8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY DECEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS In a meeting punctuated by raucous clapping, angry words and threats of legal action by pickleball players, the Carmel City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday, Dec. 2 to ban the sport at Forest Hill Park, with councilmembers collectively saying the park in a small canyon surrounded by homes is the wrong spot for a game that can get noisy. “It’s just a bad spot for pickleball and we’re all sad that it’s true, but it’s true,” Mayor Dale Byrne said. “The answer is just somewhere else.” In the leadup to the vote, pickleball players were bitter, upset that the Council veered away from a compromise crafted by the city’s Forest and Beach Commission that limited play to three days a week, as well as backing away from ideas previously discussed in September and October like conducting a sound study to consider noise mitigating measures or requiring the use of quiet balls. In November, councilmembers came to the conclusion that the small city, with no parks department and limited funds, would be unable to enforce rules requiring quiet equipment or limited play. Signaling they would ban pickleball at the park, council’s decision attracted media attention from around the world. “Unfortunately pickleball has become synonymous with conflict in this town,” Councilmember Bob Delves said on Tuesday, describing himself as an avid player. “This decision is unpopular with many of you but it’s the right decision.” Byrne said he wants to work with pickleball players to find a solution at an alternate location, possibly on courts developed by the Carmel Unified School District. “Let’s work as a team to figure this out,” Byrne said. Pickled Picklers The Carmel City Council bans pickleball at Forest Hill Park while suggesting alternatives. By Pam Marino The student population has been increasing at CSU Monterey Bay, and so is demand for on-campus housing. To meet that need, the University Corporation at Monterey Bay (a nonprofit that manages business operations, housing and more at CSUMB), is moving forward with turning Gavilan Hall, a three-story office building, into housing for about 200 students. The project is set to break ground on Thursday, Dec. 4, with a timeline of fall semester 2026 for students to move in. “I’m happy that we have the ability to provide these additional spaces and make the reality of folks attending here come to life,” says Crystal Lay, director for student housing and residential life at CSUMB. “Our students, if they’re coming from far away, they want a place to call home.” Natalie Navarro, a junior and president of Associated Students, has lived on campus since her freshman year. “We have been kind of overdue for some new housing,” she says. She notes there are advantages of living on campus: “It really enhances your college experience just because you have such close proximity to on-campus activities like events, clubs, sports, everything that CSUMB has to offer.” Demand for housing at CSUMB has increased over the years. In the fall of 2023, enrollment was 6,742 students; it climbed to 8,233 in fall 2025. Student applications for on-campus housing went from 3,915 to 4,544 over the same time period. Housing availability, meanwhile, has lagged—it went from 3,607 units available to 3,880 (including 57 temporary housing units). In October of last year, the board approved a $1 million feasibility study to transform Gavilan Hall. In July, the plan moved forward with an $18 million budget (which was later increased to $20 million in October). The development is funded through the CSU Systemwide Revenue Bond Program, which finances projects such as student housing, cafeterias and parking. Gavilan Hall will house sophomore students. Renovations include upgrading plumbing and heating and 2,600 square feet of common space, which will include a kitchen and study room. Each unit will have four rooms, a private bathroom and shared living room. “The idea is they’re going to feel like residential living pods,” Lay says. One challenge, Lay notes, has been bringing a sense of community to students who live in the same space since CSUMB’s housing is in old military barracks. “Some of the infrastructure looks and feels different than on a campus that had college students living in mind,” Lay says. “We have to work a little bit harder to get folks out of their rooms.” Navarro says responsiveness to students from the Student Housing and Residential Life Department has improved in recent months, after a glitch in the system last spring left some students on a waitlist without a notification as to whether they had housing. “They’re pushing everything earlier, so that way students can know whether or not they have a spot before they leave for summer,” Navarro says. A rendering of the design for Gavilan Hall, which is currently office space, after it is converted into housing for about 200 students. Homing In CSUMB breaks ground on transforming an office building into on-campus sophomore housing. By Celia Jiménez A man plays pickleball at Forest Hill Park in Carmel. Players contended the game isn’t as loud as neighbors report, but members of the City Council said the canyon location amplifies sounds. “They’re going to feel like residential living pods.” COURTESY CSUMB DANIEL DREIFUSS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==