Sports courts moratorium okayed in township

Bv Dana Casadei

A temporary moratorium will halt the processing of permits for sports courts in Bloomfield Township after receiving approval from the board of trustees on Monday, Jan. 26.

“The balancing of property rights, as well as the impact to neighbors, is really important. I want our neighbors and community to invest in their properties, it’s important to them, but how do we do that with minimal impact to our neighbors? asked trustee Chris Kolinski.

Andrea Bibby, Bloomfield Township Director of Planning, Building, & Ordinance, seemed hopeful that the answer to that lies in the moratorium, which will allow for a deeper look into the township’s current standards for approving sports courts permits.

This moratorium – which is a temporary prohibition of an activity, in this case processing permits for sports courts in Bloomfield Township – will give the township an opportunity to not only take a closer look at the current standards and see what should be adjusted, but also see how the township compares to the standards in other cities and nationwide, and gain some input from residents. 

Some requirements that Bibby mentioned looking at during this time included their current sound technology requirements and acoustic screening, the size of sports courts and parcel/minimum lot size, appropriate setbacks and landscape provisions, impervious surface and drainage, formalizing lighting prohibition language in the ordinance, and fencing/netting requirements. 

“This should help address this issue that’s becoming a larger concern township wide,” Bibby said.

It is not only becoming a larger concern but also there has been an increase in applications for sports courts over the last five years, going from nine in 2020 to 13 applicants in 2025, he said. 

Currently, when someone wants to add a sports court of any type – which are treated as an accessory use/structure by the township – they are required to get approval by the zoning board of appeals which can place restrictions on lighting and time of play to only allow it during the daytime hours and also require all sports courts to be screened and fenced from public view. Those evergreen plantings must meet or exceed the fence height for sports courts, which are required to be in the rear yard and 16 feet off lot lines in a permission request.

In addition to gaining permission approval, dimensional variances are often sought for those wanting their fencing to be over four feet and lesser setbacks, or a different yard location than what’s allowed, such as in secondary frontage instead of the rear. A drainage plan must also be reviewed to ensure there are no negative impacts to the area from the proposed sports court. 

“I’m very much in favor of the moratorium. I think it’s very important that we take into consideration different things that we can do to not only minimize the impact on surrounding neighbors but also drainage… and there’s a number of other issues that are all important,” said trustee Neal Barnett. “I think in addition to that, when we had the consideration of the Birmingham Athletic Club and pickleball, we saw firsthand the impact that we can have on mitigating sound and requiring sound abatement and different things that we can do. All these things need consideration to improve quality of life for the surrounding neighbors.” 

There will be multiple next steps, starting with research of the history of sports courts in Bloomfield Township. There are also plans to hold a study session with township boards to gain feedback, engage with different home owner associations within Bloomfield Township, and seek additional resident input via survey. 

After draft language is prepared, a public hearing will be held.