many bathrooms and stuff like that, there is no question about those things. It’s how it all fits together and how to make it affordable that really is the driving force right now.”
The location of the new library, which was selected by the Otis Select Board, also opens up what the library will be able to do. “So the plan is to have walking paths all around [the property], and we’ll be able to do our story walks. Right now we have to use somebody else’s land for that,” said Skinner. “In general, we’ll be able to do a lot more with the outdoors.”
What happens if Otis votes “No”
The plans are approved, the site has been chosen, and it is up to the town to vote. Otis’s Annual Town Meeting is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, from 7 to 10 p.m., per the town website.
“It’s going to cost something,” said Skinner. “At this point in time, there are other increased expenses that the town also has to vote on, so there’s a lot of uncertainty. We are applying for grants left, right, and center and raising money. We’re doing our best to offset it. ”
Should the town of Otis vote against appropriating the remaining costs to fund the new library, the MBLC grant effectively “goes away.” The Otis Library will still be operational, but the town will not get the new library, as proposed. “But that also means that at some point, [the town] will need to begin investing in the current building,” added Skinner.
As residents prepare for Town Meeting, Skinner asks them to consider the library’s role in the future of Otis. “We are the heart of the town. We are a place that welcomes everybody, and you do not have to pay anything for anything. You walk in this door and you can read anything or work on a computer all for free. There is no place else in town where you can do that. The second thing,” Skinner continued, “is that [a library] is a value increase for the town.”
For more information on the Otis Library project, or to view past meetings and presentations, please visit the library’s website.
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