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Article Courtesy of
The Tampa Bay Times
By John C. Cotey
Published September 10, 2025
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TAMPA — Robert Davi is known most famously for his big-screen roles in “Die
Hard,” “License to Kill” and “The Goonies.”
Turns out, he also plays a convincing pickleball.
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“Pong, pong, pong,
pong, pong, pong, pong, pong, pong, pong, pong, pong, pong,”
he repeated, loudly, at the Aug. 20 Hillsborough Board of
County Commissioners meeting. “I could spend three minutes
doing that. Would you like that next to your community?”
Davi and fellow residents of the Andalucia community in
Apollo Beach filed a lawsuit Aug. 15 against their
homeowners association over its decision to convert clay
tennis courts to pickleball courts.
They argue the sport, America’s fastest growing and one of
its loudest, is unsettling nearby homeowners, some of whom
are military veterans living with PTSD.
One house, the suit says, sits within 100 feet of the
courts, others within 200.
“We need you guys to step up,” said Davi, who said he has
nothing against pickleball but, like the other residents,
feels it should be played a certain sound-free distance away
from people’s homes. “We need you to really put in an
ordinance.”
While this may be the county’s first such suit, Commissioner
Josh Wostal noted at least 200 lawsuits have been filed
across the country. |
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Actor Robert Davi, known for his roles in films like
“Die Hard” and “The Goonies,” was among many Apollo Beach residents
who implored the County Commission on Aug. 20 to bring a halt to new
pickleball courts being constructed near their homes.
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When it comes to an ordinance or making new rules for developers, the
commission’s options are limited.
Florida lawmakers this summer approved Senate Bill 180, which bans local
governments from adopting “restrictive or burdensome” changes to land-use rules
or permitting procedures without developer consent.
“The state has the sole authority for the regulation of HOAs. This board does
not have that authority under Florida law,” county attorney Christine Beck told
commissioners. She warned that defying SB 180 could expose the county to
lawsuits and attorneys fees.
That didn’t stop Wostal, who expressed frustration with the bill, from wishing
the county would proceed with needed changes anyway.
“I think that we’ve been way too generous about SB 180,” he said.
Other commissioners agreed that the noise from pickleball courts close to homes
is a growing problem — commission chairperson Ken Hagan agreed the sound is
“horrendous” and said he would not want to live next to a court — but deferred
to the new bill’s restrictions.
Wostal, nevertheless, proposed a temporary halt on permits for pickleball courts
built within 250 feet of homes.
The motion was defeated 4-3.
“Listen, if I thought that we could actually do this under the law, I will be
willing to go for the 600-foot (limit),” said Commissioner Harry Cohen. “The
problem here is that I think this is an absolute direct violation of the Senate
bill that the county attorney just mentioned, and there are real consequences to
getting in the way of it.”
Wostal made an additional motion directing staff to further research the growing
number of lawsuits against municipalities and HOAs over pickleball noise and
determine the appropriate sound ordinances and distances from residential homes
to protect communities. The motion passed unanimously.
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