The Latest On The Pebble Creek Golf Club Rezoning

“I Feel Very Strongly That This Board Let This Neighborhood Down.” — Hillsborough Commissioner Ken Hagan 

On June 9, chief assistant Hillsborough County attorney Cameron Clark explains the need for the “constrained remand” by the Board of County Commissioners, as “Save Pebble Creek” supporters hold up “Remand” signs. (Photo is a screenshot from the BOCC’s June 9 Land Development Hearing on YouTube) 

The group calling itself “Save Pebble Creek” has very few opportunities left to try to, as they see it, save their neighborhood. The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted 5-1 on June 9 to “remand” the proposed GL Homes project — the home builder has been trying for year to purchase the 149 acres of the Pebble Creek Golf Club’s golf course (which closed in July 2021) and build 250 single-family homes on the property — back to the Zoning Hearing Master (ZHM) on Monday, July 20, 6 p.m., but for a very limited, constrained purpose. 

Just for clarification, a “remand” in a land development or zoning context “occurs when a higher authority (like a court or appellate board, in this case, the 2nd District Court of Appeals) sends a project application or dispute back to a lower authority (like a local planning commission or, in this case, the BOCC) for further review, additional findings, or reconsideration.” 

Chief assistant county attorney Cameron Clark (photo) told the Board that the only part of the case that could be remanded was to add an “ex parte” communication (Note – An “ex parte” communication in land development is any “one-sided” communication between a project applicant, supporter or opponent and a decision-making board member outside of a public hearing) by Ace Golf and still-Pebble Creek Golf Club owner Bill Place to District 5 County Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda. 

In his email to Comm. Cepeda dated Apr. 7, Place wrote, “I believe the GL [Homes] project offers the best possible solution for residents and we have worked with them every step of the way,” which will need to be included in the official record of the project. 

And, while the remand will not include the last line of Place’s email (but it is a matter of public record), it said, “I did not want to make the offer before your position was taken on this (not that it would have influenced), but I would be quite happy to support your re-election.” 

After Clark explained to the commissioners exactly what the BOCC could and couldn’t remand, Dist. 7 Comm. Joshua Wostal moved to remand Place’s ex-parte communication issue to the Zoning Hearing Master at the BOCC’s zoning hearing on July 20. 

After the motion was seconded by Dist. 1 Comm. Harry Cohen, Board Chair & Dist. 2 Comm. Ken Hagan explained to the Save Pebble Creek supporters (who held up “Remand” signs behind Clark as he spoke) in attendance that no public comments could be made at that meeting. 

Prior to the vote, Comm. Hagan asked Clark, “Do you see any avenue or opportunity to broaden that remand at this time?” 

Clark responded, “I would say that’s very difficult. It’s not impossible but all the issues that have already been discussed in this case…the evidence that’s been submitted…that the Board discussed in its denial and that were discussed by the court…essentially, those are closed issues at this point. So, new evidence on, say, the desirability of maintaining open space, things of that nature, would not be helpful at this point because, essentially, it’s already been determined that those issues were resolved by the court.” 

Hagan then said, “I’m just going to say, having represented Pebble Creek for 24 years…I feel very strongly that this Board let this neighborhood down. Unfortunately, that ship has sailed and the county attorney has made it very clear what our options are [now].” 

Dist. 6 Comm. Chris Boles then asked Clark, “When this comes back before us, after the July 20 [ZHM] hearing, will there be an opportunity for public comment at that time, and will it be limited only to what happened at that hearing? Would you expound upon that?” 

Clark responded, “So, just as the ability to comment at the July 20 ZHM hearing is going to be limited — and I believe this comes back to [the BOCC] Land Use in September — there will be a new oral argument opportunity but it would be limited to that issue only because everything else that’s [already] in the record is going to be the same as it was in July 2023, and there’s already been oral arguments on all of those issues.” 

