It’s a battle between compassion and recreation—and it’s already playing out in one U.S. town.
A church in New Jersey wants to build a homeless shelter on land it owns. But the city has other plans: a $5 million recreation center featuring ten pickleball courts. With both sides unwilling to budge, the city council voted 4-3 to use eminent domain to take the land and move forward with the courts.
That vote has sparked intense debate—and raises the question: What if a similar situation unfolded here in the Coachella Valley?
On NBC Palm Springs, contributors Nick Collins and Anthony Turk tackled the scenario head-on.
“If I’m the mayor, I’m pushing for the pickleball,” Collins said. “That seems to be the city's direction, and the church has an uphill battle.”
Turk took a different stance: “This is a conservative community. Where is the commitment to religious freedom? It doesn’t sound very Christian to remove a church trying to help the homeless.”
Pressed to choose between building a shelter or pickleball courts, Turk pushed back. “If I can only do one thing as mayor, I should be fired,” he said. “Why not find space for both?”
The question of priorities is real. Who benefits more—the growing number of pickleball enthusiasts, or the region’s vulnerable homeless population?
The real New Jersey case ended in a narrow vote for the courts. But as Turk pointed out: “It’s 11 acres. How many do you need for pickleball? Leave the church alone.”
As homelessness remains a growing issue in the Coachella Valley, this kind of land-use debate may not be hypothetical for long.
Credit: NBC Palm Springs
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By: Fred Roggin
May 22, 2025
