"There is no competent, substantial evidence in the record to indicate that the land could be used as a golf course in the future, meaning there is no competent, substantial evidence to support the alleged legitimate purpose of maintaining the golf course zoning designation." — Judge Paul Huey, quoted by Tampa Beacon
He issued it while ruling on a fight over 150 acres of fairways off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. It is also the sentence every buyer eyeing a "golf course community" in New Tampa should read twice before writing an offer.
The property in question is the former Pebble Creek Golf Club, closed since 2021 and still sitting behind a chain link fence while a developer and a neighborhood association argue over what it becomes next. The fight matters well beyond the roughly 1,350 homes built around it, because it exposes something most buyers never think to check: a golf course zoning designation is a land use category the county assigns, not a promise that the land stays green forever.
What's Actually Behind the Fence
Pebble Creek's course opened in 1967, back when Tampa Palms was the closest grocery store and nothing else stood for miles on either side of Bruce B. Downs. Bill Place, operating through his company Ace Golf, bought the course in 2005 for $2.1 million. He kept it running for sixteen years before closing it in July 2021, citing dwindling memberships, rising overhead, and an aging irrigation system he said would be financially impossible to bring up to competitive standard.
Drive past it today and you will not see fairways. You will see trees and underbrush reclaiming what used to be greens, a chain link fence along the perimeter, and the shuttered entrance to what was once Mulligan's Irish Pub inside the old clubhouse. Some residents call it an eyesore. Others call it the last quiet green space left in a part of New Tampa that has filled in fast.
Developer GL Homes wants to buy the land from Ace Golf and build roughly 250 single-family homes, along with upgrades to the neighborhood's lake system, new walking paths and entrances, and five additional parks. Whether that happens is still, as of this writing, an open question.
How a Golf Course Becomes Optional
The short version of how Pebble Creek got here:
- In July 2023, Hillsborough County commissioners voted 5-2 to deny GL Homes' rezoning request, even though the county's own Planning Commission and zoning hearing master had both recommended approval as consistent with the comprehensive plan.
- GL Homes appealed. In 2024, Judge Huey sided with the developer, ruling the board had no substantial evidence to support keeping the golf course zoning designation and quashing the county's denial.
- The county appealed that ruling. In July 2025, the Second District Court of Appeal sided with the county on a procedural technicality, restoring the board's original denial for the moment.
- The case bounced back to circuit court, where the judge corrected the technical issue and once again quashed the board's denial, effectively resetting the clock to 2023.
- In April 2026, the board voted 4-3 not to pursue another appeal, clearing the path for what everyone expected to be a final vote.
- On June 9, 2026, instead of a final decision, commissioners voted 5-1 to remand the case again, this time over an email Place had sent a commissioner containing one sentence of support for the GL Homes plan. That single line created what's called an ex parte communication problem, serious enough to trigger another hearing.
A limited hearing was set for July 20, 2026, to formally enter that email into the public record. County staff said the review would be narrow, with no new testimony on traffic, flooding, or wildlife impact. The full Board of County Commissioners vote was expected to follow in September 2026. As of this writing, that final vote has not yet been reported, which tells you something on its own: a fight over what one piece of land means legally can run three years and still not be finished.
The Argument That Didn't Hold Up
Throughout the case, Hillsborough County argued that Pebble Creek was designed around its golf course, that the course functioned as what the county called a "fundamental centerpiece" of the community, and that this alone justified keeping the golf course zoning in place. It's an intuitive argument. It's also the one Judge Huey rejected.
Huey drew a distinction that matters for anyone shopping a golf-adjacent address: land zoned specifically as a golf course is legally different from land designated as a park or protected open space.
Bill Place made a related point when the 2024 ruling came down. He said the discussion at commission meetings had focused more on him personally than on the merits of GL Homes' application, an application he wasn't even the one filing. Whatever you think of that framing, it points to something real: the emotional weight of "this is what we bought into" doesn't automatically translate into legal protection once the case reaches a courtroom.
What This Means If You're Comparing New Tampa Communities
New Tampa has several communities built around privately owned golf courses, not just Pebble Creek. If you're weighing a lot that backs up to a fairway, or paying a premium because the listing says "golf course community," the Pebble Creek case suggests a short list of questions worth asking before that premium feels justified:
- Who owns the golf course, and is it a single private operator running it as a for-profit business, or is it owned and maintained by the HOA itself?
- Does the community's recorded declaration of covenants or plat include language dedicating that acreage to golf or open space in perpetuity, separate from the county's zoning map?
- Has the course changed hands, closed temporarily, or shown signs of declining membership in recent years? Financial strain is often the first signal, well before any rezoning application gets filed.
- If the answer to any of the above is unclear, ask the listing agent or a title company directly whether the adjoining land carries a deed restriction, or whether it's simply zoned "golf course."
None of this means every golf-adjacent home in New Tampa is at risk. Plenty of courses are healthy, profitable, and likely to stay exactly as they are. But "zoned golf course" and "guaranteed to remain a golf course" turned out, in a Hillsborough County courtroom, to be two very different statements. That gap is worth understanding before you factor a fairway view into what you're willing to pay.
Before You Pay for the View
The Pebble Creek fight is a reminder that a lot of what makes a New Tampa neighborhood feel permanent, the tree canopy, the open sightline across a fairway, the quiet cul-de-sac backing up to green space, exists because a private owner has chosen, so far, to keep it that way. That choice can change, and when it does, the legal fight over what happens next can take years to resolve, as anyone who has followed this case since 2023 already knows.
If you're comparing homes across New Tampa's golf-adjacent communities, whether that's Pebble Creek, Hunter's Green, or Tampa Palms, the smartest move is asking these ownership and zoning questions before you fall for the view, not after. You can browse current listings and get a feel for how these communities compare on our New Tampa neighborhood page, and if you're ready to talk through what a specific address's zoning history actually means for your purchase, Michele Ranjbar can help you ask the right questions before you're under contract. Request a free home valuation and let's map out your next move with the full picture, not just the view from the lanai.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
