Month: August 2021

PCGC Closes, But Fight Over Its Development Goes On

All is quiet at the Pebble Creek Golf Club (PCGC), which closed for good on July 31. So, what’s next?

Homes…probably. Maybe?

PCGC owner Bill Place had all but finalized a deal to sell the roughly 150 acres of land the course sits on to Pulte Homes, which had plans to build 230-240 homes on the property, but told the Neighborhood News last week that the company had changed its mind.

“I think they are a bit scared of the publicity that will come with this,” Place said.

Another builder, KB Home, also appears to have removed itself from consideration to redevelop PCGC.

Place is still talking to other builders.

Place is also still awaiting the results of environmental testing on the course, which was found to have high levels of arsenic and dieldrin from insecticide applications (from before he owned the property, Place says). He says the results have been sent to the Environmental Protection Commission and directions on how to remediate the soil so the land can be developed is forthcoming.

Darlene Young, Bob Young and Ray Walker get in one last round at Pebble Creek Golf Club. (Photos: Charmaine George)

The cost is expected to be somewhere between $1 million-$3 million, but Place says a $3-million price tag would be out of the question.

And, that’s where the fight begins.

Leslie Green has lived on the 10th hole at PCGC for nearly 30 years, in one of roughly 130 (of the 1,400 total in Pebble Creek) homes physically located on the golf course.

She created the “Save Pebble Creek” Facebook page in March 2019, and is leading the charge to convince the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners to deny any developer the rezoning it will require to build over the golf course..

Green is against building additional homes on the golf course site for a number of reasons — including the environmental impacts, flooding issues, the loss of green space and how new homes would affect an area she says is already densely populated.

She also is skeptical of many of Place’s claims. She thinks a rezoning could lead to far more than just 240 homes, doesn’t feel Place was losing as much money on the golf course as he claimed (while sabotaging it with negative portrayals) and did little in the way of improvements the past few years.

“When you’re constantly threatening to close the course, people are going to stop coming,” she says.

Green, who live-streamed on Facebook on July 31, the final day the golf club was open, also was a vocal critic when Place tried to get a brownfield designation for the course, which would have provided him with a tax credit that could have covered three-fourths of the remediation costs.

She was emboldened by the successful efforts of the community to defeat the brownfield designation. And, she thinks it can happen again.

“We didn’t just start Save Pebble Creek, we’ve been working together on this for two years,” Green says. “We have a strong community.”

Mike Jacobson, the homeowners association president for more than 1,000 of the 1,400 homes in Pebble Creek, is taking a more measured approach. Like most residents in Pebble Creek, he prefers a golf course over homes. But, he says that the choice isn’t between a golf course or new homes, but rather between an abandoned golf course and new homes.

Jacobson is mostly concerned with the worst-case scenario, and has to look no further than Plant City. In 2013, Walden Lake homeowners recommended denying rezoning of its struggling golf course for development.

Instead, the course shut down, the owner went into foreclosure and the formerly lush green fairways became overgrown with weeds and foliage. The two-story clubhouse became a haven for trespassers. Home values in Walden Lake took a big hit.

“That is my biggest fear,” Jacobson says.

There are now, seven wasted years later, plans to build homes and a “city center” on the long-dormant Walden Lakes course.

While making it clear that he is opposed to development on the golf course site, Jacobson had met with Pulte representatives before their retreat about the benefits of redevelopment.

At the end of the day, he says, it comes down to what is best for Pebble Creek’s homeowners, and the value of their properties.

“We are trying to find what is strategically the best outcome for all of Pebble Creek and, quite frankly, there’s no great outcome,” he says. “The best outcome is to find a buyer who wants to operate it as a golf course. If there’s anybody out there that wants to operate it as a golf course, I’d love for them to reach out to me….we would fight to the end with the commissioners to say we have somebody who wants to operate it the way it’s been zoned and keep it as a golf course.”

He says, however, that to date, no one has done so.

While engineers for a new developer could soon begin forging plans, the fight picks up when the rezoning request reaches the Hillsborough County Commission, possibly in 4-6 months.

“Any full rezoning boils down to the vote of the County Commission,” Place says. “And you can’t predict that with full accuracy. I expect there to be opposition, and I understand that it will be contentious.”

Here’s some photos from the last day of the golf club.

pebble creek golf club

County Approves 22-Percent Trash Assessment Boost

Despite a number of problems with curbside garbage service in recent months, Hillsborough County Commissioners didn’t seem to have much choice but to vote to increase trash assessments for the coming year.

On Aug. 4, commissioners voted 5-2 in favor of the 22% increase, effective Oct. 1, rather than run the risk of having no service when the current contract with Waste Connections of Florida expires.

District 2 Commissioner Ken Hagan, who represents the New Tampa area, was one of the no votes, along with fellow Republican Stacy White.

“A majority of (Waste Connections’) service failures were in north Hillsborough, including my neighborhood,” said Hagan, a Carrollwood resident. “It was getting to the point where they were missing up to 50,000 homes a day. Residents were extremely frustrated, and I completely understand. I feel the same way.”

