BCC Again Pushes Back Vote On Fate Of Quail Hollow Golf Course

The red-shaded area is where new homes could replace the golf course in Quail Hollow.

Lingering concerns about whether or not the property rights of Quail Hollow residents are being considered strongly enough is giving some Pasco County commissioners fits.

At a contentious Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting on May 9 at the historic Pasco County Courthouse in Dade City, commissioners once again failed to come to a consensus on whether to vote to approve Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club owner Andres Carollo’s request to rezone his property.

Instead of making a decision, the BCC voted 3-2 to continue the issue, until June 6 at 1:30 p.m. in Dade City.

Carollo and his Pasco Office Park LLC is seeking to change the zoning of his golf course property to MPUD, allowing him to raze the course and clubhouse and pave the way for 400 single-family homes, including 30,000-sq.-ft. of office and retail space and a 10,000-sq.-ft. daycare center.

Carollo already has a R1 zoning, which means he already can build a maximum of 306 homes on the golf course located at 6225 Old Pasco Rd if he chooses to.

“I’m not comfortable pushing this,’’ District 5 commissioner Jack Mariano told his fellow commissioners.

District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who represents parts of Wesley Chapel, including the Quail Hollow area, and District 4 commissioner Mike Wells, voted with Mariano to continue the decision until June 6.

While acknowledging Carollo’s property rights, “I have concerns for the residents too,’’ Moore said. “It’s tough. Many of them were sold a golf course-front property, and when I met with them I saw titles that were signed by the applicant (Carollo). I saw the paperwork. It still concerns me.”

Attorney Barbara Wilhite, who is representing Pasco Office Park LLC, said her client deserved a decision, after four meetings and “countless” good faith changes to his original plan.

Wilhite argued that her client has gone back and made a number of modifications to the original plans to appease the residents and the county, but, “it is never enough.” She cited agreeing to a binding conceptual plan, traffic changes to improve safety and stormwater facilities to handle a 100-year storm (or a storm with a one-percent probability of occurring), when the county requires only 25 years.

Since the last hearing, Wilhite says Carollo has agreed to a very strict regulatory program in regards to offsite discharges, and agreed to hire an independent certified inspector to monitor stormwater erosion and sediment control both for pre-construction and during construction, at a notable cost.

“We have met conditions that far exceed your code,’’ Wilhite said.

When Mariano suggested a continuance to allow more time for Quail Hollow homeowners and Wilhite’s team to negotiate and work things out, Wilhite implored the BCC to vote. “I know what the (residents’) agenda is,’’ she said. “You heard them come here and object to conditions that anybody else that doesn’t want to stop a project would agree to. They want you to stop the project.”

Commissioners Kathryn Starkey of District 3 and Ron Oakley, whose District 1 borders Quail Hollow, voted against a continuance, saying they were on board with Wilhite’s request for a vote.

Both commissioners said they were in favor of the plan put forward by Carollo, because they are proponents of the rights of a property owner. Starkey said the adjustments made to the original plan made the current version “100 times” better.

“The fact is, these golf courses are going defunct everywhere…something has to be done with them and this gentlemen has property rights and I am definitely a property rights person,’’ Starkey said. “They have done as much as they can to negate the worst conditions.”

Dozens of Quail Hollow residents again packed the room for the meeting. A handful spoke -— including Sarasota-based attorney Maureen Jones, who is representing the Quail Hollow Neighborhood Citizens Group Inc. Those who did speak were often admonished by Moore and Pasco County attorney Jeff Steinsnyder for straying from the allowed topics — the four conditions related to pollution and run-off during construction that had been added to the development plan since the last meeting in April.

The June 6 meeting could bring to an end the long process of rezoning QHGCC, which was built in 1965 and despite closing from 2008-10, was bought for $1.7-million by Carollo and refurbished and re-opened.

In Jan. of 2016, the first rezoning request was filed by Carollo, and since then dozens of changes have been made to it.

This year alone, four meetings have been held regarding Carollo’s request to re-zone. On Jan. 12, a public hearing was held in Dade City, as the county’s Development Review Committee (DRC) heard from dozens of concerned Quail Hollow residents. The DRC continued that meeting to March, where it voted 4-1 to approve the zoning change.

