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Hillsborough Commission Denies Minigolf Request

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By GEORGE WILKENS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2007

TAMPA - Bill Place's hard-fought battle to add miniature golf to his Pebble Creek holdings was dealt a setback today by the Hillsborough County Commission, which rejected his request for a zoning modification.

After the lengthy hearing before an overflow crowd of nearly 200 people, Place said he would appeal the commission's 5-2 decision.

In making the motion to deny approval of the 18-hole course proposed at the New Tampa community's Regents Park Drive entry, Commissioner Kevin White said it was incompatible with the adjacent residential area and would present traffic and parking problems.

County planners recommended approving the minor modification to the 1972 planned-use development order for the 600-acre community, subject to recommendations regarding trees, setbacks and signs, to which Place had agreed.

Those in favor of the miniature golf course and those opposed turned out in large numbers for the 1:30 p.m. public hearing, including many opponents who arrived on a chartered bus.

"Save Our Neighborhood" read yellow 8-by-11-inch signs carried by opponents. Proponents wore smaller green "Mini-Golf Yes!" badges.

"You're not going to see King Tut or King Kong" fiberglass figures at the proposed golf course, Place's attorney, Jim Porter, told commissioners at the start of the nearly two-hour hearing. Emphasizing that the proposed course would save all but a few of the trees on the 1-acre parcel, he said, "This will be a benign recreational use" that will benefit families.

Susan Finch, a planner hired by Place, said miniature golf at the proposed site would constitute a compatible recreational use under the county land development code. The property is surrounded by a golf course, recreation center, playground, picnic area and lighted swimming pool, she said.

Addressing commissioners, Place said he had 182 letters of support for his project, including most of those living closest to the site. Miniature golf, he said, will help his effort to make profitable the Pebble Creek Golf Club, which he bought in 2005.

Those who spoke in favor of the proposal included the Rev. Freddy Fritz, senior pastor of Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church, just north of the site. "I am very excited about the possibility of a miniature golf course," he said, adding that youth pastors at other area churches would share that sentiment.

There were questions, however, about how many proponents live near the proposed site, or even in the 1,300-home community.

"Those petitions received in support are primarily outsiders," said Pebble Creek Homeowners Association President Tania Heires, drawing loud applause. She said miniature golf would bring noise, litter, traffic and become a hangout, spawning vandalism.

"I just hate this ill-conceived project coming to Pebble Creek," Rita Higgins, a resident of Clubview, near the proposed site, told commissioners.

Responding to the emotional appeals during his rebuttal, Porter said, "We're talking about a miniature golf course on a 1-acre site, not a nuclear power plant."

Commissioner Ken Hagan, a former Cross Creek resident, said, "I'm truly torn on this request, and that has not happened very often." He said he "would have loved" to have miniature golf in New Tampa during his five years there. He added, however, "As a resident of Pebble Creek, I don't think I would want this at the entrance to my neighborhood."

Hagan said miniature golf would be incompatible with the neighborhood.

Hagan's comments were followed by Commissioner Rose Ferlita's motion to approve Place's request, but it died for lack of a second.

Commissioner Al Higginbotham sided with Ferlita, resulting in the 5-2 vote.

"We plan to file an appeal," Place said outside commission chambers. "In the meantime, we still have the property up for sale."

Heires, who helped lead the homeowners association fight against the miniature golf proposal, said after the hearing: "I'm thrilled the commissioners heard us and our homeowners and preserved that pristine entrance to the community. We wish Bill success in the golf course."

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4847 or gwilkens@tampatrib.com.

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