The commissioners then voted 5-1 (Dist. 4 Comm. Christine Miller was absent) in favor of the remand, with Comm. Hagan casting the lone dissenting vote. 

Save Pebble Creek founder Leslie Green released this statement after the BOCC’s vote: 

“It is unfortunate that after the BOCC voted against the rezoning application, its decision-making authority was ultimately limited by a court ruling that prevented the Board from relying on its original reasons for denial, including consistency with the Comprehensive Plan. 

“I believe that if the County had pursued one additional appeal, the BOCC’s denial would have been upheld, and this matter could have been resolved much sooner. We were hoping for a much broader remand that would have allowed consideration of the soil contamination issues and an update to the 2022 traffic study. I fear living here during the soil cleanup.” 

The History Of The Case 

As Clark explained prior to the vote, the BOCC first denied the GL Homes rezoning application in July of 2023: “The developer appealed that denial to circuit court, where the applicant prevailed,” Clark said. “The county then appealed that ruling to the appellate court, where the county prevailed. It was sent back to the circuit court, where the circuit judge essentially ‘fixed’ his order and once again quashed the Board’s denial from July of ‘23, which effectively rewinds this application back to [that date]. The effect of the court order is to place significant restraint on the Board’s action.” We will update this story after the July 20 ZHM hearing. 

Regarding The Passing Of Rich Reidy (1957-2025)

Hillsborough County commissioner Ken Hagan and his long-time aide Rich Reidy. Rich passed away on Nov. 11 after a short battle with cancer. He was 68. (Photos provided by Ken Hagan)

Even if you’ve been faithfully reading every issue of the Neighborhood News for years, you may not know who Rich Reidy is. But, rest assured, Rich was one of the most important people working in the Hillsborough County government, someone who played a role behind the scenes in most every decision that has affected New Tampa for more than the past two decades. 

Rich, who passed away suddenly at age 68 on Nov. 11, first became Dist. 2 County Commissioner Ken Hagan’s legislative aide when Ken was first elected back in 2002. (Note-Rich left to become the top aide for then-State Sen. John Legg in 2013, but he returned as Hagan’s top aide in 2018, after Legg was replaced by Sen. Jack Latvala, who was forced to resign at the end of 2017). “Rich did love the legislature,” Ken says. “I was so glad he came back.” 

Here’s how I found out Rich had passed: 

I wanted to get an update on the planned safety improvements to Morris Bridge Rd. south of Cross Creek Blvd. So, instead of calling Comm. Hagan directly on his cell phone, I did what I usually did — I called Ken’s office. Jannah asked me who I was calling and I said, “What I usually do when I have to ask Hagan something, I’m calling Rich Reidy at Ken’s office.” 

I had my phone on speaker because I wanted Jannah to hear just how helpful the guy has always been to me — from when I first started trying to find out when Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. was going to be widened (what now seems like an eternity ago) through questions of county parks in New Tampa and the extension of Cross Creek Blvd., to the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, to Morris Bridge Rd. and many more. 

Instead of Rich’s usual happy-to-help attitude, Comm. Hagan’s other aide, Glorivee “Glory” Burgos, answered the phone. I had spoken with Glory a few times over the past few years, but I didn’t “know” her like I do Rich, so I asked her, “Can I speak with Rich, please?” 

“What is this regarding?,” she asked politely. “Is there something I can help you with?” 

I said, “I’m just calling for an update on the Morris Bridge Rd. safety improvements and Rich is always who I ask things like this.” 

The silent few-second pause that followed was deafening, but Glory finally said, “I guess you didn’t hear, but…Rich…passed away last week.” 

Jannah and I both let out an audible gasp at the same time. “What happened,” I asked, holding back tears. “Was it a heart attack?” 

“No,” Glory responded. “He had a short battle with cancer.” 

And, even though I think Glory mentioned that some of the safety improvements planned for Morris Bridge, the ones we reported back in our Apr. 1 issue, had either already begun or were getting ready to begin, I honestly believe I wasn’t really listening anymore. All I could think of was talking to Ken about Rich. 

