NEW TAMPA — Just when it appeared the years-long fight over the future of the former Pebble Creek Golf Club was finally nearing a conclusion, Hillsborough County commissioners were forced to hit the pause button once again.
In a 5-1 vote last week, commissioners delayed a final decision on whether to allow the 150-acre property in New Tampa to be redeveloped into a 250-home community, sending the case back to the county’s zoning hearing master for a limited review of a procedural issue involving golf course owner Bill Place.
The delay means the controversial case, which has already spent more than three years winding through public hearings, courtrooms and appeals, likely won’t return to the Board of County Commissioners for a final vote until September.
At the center of the latest delay: an email Place sent to a county commissioner between the board’s April decision not to pursue another appeal, and the latest June 9 hearing.
The communication consisted largely of a statement with one sentence expressing support for the GL Homes proposal.
“That’s literally the only comment (referencing) the rezone,” said commissioner Josh Wostal. “The rest of it has nothing to do with it.”
The email was never even read, Place said.
County attorneys said the substance of the communication was minor. But as an ex parte issue, or one-sided contact that must be disclosed and addressed to ensure the process remains fair, it was enough to warrant an additional, though limited, hearing.
Chief assistant county attorney Cameron Clark recommended remanding the case to the zoning hearing master solely to enter the email into the record and address its limited substance.
GL Homes agreed to the remand.
“I hate to do this just because there’s no way this changes, in my opinion, the outcome,” Wostal said before making the motion to remand. “But I do agree that they have the right to communicate.”
The hearing is scheduled for July 20. The full commissioner vote is expected in September.
Clark emphasized that the remand will be very narrow in scope and will not reopen additional debate about traffic, flooding, open space or wildlife impacts that dominated previous hearings.
“There’s no opportunity for new testimony at this time,” Clark said. “All the issues that have already been discussed in this case…are closed issues at this point.”
GL Homes first sought to rezone the property in July 2023. The proposal was denied by the county commissioners 5-2 despite recommendations for approval from county planning staff, the Planning Commission and the zoning hearing master.
The developer challenged that decision in court, setting off a lengthy legal battle that has bounced between circuit court and the Second District Court of Appeal. While the county won one appeal on a technical issue, the following court rulings put the case back before the BOCC to reconsider.
In April, the board voted not to pursue another appeal by a 4-3 vote, setting up last week’s meeting in which a final decision was expected.
Instead, the battle will continue for at least a few more months.
Clark told the commissioners that the court rulings and the decision not to re-appeal now significantly limit the board’s options.
He added that the courts have already determined there is evidence supporting the projects consistency with the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
“The board’s actions at this point, because it is so constrained, and because we have the court making determinations on these issues, our recommendation would typically be for the board to approve the application,” Clark said.
Commissioner Ken Hagan, whose district includes Pebble Creek and who was the loudest voice in support of denying GL Homes, cast the lone dissenting vote.
“Having represented Pebble Creek for 24 years, I feel strongly that this board has let the neighborhood down,” he said.
Opponents of the project continue to insist the development will damage the existing Pebble Creek community, which consists of 1,000-plus homes and is one of the oldest in New Tampa.
Save Pebble Creek founder Leslie Green, a resident for more than three decades, said the county should have continued the fight.
“I am very disappointed because I believe that the county’s original decision to deny rezoning was the right thing to do,” she wrote in a statement to the Beacon. “I feel had they pursued one more appeal, the denial due to consistency issues with the comprehensive plan would have been upheld. Many of the residents feel that this will change the character of our neighborhood forever.”
Place, meanwhile, said he remains optimistic that the project will ultimately receive approval.
Pebble Creek opened in 1967, and Place purchased the course in 2005. It has been shuttered since 2021, when amid declining memberships and much-needed and expensive repairs, Place said it no longer made financial sense to keep it open.
He now spends thousands a month to meet his landscaping obligations —200 feet from any home or right of way must be kept 10 inches or shorter — but mostly “you can hardly tell it was a golf course.”
Just a small golf cart repair business operates out of the old clubhouse area.
Place thinks despite this latest delay, come September, the long fight will be over, and the project will commence.
“You know that commissioners are going to be reasonable. They don’t want to waste more taxpayer money fighting this,” he said. “When the county loses twice in court, and the court is saying this should have been approved, and county staff, planning and zoning all recommend approval, there’s no reason for them not to approve this now.”