The annual assessment will rise from $289.32 to $352.79, an increase of $63.47 annually, or $1.22 per week.

Solid waste assessments pay for two garbage collections per week, one recycling collection per week and one yard waste collection per week, as well as self-hauled disposals at the county’s collection centers.

Fuel prices, truck maintenance and population growth have led to the need for higher assessments, according to the county staff.

However, because of recent performance issues with Waste Connections, the timing for a boost couldn’t be worse.

The trash service provider missed more than 250,000 pickups in June and July, while hundreds of routes weren’t completed. The poor service resulted in thousands of emails and phone calls from angry residents.

Last month, the county threatened the trash hauler with fines if it did not improve service. Hagan says Waste Connections blamed Covid-related issues as well as an employee shortage brought on by not being awarded any of the new contracts, worth $589 million, which were approved in June and will begin in February of 2022.

The new contracts went to Republic Services of Florida, Waste Management Inc., of Florida, and Fomento De Construcciones Y Contratas, Inc.

Hagan said the new contractors are working with Waste Connections of Florida to bring over some of their employees.

“I feel relatively comfortable where we’re at now,” Hagan says. “They say they are caught up. And, we have procedures in place to prevent this, should it happen again. I feel much better than I did a couple of weeks ago.”

Back To School, Back To Worrying

In June, there was hope and optimism. The number of Covid-19 infections were down, the battle seemed to be turning in the wake of vaccinations, and a return to a normal school year — after a year that no one was eager to repeat —seemed closer than ever.

In July, a variant of Covid, a stronger and even more contagious version called Delta, began popping up in news stories. Infections began to spread, and so did concern.

In August, with numbers higher than they have been at any point since the pandemic began, schools across Hillsborough County and New Tampa opened on August 10.

What a difference a few weeks makes.

“In June, we thought we would be starting the school year in a much more normal situation,” said Chiles Elementary principal Teresa Evans. “I think everyone’s a little disappointed to be back to something like last year….but our community has been very cooperative, and we’re expecting a great year. But, we’re not through this pandemic yet. There’s still challenges to rise to meet.”

Without a mask mandate this year, however, some teachers and parents expressed reservations about the new school year. Those fears are being realized as Covid-19 numbers in schools continue to rise.

On Monday, the Hillsborough County School District reported that 5,600 students have either tested positive or are in quarantine due to exposure. That number has jumped to 8,400 today, and includes more than 300 school employees

As a result, the Hillsborough County Public School Board will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday from 1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in the School Board Auditorium to discuss ways to mitigate the spread of the virus in county schools, which have only been open for five days.

Mask wearing is likely to make up most of the debate. Superintendent Addison Davis reversed course and required them for all students, but did allow for parents to opt their children out of the policy. The new requirement will be in place until Sept. 3, when it will be re-examined.

Covid-19 School

Miller Is Wesley Chapel’s Own Eye In The Sky

Jeff Miller has seen a lot of things since moving to Wesley Chapel in 2004.

As a Realtor for Charles Rutenberg Realty, he has seen the market take off, then crash land, then take off again. He has seen the area grow and grow. He has seen neighborhoods evolve and new roads appear.

These days, however, Miller’s view has changed….to about 300 feet above the ground.

If you’ve been on the web looking for all of the new developments and businesses in Wesley Chapel, you may have come across one of Miller’s many drone videos, which are focused on all of the new developments in our area.

“I really love sharing the videos with everyone,” Miller says. “I think it’s pretty cool.”

Miller has been posting regular old ground-level videos on his YouTube page since 2017, but kept noticing more and more drone videos.

“They were unique and super visual,” he says. “What a difference.”

Miller bought his first drone — a surprisingly compact gray DJI Mini 2 — in February, and has since posted more than 80 videos, from local communities like Persimmon Park, Estancia, River Landing and Avalon Park to area favorites like the Crystal Lagoon at Epperson, the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County and the Wesley Chapel District Park.

The first drone video he posted was 47 seconds of footage at the Overpass Rd. construction at I-75, followed by 99 seconds of Epperson Ranch and its lagoon. None of Miller’s first five drone videos topped 100 views, but many of his videos since then have fared much better.

A video of the future Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. has more than 600 views, a drone tour of Winding Ridge by GL Homes has more than 1,000 and an update on the Overpass Rd. construction currently is his top drone video to date with 1,300+ views.

All of his videos combined have nearly 20,000 views.

While Miller started posting his videos as a hobby, he says it hasn’t been bad for business either.

“I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me because of the videos,” he says. “Especially the updates on the Overpass Rd. bridge, the parks and the malls. There are people interested in buying homes from out of state and I think it’s pretty cool they can see how the community has progressed.”

Jeff Miller’s drone videos focus on new developments like Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (top) and popular places Wesley Chapel is known for, like the Crystal Lagoon at Epperson.

