AITA for letting my kids play basketball in my driveway during non quiet hours?

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AITA for letting my kids play basketball in my driveway during non quiet hours?

About 3 weeks agoI (50m) and my wife (46f) put up a basketball hoop in my driveway for my 12f and 10f children to practice basketball (they play on basketball teams). I live in an HOA and checked the CC&Rs prior , found nothing in there restricting this.

Last week I got the following text:

“Jack”, respectfully, may we get basketball quiet hours from 4-6pm on weekends and 4:30-6:30 on weekdays? The constant bouncing of the ball is very disturbing of our senior rest time in the late afternoon. Thanks for considering. “John”

After again checking the county code and CC&Rs and consulting with my sister and friend (both attorneys), I wrote the following response a few days later:

“John”, I’ve considered and discussed your request with my wife. While we want to be good neighbors and have met your prior requests, your current request for “quiet hours” during the late afternoon is unreasonably restrictive.

In reading the County Noise code section <x> (Noise Ordinance) and the CC&Rs, it appears that quiet hours as defined in the County code are 10pm-7am M-F and 10pm-9am Sat-Sun. The CC&Rs document is silent on additional quiet hours beyond county code. You’re asking for a restriction on their prime playtime between school and dinner for your senior rest time. I’m somewhat sympathetic to your dilemma, since I work from home mostly. During business hours, I hear all manner of <neighborhood noises>. I have found a set of noise canceling headphones very essential and effective. My children certainly don’t play basketball daily and while I have not measured the sound pressure level inside the house yet, I have a hard time with thinking it approaches anywhere near 55 dBA limit as defined in the County Noise Ordinance. Thank you for your understanding.

Fairly quickly, that night I received this response:

Wow, “Jack”….Your response is really over the top. We were simply asking for some neighborly consideration, and certainly not expecting a legal brief in response. The noises you describe do happen, are sporadic, and cease. The basketball is a constant bouncing on concrete under our bedroom and living areas, which is a completely different experience. Frankly, we were surprised the court was installed without the simple kindness of a conversation as our lot lines are very minimal. The impact to our home enjoyment is substantial, and your suggestion that we live in headphones at the behest of your basketball whims is ludicrous. We are shocked at your unneighborly response, which is lacking in basic kindness. Consideration for the fact that we are over 70 and need some quiet periods to rest in our home is what we were seeking, as well as open rapport so that we may continue to enjoy our neighborhood together. The past 12 plus years have been a very pleasant experience for us. We wrongly assumed that you simply didn’t realize the impact on our living space from your sport court and were opening a dialogue.