From David Volz
A Broward County judge has ruled Hollywood had the right to say no to a developer seeking to build a 17-story beachfront tower with affordable housing.
Keith Poliakoff, the attorney for the developer, says his client will appeal the ruling and also requested that the lower court rehear the case because of what Poliakoff described as misinterpretation of the Live Local Act.
The ruling, by Broward Circuit Judge David A. Haimes, says the developer made a mistake in using the nearby Margaritaville resort as a height benchmark. Under Live Local, developers can match the currently allowed height of a commercial or residential building up to a mile away.
In his ruling, the judge noted that the developer’s project called for a 183-foot tower almost three times the local height cap of 65 feet.
Margaritaville received a bonus through a resolution by the Hollywood Commission when it was approved in 2013 and therefore cannot serve as a height benchmark under the state’s Live Local Act, Haimes wrote in his ruling.
The lawsuit, filed last year by Condra Property Group, accused Hollywood of wrongly stopping the apartment tower from being built under the state’s Live Local law. The law allows developers to bypass certain height and zoning requirements if at least 40% of the residential units qualify as affordable housing.
That decision was made in public during a Hollywood commission meeting the night before showing that commissioners and residents were concerned about losing the Live Local case. A loss would make it possible for more apartment towers to rise on the barrier island, each as tall as the next. A group of residents complained about large buildings on Hollywood beach.
Losing the case could open up the possibility that every property on the beach could eventually be as tall as Margaritaville, Mayor Josh Levy said.
Before a crowded room, the commission discussed the possibility of changing zoning laws at the beach to encourage what the mayor referred to as tasteful reinvestment in the right places.
“It’s about maintaining local control,” Levy said. “We want to control our own destiny. We don’t want to change the vision of Hollywood beach. We want to update how we achieve it. And ensure the city shapes the future of the beach.”
Poliakoff told the commission his client spent years assembling properties at the beach with one goal to build a 13-story hotel along the Broadwalk.
“The Florida Legislature amended Live Local for the fourth time,” Poliakoff told the commission. “They will continue to amend it each time a municipality tries to figure out a way around it.”
“Unfortunately, we’re behind the 8-ball,” Commissioner Peter Hernandez said. “It’s a reality check to some of the residents who feel that the quaintness of the city of Hollywood is something that we can protect. At this point, it’s really not up to us.”