“He was having trouble catching his breath and keeping his balance, but like most guys, he just tried to ignore it,” Ken told me. “He went to his doctor, who sent him to Moffitt (Cancer Center). Apparently, the cancer had started in his brain and it spread quickly throughout his body. He never got to go home.” 

He added, “The whole thing took maybe six or seven weeks, In hindsight, I guess it was a blessing that he didn’t suffer long, at least, but his only thoughts, right up until the end, were for his wife Donna.” 

Ken admitted that when he first took office, his friends would call to ask him for his help with something, but over time, the answer always seemed to be, “Just call Rich, which is what I said at his Celebration of Life.” Ken says. “After a while, my friends would just call him directly and I wouldn’t even know. He’d resolve the issue and then, when I’d see them again they’d say, ‘Thanks for taking care of that for me,’ and I’d be like, ‘Sure. Anything for you, buddy.’” 

He also said Rich championed a county statute that became a statewide internet safety bill to protect kids from sexual predators. “I got the credit for it, but Rich actually did all of the work,” Ken says. He also noted that Rich also was, “a ‘scab’ umpire during the strike-shortened 1995 Major League Baseball season, a former small business owner, an animal lover…and a true friend.” 

And, the government staffer I trusted the most. R.I.P., Rich. 

Appeals Court Ruling Stops Pebble Creek Golf Course From Being Rezoned!

Although the Pebble Creek Golf Club has been closed for several years, members of the group called Save Pebble Creek, organized by long-time Pebble Creek resident Leslie Green, have been doing everything they could to have the golf club reopen, rather than become single-family homes.

Yesterday, the group and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) won a significant victory in their efforts to prevent golf course owner Bill Place and his Ace Golf from rezoning the 149-acre property and selling it to GL Homes, which was planning to build 250 single-family homes on the golf course site.

In July of 2023, the attempt to rezone the golf course property was denied 5-2 by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), after Comm. Hagan said he had received 1,800 letters from residents of the community, the vast majority of which were in opposition to the rezoning. 

But, in October of last year, the home builder appealed the county commission’s denial of the rezoning request to Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Paul Huey and, on June 24, 2024, Judge Huey “quashed” the BOCC’s denial of the rezoning petition which means, in legal terms, “to set aside or void.” Judge Huey’s ruling on the developer’s appeal was that, “The court cannot find that the Board of County Commissioners relied on competent, substantial evidence when it denied GL Homes’ proposal.” 

The county appealed Judge Huey’s decision to the Second District of the District Court of Appeal of Florida, which overturned that decision and quashed the lower court’s order that would have allowed the rezoning.

Commissioner Hagan said of yesterday’s ruling, “I am very pleased to report that the Second District Court of Appeal agreed with the County’s rezoning denial and overturned the Circuit Court’s decision. I would like to thank you for your support and vigilance throughout this difficult ordeal.  We would not have won without you!” He also previously said that the county would consider buying the golf course “if the price were right.”

Green echoed Hagan’s sentiments regarding the latest decision: “Thanks to the rallying of the community and to our Commissioner Ken Hagan’s efforts, we have accomplished our goal of no rezoning that will keep the golf course land around which our entire neighborhood is based protected from development. I hope that we can now work with the landowner to find a more mutually agreeable solution. Ultimately, we would wish to have another golf course operator step in. Commissioner Hagan had mentioned in a Townhall meeting that the county would consider buying it  for a municipal golf course. This would meet another goal of ours, which is to avoid having the toxins that lie under the ground dug up for remediation.  Now, the land can be used for its intended purpose. I personally look forward to the next step.”

Place said that he would have no comment on the most recent ruling “until GL Homes reviews its options early next week.”

We also had not yet received comment from either of the homeowners associations in Pebble Creek.

Phase 1A Of County’s New Branchton Park Opens On Morris Bridge Rd. 

