PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. -- Two golf course communities are breathing a sigh of relief after saving their green space from becoming new neighborhoods, for now.
People living near The Tides Golf Club have been fighting plans to build homes on the land for several years. Restoration Bay is the current owner of the land.
Neighbors living near the Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club joined their fight last year.
"This is so rare,” said homeowner Stacey Pitts.
The green space behind her home is one of Pinellas County's few public golf courses.
"The golf courses, the green spaces that are left in Pinellas County, are far and few between,” she said.
Wheelock Communities planned to buy Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club, and build 400 new homes on the 150-acre property.
"The 150 acres will absorb thousands of and thousands of gallons of water in an hour,” said Bill Foley. “So if you start paving that, where's all the water going to go?"
Now Wheelock has decided not to purchase the land.
The county voted against the proposal to rezone the Tides' property from commercial to residential.
"We are happy about that," said Linda Murry.
The owner of the Tides plans to resubmit their application, addressing commissioners' concerns. One of the major issues, Pinellas County is running out of green space. The county is the most densely populated county in the state.
"We are running out of green space," Ron Stephens, the vice president of Save The Tides said. "We will not stop fighting this. We would like to see that become a park or another golf course."