Miller said the wealth of aerial video opportunities is a far cry from his first decade or so in Wesley Chapel.

“Back then, there was really nothing to shoot (here),” he says.

A 1993 graduate of Southern Connecticut State University with a degree in corporate video communications, Miller has long had an eye for photography and video. He says he started taking pictures when he was a kid and, when he moved to Wesley Chapel, he took on a role helping the former Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (now the North Tampa Bay Chamber) with social media.

“Before Facebook, that was pretty impossible,” he says. But, he would attend events, and send out email blasts with recaps and photos.

He says he helped start the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival and art show. In 2008, Miller even ran for the Chamber’s Honorary Mayor of Wesley Chapel. He hosted a wine tasting at the old Cork and Olive on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. hoping to attract voters, and one of his goals was to get signs up in the area that said “We Love Wesley Chapel.”

“I think I met everyone in Wesley Chapel that year,” Miller says, chuckling.

A long-time promoter of the community, Miller says he tries to get out and shoot something in the area every day. Although he says he graduated from college without even having used the internet or a cell phone, he eagerly dives into new technology.

“This technology is ridiculously easy to use,” he says. “It really gives me the chance to make awesome, shareable content. I hope people like it.”

To check out Miller’s drone videos, visit FlyWesleyChapel.com. For more information about Jeff, visit Jeff-Miller-Realtor-Wesley-Chapel-Fl-homes-for-sale.business.site or call (813) 382-8312.

Avalon Park crystal lagoon drone Jeff Miller

Nibbles & Bites: Skipper’s Smokehouse, new restaurants and a ribbon cutting.

Pick Of The Week: Skipper’s Smokehouse!

Although it’s located 20 minutes or so south of Wesley Chapel, the legendary Skipper’s Smokehouse (910 Skipper Rd., off N. Nebraska Ave. in North Tampa) has officially reopened — and anyone who has lived in this area for more than a few years surely has visited (and missed!) this fun and funky non-chain seafood restaurant and live music venue.

I visited the closed-since-Covid restaurant on one of its soft pre-reopening days a few weeks ago and was thrilled with the latest incarnation of this long-time favorite.

Back when Wesley Chapel had only a handful of homes and New Tampa had only a few restaurants of its own, Skipper’s was famous on both sides of the county line for its great drink prices, outstanding live music, fresh fish (like the yummy grilled wahoo, above right, that I brought home to Jannah), raw oysters and great wings (above left). My new friends Terri and Michael (below) enjoyed those crispy wings (with medium-spicy “hotter” sauce on the side) so much that they got a second order of them. And, Skipper’s has revamped its menu from its soft opening to include a few more of its all-time favorites, from gator ribs to pulled pork and from fried shrimp to crawdaddy mac and more.

And, the locally famous Grateful Dead cover band, Uncle John’s Band, returned for its first Thursday evening show at Skipper’s in more than a year just before we went to press with this issue, and another popular Skipper’s staple, The Red Elvises, put on the first Saturday night love music show at the Skipperdome.

Hopefully, Skipper’s also will bring back its famous, adults-only Freakers Ball this year to celebrate Halloween properly.

Call (813) 971-0666 or visit SkippersSmokehouse.com for more Grand Reopening info, showtimes and the new menu — and please tell them I sent you! — GN

More Food Coming Soon To Our Area!

Years ago, Carrabba’s Italian Grill was rumored to be coming to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Wesley Chapel, on a still-undeveloped parcel located south of where Bonefish Grill used to be located (where it has been replaced by Señor Tequila).

Then, originally reported in 2019 to be coming to the Cypress Creek Town Center area on the north side of S.R. 56, along with the now-open Aussie Grill, and the new location of Bonefish, Carrabbas’s has finally begun construction. According to Pasco County’s permitting records, the 5,074-sq.-ft. Carrabba’s will be built in between Bonefish Grill and Aussie Grill. — JCC

Meanwhile, Zaxby’s (right), the fast-casual fried chicken eatery, is getting ready to open on the south side of 56, near ALDI and the Tidal Wave Car Wash and was still hiring additional employees as this issue went to press. — GN

The ExerScience Center Hosts A Ribbon Cutting!

Congratulations go out to my friend and Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Dr. Lauren Leiva of The ExerScience Center, located at 24706 S.R. 54 in Lutz, less than two miles east of the Tampa Premium Outlets.

Lauren, her family and staff hosted a Greater Pasco Chamber ribbon cutting on July 19 and she, of course, couldn’t resist the urge to cut the ribbon with a Samurai sword, instead of the traditional (and boring, at least to her) scissors.

Lauren has helped strengthen my knees and Jannah rehab her back and The ExerScience Center also offers outstanding personal training, nutrition counseling, group fitness and yoga classes, in addition to her award-winning physical therapy — as she has been named the People’s Choice Best of the Best Physical Therapist by the Tampa Bay Times two years in a row. To find out more, call (813) 803-7070 or visit TheExerScienceCenter.com. — GN