"There's a need for more pickleball courts to be built in our community. I represent many residents that are here tonight who are frustrated with the lack of pickleball courts."
Lesley Connell, a 30-year El Dorado Hills resident, said this to the El Dorado Hills Community Services District board in a meeting covered by Village Life. Heritage Park's courts were new at the time. She gave the board three ideas. One was to convert part of the tennis courts at Stephen Harris Park to pickleball, or to paint lines so both sports could share them. The board made no decision that night.
What's going in behind the construction fence at Stephen Harris Park goes well past re-striping. The CSD is building six dedicated pickleball courts, two tennis courts with one also striped for pickleball, and a new full basketball court. As of the District's September 25, 2026 update, the project is still on schedule to finish in Fall 2026. When it opens, a 5.93-acre park tucked into St. Andrews Village will hold most of the District's outdoor pickleball.
The court count, park by park
Today, Heritage Park at 4016 Palmdale Drive is the only CSD park whose amenity list includes outdoor pickleball. The District's own pages disagree on how many courts it has. The park profile says two and the Park Locator says three. None of the CSD's other park pages list pickleball, including Community Park, Promontory, Kalithea, Lake Forest and Valley View.
| Location | Outdoor pickleball | Status, fall 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Park, 4016 Palmdale Dr. | 2 or 3 courts, depending on the CSD page | Open sunrise to sunset |
| Stephen Harris Park, Tam O'Shanter Dr. | 6 dedicated, plus 1 tennis court also striped for pickleball | Under construction, Fall 2026 target |
| Lembi Community Park, Folsom | 12 lighted courts | Open, run by the City of Folsom |
Even at Heritage Park's higher count, Stephen Harris will have twice as many dedicated courts. Measured by courts you can play on, the center of outdoor pickleball in El Dorado Hills is moving to Tam O'Shanter Drive. Stephen Harris has been there since 1975. It was renamed in 1997 in memory of Stephen Harris, who was 18 at the time, and it is the District's third-oldest park.
Why a court project needed four years of paperwork
Putting the country's fastest-growing racquet sport into an established neighborhood park is mostly a permitting job, and the CSD's milestone log shows it step by step.
- June 9, 2022. The CSD board creates the Stephen Harris renovation as a Capital Improvement Project. A design contract follows that September.
- May and June 2023. The District runs community outreach on new concept designs.
- August 10, 2023. The board approves the final court layout, shaped in part by that outreach.
- September 5–6, 2023. The District holds a pickleball noise study. More than 40 local players turn out on September 5 to help with it.
- February 2024 to June 2025. El Dorado County reviews an administrative land-use permit. Along the way come an incomplete-application letter, a Technical Advisory Committee meeting with outside agencies, fire department review, and a revised noise study once the court layout shifts to save money. The permit is approved June 18, 2025, and takes effect July 2 after the appeal period.
- 2025 into early 2026. SMUD and PG&E review the plans because the project sits inside utility easements. The SMUD consent agreement is recorded February 9, 2026.
- April 9, 2026. The board awards the construction contract to Parker Landscape Development, Inc.
- June 3–25, 2026. County storm water reviewers ask for eight plan updates. The District resubmits, the permit is issued, and the required preconstruction meeting is held.
- June 30, 2026. Construction starts.
Of those four years, about 16 months went to the county land-use permit, from the February 27, 2024 application to the July 2, 2025 effective date, and the noise study came before it. That order matters in a park ringed by backyards. Here, the size of the court footprint and the question of how it sounds to the neighbors were settled as one decision.
What the sound cladding and the concrete are for
Along with gates and fencing, the new courts will have windscreens and "sound cladding." The CSD's project page doesn't describe the noise study's findings, the cladding's specifications, or play hours for the new courts. Stephen Harris Park is currently open sunrise to sunset, and the project page doesn't say whether the new courts will keep those hours. Anyone who wants details on the noise conditions can ask the District's planning staff at [email protected].
The playing surface is changing too. The old courts were asphalt. The new ones are post-tensioned concrete, a thick reinforced slab that the CSD says gives a more stable surface and a longer service life than asphalt. The grass outside the playing areas is being replaced with drought-tolerant shrubs and trees on high-efficiency irrigation, which the CSD estimates will save about 1.5 million gallons of water a year. New concrete sidewalks with benches and a drinking fountain with a bottle filler round out the work.
Some of the park won't change. The natural turf field, restrooms, play structure, picnic tables and barbecue pits all stay. So does the quarter-mile walking path, which crosses Tam O'Shanter Drive to the east, then Silva Valley Parkway, and links to the Serrano Trail System. Parking is the same as before, with 57 spaces split between the Tam O'Shanter Drive and Riviera Circle lots. Six dedicated pickleball courts in one place will bring players from across El Dorado Hills, and they'll all be using that same parking.
This Thursday and Friday start at 4 a.m.
The noisiest part of the project is days away. The CSD has scheduled the post-tension concrete pours for Thursday, October 8, and Friday, October 9. Crews arrive at 4:00 a.m., and loud work runs from 4:00 a.m. to noon both days.
- Volume: 240 cubic yards of concrete each day
- Trucks: 25 ready-mix trucks a day, about four an hour, all using the Riviera Circle parking lot entrance
- Why so early: the District says the early start leaves time to handle unexpected delays during the pour and enough daylight to finish the slab properly
The CSD says it notified residents around the park ahead of time. On other days, work runs 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. After the pours, the remaining milestones are the rest of the concrete work, court fencing, the basketball court base, drainage, irrigation and planting, signage, permit close-outs, and a grand opening. The project page doesn't give a date for the opening yet.
During construction, the Riviera Circle lot is closed for staging, along with the paths and areas around the courts. The playground and the east-side parking lot on Tam O'Shanter Drive are still open. CSD Resident Services takes questions at (916) 933-6624 x 0.
Where to play until the gates open
Some of the options players relied on a few years ago have changed, so check them again before you go.
- Heritage Park, 4016 Palmdale Drive. Outdoor courts, open sunrise to sunset. The CSD also holds adult pickleball lessons here.
- CSD District Gym, 1021 Harvard Way. Indoor adult drop-in, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon, $4 a visit or $15 for five. Bring your own paddle and balls.
- Lembi Community Park, 1302 Riley Street, Folsom. Twelve lighted courts. The park is open from 7 a.m. to one hour after sunset.
- Cameron Park. Cameron Park Lake is no longer an option. Cameron Park CSD says pickleball isn't allowed there and runs indoor open gym at its Community Center Gym instead, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at $5 for residents and $6 for nonresidents.
Groups that want to reserve CSD courts have to send a field-and-court application to Resident Services at least 14 days ahead. The renovation page doesn't say whether the new Stephen Harris courts will run on drop-in play, reservations, or both. The project page will likely post that first.
When a neighborhood park becomes a destination for the whole town, it changes the streets around it, and that's part of what St. Andrews Village homeowners will want to understand about their own block. If you live near Tam O'Shanter Drive or Riviera Circle and want to talk through what a busier park could mean for your home, Darya Ghomeshi can walk you through it. Request a complimentary market consultation.