Congratulations to the Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation Department, which has now opened Phase 1A of a new $6.7-million multi-phase expansion of Branchton Park at 15508 Morris Bridge Rd., less than a half-mile south of Cross Creek Blvd. 

On a frosty cold Jan.23, Hillsborough’s director of Parks & Recreation Rick Valdez, District 2 County Commissioner Ken Hagan, park project manager Jason McKenzie, New Tampa resident and Dist. 4 Comm. Christine Miller’s legislative aide Rico Smith were among those who cut the ribbon on the new 43-acre park. 

Valdez said the new park includes a splash pad (which wasn’t yet open, but it was too cold to try that day anyway), a large playground area (with a blue turf facsimile of the Hillsborough River running through it), plus several changing rooms, restrooms and a “Cop Cabin” where Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office (HCS) deputies can have a desk, a lounge (with a working fireplace) and a place to keep an eye on what’s happening in the park. 

Also under construction in Phase 1B are six pickleball courts, large- and small-breed dog parks and an additional restroom. Phase 1B is expected to open by no later than March of this year. 

Phase 2, which is funded and includes renovations to the original 19-acre Branchton Park, also is expected to include a zipline (in partnership between the county and a private contractor, who has not yet been selected) and an event center. Valdez said Phase 2 will take about two years to build. 

“I am thrilled to be here this morning as the commissioner who championed this project for over a decade,” Comm. Hagan said prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony. “How this occurred is that, for six years, I lived around the corner, off Cross Creek Blvd. And every day, I would drive on Morris Bridge Rd., because before we widened Bruce B. Downs (Blvd.), the traffic was terrible. 

“So, I’d go down Morris Bridge, and I’d always look over here and see this beautiful area and I would never see more than two or three people on the basketball courts or in the little picnic area. And I just remember thinking that we could really do something special and make a destination here. Well, many years later, we’ve created it [and we] worked closely with the New Tampa community to get the amenities the residents wanted to see here.” 

Hagan added, “This park will serve 45,000+ people within a ten-minute drive of this area.” 

For more info, visit HCFL.gov. 

County Breaks Ground On Cross Creek Recreation Center! 

 “We know this new facility will be bustling with activity the day it opens .” — Hillsborough Comm. Ken Hagan 

(Photos by Charmaine George; renderings provided by Hillsborough County) 

 Local families and residents have to be happy with all of the new parks now being built or in the planning stages these days in New Tampa, which has long had a dearth of Hillsborough County and City of Tampa parks and recreation facilities. 

Well, no more. Where zip code 33647 at one time only was home to the three-field New Tampa Little League (now called the North East Sports Complex/Eber Baseball) complex on Kinnan St., the county-owned Flatwoods Wilderness/Conservation Park (with entrances on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and Morris Bridge Rd.) and Branchton Park (on Morris Bridge Rd., south of Cross Creek Blvd.; more on that below), we now have the city’s New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms, the county-built North Tampa Athletic Assn. field complex at Turner-Bartels K-8 School (in conjunction with the Hillsborough School District) and the city’s New Tampa Nature Park. (Note-Of course, both Flatwoods and the New Tampa Nature Park are largely “passive” parks without much in the way of recreational facilities, other than trails and shelters). 

But, if you thought that was it for our local government-built parks, you were sadly mistaken, as the county is in the process of building a much-expanded Branchton Park, the city has created its first All-Abilities Park at the New Tampa Rec Center, a new covered outdoor “court sport” facility between Freedom High and Liberty Middle School and (as we reported last issue), also is in the planning stages of building a new 60-acre city park in K-Bar Ranch. 

The groundbreaking for Hillsborough County’s new Cross Creek Recreation Center on Aug. 30, where the featured speakers were County Commissioner Ken Hagan (below right) and county parks director Rick Valdez (below left). 

And, on Aug. 30, Hillsborough County held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new indoor Cross Creek Recreation/Community Center & Gymnasium (see the latest graphic of the park’s location, above) on the grounds of what was previously just an unfinished, underused outdoor “practice” facility in Cross Creek (just south of Pride Elementary and the Bassett Creek subdivision of K-Bar Ranch. 

