TAMPA, Fla. — Attorneys for the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners are expected to respond to a lawsuit Thursday, filed by G.L. Acquisitions.

In its suit against the county, G.L. Acquisitions said the county board illegally blocked a rezoning attempt of the old Pebble Creek Golf Course where the company wants to build new homes.

Commissioners in a 4-2 vote blocked zoning that would have allowed for the new homes, in-part, citing environmental and traffic concerns of residents against the new development.

G.L. Acquisitions has argued its plan falls within the legal framework to rezone the property, and the county commission overstepped its authority in denying the application.

Attorney Charles Gallagher III with Gallagher and Associates says the suit has merit, but the court battle won’t be quick or easy.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Gallagher said. “You are going to have many, many hearings. You are going to have depositions and written discovery. You are going to have mediation at some point, possibly arbitration.”  

“So it’s not a matter of an in and out type of evolution. Litigation is never a short process, never a quick process, and of course costly during that entire timeframe too.”

Gallagher says it could take two years or longer for the lawsuit to be resolved, depending on the direction it moves.

Lawsuits like the one G.L. Acquisitions have filed aren’t unheard of.

In March, the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners lost a lawsuit filed after it blocked rezoning of a property in Northdale the owner wanted to convert into a drug treatment center.

In that case, developers asked to turn a single family home in to a 25-bed drug treatment facility.