That sent it to the BCC for final approval, but meetings in April and May both ended with continuances.

Mariano applauded Wilhite and her team’s efforts to get the rezoning approved. “This is the last hurdle,’’ he told her.

Quail Hollow Golf Course Inches Ever Closer To Being Replaced By Homes

Next year, if Pasco’s Board of County Commissioners approves the plan, the Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club golf course will be replaced by 400 homes.

Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club, which opened in 1965, continues to inch closer towards extinction.

On March 9, the Pasco County Development Review Committee (DRC) voted to okay a zoning change and move forward plans to convert the 18-hole golf course into a residential community of nearly 400 multi-family homes. The Dade City courthouse was filled with current Quail Hollow residents who objected to the plan, to no avail.

“Bottom line, this is terrible for our community,’’ said Jack Diamond, who lives on Golf Course Loop.

The DRC didn’t agree, by a 4-1 vote.  The only member to vote against the plan was director of planning Chris Williams.

The project now seeks approval from the Pasco Board of County Commissioners, which meets next on Wednesday, April 12, 11 a.m, although the agenda for that meeting had not been set at our press time.

Andre Carollo’s Pasco Office Park LLC, the owner of the golf course (located at 6225 Old Pasco Rd.), was represented at the DRC meeting by New Port Richey land-use attorney Barbara Wilhite.

Carollo has been seeking to rezone the property from R1, which allows for one home per lot on 20,000-sq.-ft. lots, to a Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD), which would allow for homes on 4,000–sq.-ft. lots.

Most of the Quail Hollow residents in attendance at the Dade City Courthouse, as well as a number from adjoining neighborhoods, argued that 400 homes being built on the 80 or so acres of the 175-acre site was too dense, and that they would lose the green space they had bought into when purchasing their homes.

“You can’t stop progress,’’ said Scott Winter of Country Club Rd. “But, let’s be realistic about the amount of homes you can put on here.”

Wilhite said she and her staff did everything possible to appease local residents’ concerns while meeting all of the requirements from the county.

The golf course, which closed in 2008 during the economic downturn, was purchased for $1.7-million in 2010 by Carollo and reopened in 2011 after an extensive renovation that was well received.

But in 2015, plans were first disclosed  to plow over the course to build homes. In Jan. 2016, according to Wilhite, a rezoning request was filed seeking permission to build 400 detached homes and townhouses over the golf course, with room set aside for a day care center and a 30,000-sq.-ft. office building.

In April of 2016, Wilhite said a number of changes were made to the plan, including removing the townhomes, removing some residential units from the north end of the project and replacing it with flood draining and open space, and extending buffers between the existing homes and new homes.

A meeting was held with residents in May, and Wilhite said her team continued to work hard with the existing homeowners associations to gain their support for the plan.

“We agreed to a binding conceptual plan,” Wilhite said. “We’ve never done that before…those are the commitments we are making.”

Also, Wilhite said the developer is improving Old Pasco Rd. by adding two turn lanes onto Boom Boom Dr., which leads into Quail Hollow. “We’re quite proud of what we’ve done,’’ she said.

To address potential flooding — one of the bigger concerns raised and also a concern voiced by the DRC at the last meeting in January — Wilhite added Gregg Singleton of Singleton Engineering to her team. He presented a stormwater summary to the DRC and said there were plans to alleviate any flooding issues.

“This is just the first step,’’ he said, while offering an overview of the drainage flow on the property. He also promised detailed reviews as the project progressed, and added, “If we find issues, we will remediate them.”

Still, current Quail Hollow residents like Michael Morgan, who said he bought his home on Sandbagger Lane 40 years ago because of the golf course, were not pleased, and cited are other issues as well — traffic on Old Pasco Rd., a two-lane road, which also will be home to new combined middle and high school campus in August, and the loss of privacy for which the homeowners feel they paid a premium, as well as higher taxes.

“Why bother having zoning if every 10 years we change it?,’’ asked James Luczynski, who also argued that traffic and density would devalue the home prices of current residents.

