Managing recreation in sport-happy Hermosa Beach has always required keeping a lot of balls in the air. Beachgoers can now expect a few more.
At its Thursday night meeting, the Hermosa Beach City Council unanimously approved three additional beach tennis courts to join the existing trio of permanent nets located on the sand near 15th Street.
Backers say that the courts are needed to accommodate the sport’s growing popularity. Meetings on the issue regularly draw dozens of players, who praise the sport’s friendly, communal spirit and its minimal impact on joints and muscles. Earlier this month, the city hosted the fifth annual Hermosa Beach Open, drawing players from across the world. But securing the new courts was something of an odyssey, and exposed a nervousness among players that their game is thought of as a second-class sport.
The proposal had kicked around for months, while its fate was entangled with plans to add more volleyball courts south of the pier. Council members ultimately separated the issues, unanimously approving the added beach tennis courts while sending the volleyball plan back to the Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Advisory Board.
The new courts will be located in Hermosa’s commercial zone, a stretch of sand running from 10th street to 15th street that is designated for special events, and which has fewer restrictions  than other areas of the city. The proposed courts’ location at the far north edge of the commercial zone had prompted some concerns that their effects would spill over into residential areas, but also questions about how much deference should be paid to noise concerns in the area. (Councilmembers had delayed a decision on the issue last month, in order to notice nearby homeowners and tenants about the plan, a step that is usually not required for commercial zone projects.)
“People who live along 15th street, they’re living in an area that’s fronting a commercial zone. They’re looking at a commercial zone as if it’s a residential zone,” said Councilmember Carolyn Petty.
Mark Bonfigli, a beach tennis advocate who is opening a store devoted to the sport on Hermosa Avenue, disputed that there are noise concerns.
“We’ve been doing this for years. If there were any complaints, you would have heard them,” Bonfligli said.
Nearby residents disagreed. Bernard Robbins, president of the homeowners association at 1500 Strand, wrote a letter to the city, stating that noise had gotten worse over time. Now, he said, balls smashing against rackets could be heard in bedrooms stretching all the way to Beach Drive.
“The more courts you have in use, the louder the noise gets,” Robbins wrote.
Councilmember Stacey Armato verified that several residents had reached out with concerns, and suggested that the city try to locate the courts as far west as possible to minimize noise.
“Even though the courts are in the commercial zone, they still are clearly affecting residents outside it,” Armato said. “We’re trying to mitigate the nuisance, that is, noise.”
But Hermosa’s sand is crowded with needs. Last year, volleyball courts on the south side of the pier had to be moved slightly to accommodate a more easterly vehicle lane for L.A. County Lifeguards, which was pushed farther onto the sand by a higher-than average high tide line, according to Community Resources Manager Kelly Orta.
The council ultimately directed staff to consult with lifeguards on the location of the vehicle lanes, and to locate the new courts as far west as possible. But as the decision was being hammered out, beach tennis backers perceived a slight that other sports might not be forced to endure.
“If I surf for 365 days, I might get a medal here. But if I get 7th in the world in the international competition in Russia and come home, there’s nothing,” Bonfigli said.
