PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Residents who live in a Pinellas County community are demanding answers after learning their golf course community is about to undergo some major changes.

Bill Nobles said the charm of the small Palm Harbor community, called Tarpon Woods, has been a draw for everyone who has moved there. He said his family actually developed the property back in the 1970’s, and most people bought into it because of the wildlife and the golf course.

“My aunt bought the property in 1971, they developed it and I was born in Mease Dunedin Hospital," Nobles said.

"I came home from the hospital to this neighborhood. Later on, I built a house right next to where I grew up. We just love the nice, quiet neighborhood. The wildlife. Having the golf course. This is what we bought into when we bought our properties. This is the way we want it to remain.”

He said he recently learned their dream of living on the green is about to be disrupted by new development and the closing of the golf course.

“I was informed by a friend that there were developers planning on building 320 plus residential units on the golf course. That was a couple days before the hurricane (Debby) came through and with a prediction of 48 plus inches of rain that puts this neighborhood in a panic because we have existing flooding issues,” he said.

Residents just launched a website, savetarponwoods.com. The signs for the website are now staked in the yards of several homes in the neighborhood.

“Their plan is to give us 12 days notice prior to them having their deadline to turn in all of their paperwork and fast roll this through SWIFTMUD (Southwest Florida Water Management District). That right there tells us that they have no interest in the community,” said Nobles.

Representatives for the developers say residents are misinformed. They plan to turn the golf course into a wetlands area and they’re not planning for a rumored huge development project.

“This deal, this contract, if you want to call it, there’s a statute in state law that defines what a wetlands mitigation bank is. And by the owners signing on to this, it guarantees that there will not be residential development,” said Kyle Parks, Tarpon Woods Golf Course representative.

Parks said the owners plan to turn the golf course into wetlands that will benefit the wildlife, and in turn, it will allow them to later cash in on a credits they earn from a program with SWIFTMUD.

“You’re selling these wetlands mitigation credits to companies or state agencies that buy these credits and that’s the revenue,” he said.

It’s a process Parks said may sound confusing, but he believes it will benefit wildlife and could also help with the flooding the area is known for. As for building new homes on the property, Parks says the information residents have is just not accurate.

“There are two small spots in the entire acreage that equal about six acres. That one is where we sit now in the clubhouse, and there’s another spot on another part of the course being reserved for a future decision on what to do, but that’s six acres out of the entire acreage,” he said.

Parks plans to meet with residents to lay out this plan and clear up any confusion. But people like Nobles are going into this meeting with some serious doubts about the path forward for their beloved community.