Janelle Irwin Taylor
The battle between green space preservation and new development is nothing new.
Homeowners who enjoy various front and backyard views don’t want their quality of life or property values to plummet.
But, especially in Pinellas County, government leaders are hungry for more affordable housing stock for middle class families. Pinellas is already the densest in the state.
The latest battle pits residents surrounding the Bardmoor Golf Course in mid-Pinellas againstWheelock Communities and Gentry Land of St. Cloud, the developers of Pasco County’s Starkey Ranch development.
The development duo entered into an agreement to purchase the 150-acre golf course earlier this year for an undisclosed amount of money.
Plans are in their infancy, but broadly the group hopes to build create a mixed-use community consisting of multi-family housing, a village center, a boutique hotel and possible other commercial options the development group has not yet specified.
New development has its advantages. It creates new density, which encourages expanding transit options, a feature Pinellas County has long lacked.
It would also make room for new residents as people continue to move to the already dense county.
The Bardmoor area has limited amenities. A shopping center on Bryan Dairy Road provides some shopping, retail and dining options, but mostly the area is marked by its large commercial work centers like Raytheon and the Bryan Dairy Business Park. Even gas stations are sparse.
But to residents, that’s exactly why their golf course is so important.
“The Bardmoor Golf course is not only a great golf course and natural wildlife preserve, it also acts as one huge aquifer that protects our homes and the homes all along the cross bayou canal from flooding,” read a post on the newly formed Facebook page, “Save Bardmoor.”
“After a heavy rainstorm, this golf course not only absorbs the water, but acts as one huge retention basin to hold the water until the cross bayou canal has enough time to dispense the flood waters.”
The page, created to rally opposition for the proposed development, has nearly 700 likes.
Its organizers are partnering with residents of a nearby community facing a similar challenge, Save the Tides. That Seminole golf course is also under development threat. It closed last year.
Images shared on the group’s Facebook page show various wildlife including different types of birds and a video of otters playing in one of the course’s ponds.
The group’s pro-environment argument might backfire though. Environmental groups have long said golf courses are nothing more than giant lawns that use excessive water, fertilizers and pesticides to maintain.
A new development could easily address environmental concerns by including new green space into its proposal. Other options include green buildings and solar panels. Developers are considering such ideas and are already planning to include public green space on about 40 percent of its project.
Still, the heat is already on. Shortly after word got out in February that the golf course was being acquired, homeowners immediately rallied. Several hundred gathered at Finley’s Irish Pub & Eatery to protest the development.
Wheelock and Gentry planned several community outreach events, but the first was packed with angry residents demanding the project be cancelled, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
From here, the path is unclear. Residents are planning to blast their message to Pinellas County Commissioners to try to block the plans. Meanwhile, the developers are continuing to meet with residents to try to mitigate their concerns.
“It really comes down to communication,” said B2 Communications principal Kyle Parks who is representing the developers. “We know that everyone is going to make up their own minds if they’re going to support this or not and we just ask people to get the facts before they make their decisions.”
Parks also said the group is also listening to and responding to residents. They’ve already implemented some suggestions into preliminary plans including by adding natural buffers between its development and neighboring residences.
In some areas, Parks said, those buffers are as long as a football field.
“But certainly some people are never going to be happy unless it’s a golf course,” he acknowledged.
Developers would have to obtain a land use and zoning change from the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners to move forward with its plan.
One comment
Jeff Harring
May 8, 2019 at 2:19 pm
Professional journalist don’t write articles that are so ONE-SIDED and obviously “promoted by a PR(ropaganda) Firm, in this case B2.
INSTEAD…they seek out ALL side for a “fair and balanced” report.
If for instance, the reporter had sought out the county governments thoughts she would have heard this “Pinellas County is Florida’s most densely populated County, and one of only a few in the nation – to reach “build-out”. At the time of this publication, only 6% of the County
remains in vacant, developable land. Studies throughout the United States have consistently shown that businesses and residents place a high value on “quality of life” when choosing a
place to live or work, including the quality of the community’s parks and preserves, trails, arts and cultural facilities, schools and other elements of “the public realm”. The purpose of this Recreation, Open Space and Culture System Master Plan is to develop along-range (15 year) vision for this component of Pinellas County’s Public Realm.
AS THE COUNTY URBANIZES, AS VACANT LAND BECOMES SCARCE, (OPEN SPACES) ARE UNDER INCREASING PRESSURES…THE COUNTY NEEDS TO RESIST THIS PRESSURE IN ORDER TO PROTECT THESE PRICELESS RESOURCES.
(Pinllas County – FInal Report – Recreation, open spaces and culture systems Master Plan – 2005)
Comments are closed.