Two DRC members — assistant county administrators Cathy Pearson and Flip Mellinger — who expressed support for the residents at the last meeting seemed satisfied with Wilhite’s updated report.

“I feel for the homeowners, but I also feel the developer has done everything he could to make it right,’’ Mellinger said.

Despite Objections, Quail Hollow Golf Course To Be Replaced With Homes?

Residents who live near the Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club golf course pack the Dade City Courthouse hoping to keep a developer from replacing the golf course with 400 homes.

Residents who live near Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club (G&CC) may not be able to save their golf course, but their concerns about flooding and traffic may help determine exactly how many homes are built on the land that currently is home to their beloved links.

At a public hearing on Jan. 12 at the Dade City Courthouse, QHG&CC’s owner asked to have its request for rezoning the property for 400 homes delayed while it looks into developing a plan that wouldn’t require a zoning change, per the suggestion of the Pasco County Developmental Review Committee (DRC).

Andre Carollo’s Pasco Office Park LLC, the owner of the golf course (located at 6225 Old Pasco Rd., north of Wesley Chapel Blvd.), was represented at the DRC meeting by his attorney Barbara Wilhite.

Carollo has been seeking to rezone the property from R1, which allows for homes on 20,000-sq.-ft. lots, to a Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD), which allows for homes on 4,000–sq.-ft. lots.

In essence, Carollo is hoping to squeeze roughly 400 homes on the 175-acre site, as opposed to the 283 he would be limited to under the current zoning.

More than 100 residents were in attendance at the meeting, and two dozen spoke. While many lamented the loss of green space and privacy, one of the biggest concerns was the 6,811-yard golf course’s propensity for flooding.

The belief of residents is that the golf course can’t handle 400 homes, and that construction of those houses would exacerbate a long-standing problem.

“During rainy season, it’s a mess,’’ said Linda Garrett, who lives on Sandbagger Ln. “When it rains, it floods the course and fills a ditch on the side of my house. How is the flooding and runoff not going to affect us?”

Chief assistant county attorney David Goldstein asked if there was a flood study or any experts or staff members who could definitively answer if the land could handle 400 homes, but none were forthcoming.

Because DRC members have only seen plans for 400 homes, Goldstein asked to see a plan for 283 homes.

“It would be helpful to conceptually analyze what the property would look like as R1,’’ he said, for the sake of comparison.

Wilhite asked for time to produce such a plan and said she will present it at a future DRC meeting.  The project would need final approval from the Pasco Board of County Commissioners.

The delay seemed to please the crowd crammed into the courthouse, although Goldstein warned that the DRC didn’t have the power to save the golf course.

“I’d hate to think that anybody in this audience thinks this board has the power to require this land to stay a golf course…because we don’t,” Goldstein said. “This land is zoned R1. The DRC can recommend it stays R1. But, it is not within our purview (to say) that it stays a golf course.”

And it won’t.

“I understand that everybody still wants the golf course and would hope my client maintains it so they could have a park behind their house forever, but that’s not the reality,’’ Wilhite said.

Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Then why did you sell it to us like that?”

Wilhite responded, “The reality is, the property has always been zoned for residential use; it was never zoned to be a golf course.”

Two DRC members — assistant county administrators Cathy Pearson and Flip Mellinger — expressed condolences for those who bought homes years ago, at a premium price, that were on a golf course but now appear likely to be surrounded by new homes in the future.

Despite its residential zoning, Mellinger said there was no mistaking it was sold as a golf course community. He had just listened to residents from Sandbagger Ln., Golf Course Lp., Country Club Rd. and 9 Iron Ct. plead their cases.

“When I look at the street names, you can’t tell me it wasn’t sold to them as a golf course community,’’ Mellinger said. He added that the course was built in 1965, before the county had zoning laws, and in the 1990s took advantage of the new rules to change it to an R1. He said he would recommend that it stay as an R1.

Quail Hollow G&CC has had a up-and-down existence the past decade, even closing for two years in 2008-10. Carollo bought the property for $1.7 million in 2010 and the nicely refurbished course and clubhouse drew rave reviews when they re-opened.