“There are no indoor park facilities like this in New Tampa,” Dist. 7 Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “The city has the gymnastics center in Tampa Palms, but nothing for indoor basketball or volleyball. We know this new facility will be bustling with activity the day it opens.” 

Aug. 30 was a super-hot day, so the festivities for the groundbreaking of the $9-million Cross Creek Recreation Center were short and sweet. 

“I’m so excited for how this park will further our mission of enhancing lives through people, parks and enjoyable experiences,” said Hillsborough Parks & Recreation director Rick Valdez. “Our county’s parks are among our most treasured resources and we are committed to preservingm growing and maintaining these outstanding community assets. And community parks are among our most popular assets, with fun amenities for people of all ages, improving physical fitness and proving that you can have fun and stay healthy at the same time.” 

He added, “This Cross Creek Community and Gymnasium will no doubt serve as a wonderful addition to this community and enrich the lives of our residents.” 

Valdez then introduced District 7 Hillsborough County Commissioner (and former New Tampa resident) Ken Hagan, saying that “The New Tampa community has truly been a labor of love for our next speaker. He has championed major projects, including the state-of-the-art New Tampa Performing Arts Center, the very popular New Tampa dog park (adjacent to the city’s rec center in Tampa Palms), our soon-to-open Branchton Destination Park and now this. I must say that no one has fought harder for New Tampa.” 

Hagan said, “It is such a pleasure to be here as we break ground on the next destination here in New Tampa., one of the most beautiful areas in all of Hillsborough County..” 

Hagan noted that the new park has been “many years in the making” and said that when he did live in Cross Creek and his son was zoned for Pride Elementary, “We did not have any summer or after-school programs, and we still don’t have a public indoor facility, but with this project, that’s about to change. This project will transform this entire area.” 

He then mentioned that the project will include a new 16,000-sq.-ft. community center and gymnasium, with a fitness room, a multi-purpose room with a warming kitchen, it will have multiple classrooms, a covered outdoor space, a new parking lot, walking path, more open green space with a large pavilion and the existing playground will be renovated to be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-compliant and there also will be a new picnic shelter. There will be something for everyone here in New Tampa.” 

In addition, Hagan said, there will be summer programs, after-school programs for kids, as well as senior programs during the day, including a possible ceramics studio. “Just imagine all of the possibilities for fun, education, community gatherings and fellowship. You’ll be able to do all of that at this new facility. It did take years for me to secure the funding, but I’m immensely proud to have championed this facility.” 

The rendering of the exterior design of the rec center (top photo) and (below it) the design of the park’s revamped playground. 

Following the “turning of the dirt,” Hagan also noted that because of the after-school programming at the new indoor facility, “We’re confident that it will help the traffic situation at Pride when school lets out. A lot of kids will come to the facility right after school lets out, which will shorten that queue initially and then, it’ll be spread out. Some of them will be picked up at 4 or 5 or even 6, so it will actually relieve the traffic here.” 

Hagan also said that because a rezoning was required to get the park approved, the county’s transportation staff had to come up with a pan to handle the traffic beforehand. He also noted that because Bassett Creek Dr. (the roadway that connects Kinnan St. to Pride is a county road that turns into a city road just north of the park site, how the traffic will be handled is just one of the challenges we’re dealing with.” 

Valdez said that the Cross Creek Rec Center should be open by Fall of 2025. 

Branchton Park Update 

Hagan also said after the groundbreaking that the first phase of the revamped Branchton Park, located further south of Cross Creek Blvd. on Morris Bridge Rd. than the existing park, was expected to open by the end of this month or in early October, but no update was available at our press time. He also said that his pet project at Branchton Park — the county’s first public-private partnership zip line — would not be included in that first phase and that not all of the Branchton Park construction phases were funded yet.