Florida resident says golf course owner’s lawsuit is out of bounds

Golf is a gentleman’s game. Litigation is not.

The owner of the now-shuttered Pebble Creek Golf Club in New Tampa is embroiled in a legal dispute with a local resident who is objecting to plans to have the 150-acre property sold to a developer to build about 250 single family homes, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Last year, golf course owner Bill Pace sued Pebble Green resident Leslie Green, claiming she defamed him and interfered with a business transaction by voicing her objections on social media, to media outlets, in letters to developers, and messages to fellow residents.

Pace claimed that, because of Green’s conduct, two developers — Pulte and KB Homes — pulled out of potential deals for the course, which shut down in July 2021. (GL Homes has since agreed to buy the course.)

Green responded this month that Pace’s lawsuit lacks merit and was filed to keep her quiet.

“The lawsuit has one goal: to silence Leslie Green and anyone else who might speak out against Mr. Place’s attempt to sell and rezone the golf course, so he can walk away rich, leaving hundreds of homeowners to suffer the loss of green space and diminished property values in his wake,” a news release by Save Pebble Creek, Green’s group, said, according to the outlet.

Both sides are claiming to be winning the PR battle with local residents. A hearing on Green’s filing is scheduled for March 8.

Meanwhile, the project is winding its way through the local approval process; an application to rezone the golf course is pending before the county commission, the outlet said. 

Closed golf courses can be attractive to homebuilders. In January 2022, Lennar paid $19.2 million for a portion of a closed golf-course that had county approval for an age-restricted community with 251 townhouses and 164 single-family homes. 

— Ted Glanzer