TAMPA, Fla. — A Hillsborough County land use hearing focused Monday on ex parte communications between the Pebble Creek Golf Course owner and county commissioners, as the nearly three-year rezoning dispute continues.
The golf course owner apologized for bringing residents back to another public hearing.
"The land owner could not be here tonight but he did ask me to place into the record his apology in the form of a letter for causing this inconvenience of coming back here today," Jacob Cremer, an attorney for developer GL Homes, said.
WATCH: Pebble Creek rezoning case returns to public hearing over ex parte email concerns
GL Homes first proposed rezoning the Pebble Creek Golf Course for housing in 2023. County commissioners denied the request, but the case went through the courts before being sent back for reconsideration.
Residents say they are frustrated the process is still dragging on.
"It has been 3 years, so it's upsetting in that sense," Emma Szymborski, a Pebble Creek resident, said.
Some residents urged the hearing officer to recommend denying the application, arguing ex-parte communications compromised the fairness of the process.
"I'm asking the board to recommend denial for this application based on the presumption of prejudice arising from ex-parte communications with local public officials, lack of disclosure and improper influence," Szymborski said during public comment.
"What we really want to get across is having fair due process," Szymborski said.
The hearing stems from a June decision by Hillsborough County commissioners to send the case back for further review after emails between the golf course owner and a county commissioner raised legal concerns. County staff reviewed those emails, and through a public records request, I obtained them as well.
The specific phrase at the center of the hearing reads: "I believe the GL Project offers the best solution for residents."
"The limited portion of the email communication being addressed today references what may be the best solution for the community — I respectfully disagree," Leslie Green said during public comment.
"It's unfair for one side to be able to talk to a commissioner at this time. We are not given that same opportunity," Green, founder of Save Pebble Creek, said.
Because Monday's hearing was limited to that email exchange, residents like Green said broader concerns — including traffic, environmental impacts and contaminated soil — were not allowed to be part of the discussion.
"It's horrible that this is a remand only for a couple of lines of that email — one thing is there's a lot of things that are not resolved," Green said.
The GL Homes attorney declined to comment after the hearing.
The land use hearing officer has 15 business days to decide whether to recommend the issue move forward to the board of county commissioners. If she does, the next hearing is scheduled for Sep. 22, where residents will be able to participate in public comment before county commissioners are expected to make a decision.
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