ARBOR GREENE -- Lush lawns, towering oaks, and sparkling fountains welcome visitors to Arbor Greene. 

Homeowners here say it's one of the more exclusive developments in New Tampa. Its developers tout the fitness center, tennis courts, swimming pools and parks as prime selling points. 

In cyberspace, however, Arbor Greene is a far less idyllic place. Since February, a group of residents have logged on to a chat room at ArborGreene.org. It is here where they have waged a war of words against developers Charlie Funk and Jeff Meehan. 

They claim plans to build a 300-unit apartment complex later this year were never disclosed to homeowners moving into the development. 

"Why is Arbor Greene promoting a family community but not disclosing to home buyers that apartments are going to get built?" said Rich Cleveland in a March 10 posting. "Please contribute to the legal fund to fight this injustice. We will succeed. We will win." 

Funk and Meehan said Wednesday they welcome the challenge. A day in court will at least give them an opportunity to defuse what they say has been a "misinformation campaign". 

"The discouraging thing is that people get on the Internet and say things that just aren't true," Meehan said. "You have one or two people stirring things up and they don't have the courage to come forward and meet with us." 

Cleveland and his Internet pen pals weren't among those who attended a meeting Wednesday where Funk and Meehan defended their $30-million project before a dozen residents. 

"They have those darned meetings in the morning so working people can't attend," said Cleveland, who said he missed it because he was working. 

During an hour-long discussion, the developers explained that the apartment tenants will be a good fit because the rents will average more than $1,000 a month. The complex will have its own pools and amenities, so homeowners won't have to worry about sharing their existing facilities, they said. 

It was a tough sell. Many residents heard about the apartments only because they received fliers handed out by Cleveland and other residents last week. "You can't say that these people will be the same desirable demographic as the rest of the community," Darren Silverman of the Trace neighborhood said at the meeting. "So the question is, Why? Arbor Greene has built a beautiful development. Why would it want this?" 

Meehan said that when he and Funk bought 600 acres from Hunter's Green to build Arbor Greene in 1996, they always planned apartments. A successful community has all types of housing, he said, and it was unfair to label any one type of housing as better than any other. And Meehan and Funk would remain the developers long after the apartments are built. 

"We're staying with Arbor Greene," Meehan said. "If we thought these apartments were bad for Arbor Greene, we'd be idiots because we're only hurting our investment." 

After Wednesday's meeting, some residents said they felt better about the project. Even Silverman said many of his concerns had been met. 

"This is the best alternative," Silverman said. "I probably won't be as gung ho about fighting it as I was after reading the flier." 

But the fight against the apartments may continue. 

Aaron Granger, one of two residents elected to the Community Development District board in November, said unrest runs high on the subject of the apartments. A Web designer, Granger also operates arborgreene.org. 

He said the site is meant to get information out to the community's 700 households. Usually, the chat room is a lonely place, he said, but the apartments have generated much discussion. Three weeks ago, after the first series of postings, 140 residents met at the community center to discuss the project. They all opposed it, Granger said. 

"The developers have been great guys," Granger said. "But most people are upset because they hadn't heard about the apartments. They didn't advertise it, and that's why people are angry." 

Cleveland said his group would wait until Arbor Greene submits its plans to further criticize the project. 

Not all homeowners are unhappy about the apartments. Jocelyn Rowe, who moved to Arbor Greene's The Landing neighborhood in August, be lieves the complainers are very much in the minority. 

"Everything else here is so perfect," Rowe said. "I don't like it that a few people are creating panic and anxiety in an extremely happy community. I just hope people settle down."