County rejects mini golf course

Residents of New Tampa had fought the controversial plan.

By BILL COATS, Times Staff Writer
Published October 10, 2007

TAMPA - Hillsborough County commissioners rejected a miniature golf course Tuesday, following a two-hour debate that drew busloads of New Tampa residents downtown to the County Center.

The 5-2 vote killed a plan that had already been stripped of the traditional glitz of miniature golf but remained controversial as a commercial intrusion into a residential area.

Landowner Bill Place had promised to weave the golf holes among some 70 trees off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. He proposed fountains, a waterfall and a gazebo - no windmills, volcanos, dinosaurs or pirates.

"You're not going to see King Tut or King Kong or any of the things you ordinarily associate with mini golf use," said Place's attorney, Jim Porter.

But opponents, mostly residents of Pebble Creek, argued that such a commercial venture should front Bruce B. Downs, not their entrance road. Place's land is 300 feet east of Bruce B. Downs, next to the struggling Pebble Creek Golf Club, which he bought two years ago.

The controversy filled every seat at the commission's Tuesday afternoon meeting and forced several dozen people to stand along the walls. Mini golf supporters wore green paper discs; opponents carried yellow signs saying "Save Our Neighborhood."

The throng seemed evenly split until opponent Tanya Heires, president of the Pebble Creek Homeowners Association, asked all residents of Pebble Creek who supported Place's project to stand up.

Seven people stood. Place's supporters, who included many fans of Pebble Creek Golf Club, mostly came from elsewhere in New Tampa, he said later.

"It appeared that the deck was stacked with the green stickers," said Commissioner Kevin White, who moved to defeat the plan.

Commissioners Jim Norman, Ken Hagan and Brian Blair also voted to turn down the plan.

Norman predicted the decision would be appealed in court, and Place said it will be.

A key issue: The commissioners' own planners endorsed the project. Although the property is situated off Bruce B. Downs, it's behind a shopping center and between the golf clubhouse and Pebble Creek's community pool.

But planner Steve Allison, representing the homeowners association, noted that mini golf's most active hours could occur after the pool and golf course are closed.

"All the assorted talking, laughing, shouting that goes with playing the game," protested Elaine Stewart, a nearby resident, "is going to occur right outside our bedroom windows."

Bill Coats can be reached at 813 269-5309 or coats@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 9, 2007, 22:59:52]