From David Volz.
The Fort Lauderdale City Commission approved rezoning the 38.65 square acres of land, located at 801 Seabreeze Boulevard, from South Beach Marina and Hotel Area District to Planned Development District. The Commission then approved a resolution to enter into a development agreement with Rahn Bahia Mar, LLC. The company has proposed a new 256-room hotel with 88,000 square feet of commercial and office space and a restaurant. The project would replace the existing Bahia Mar Hotel and contain four residential buildings with 410 units surrounded by a waterfront promenade, plaza space, and a centralized park facing the Intracoastal waterway.
Commissioner Steve Glassman thanked people who had worked on this project over the years. “We have vasty improved the 2017 site plan. This will create acres of open space, and sanctified the requirements of the boat show. This will mean a significant increase in revenue to the City and this will help us maintain our low milage rate,” said Glassman.
The Commission approved the first reading of an ordinance to amend the City’s Unified Land Development Regulations to include an option to designate thematic historic districts. A thematic historic district recognizes a group of properties with a common theme not located within a contiguous area, which means the structures may be scattered throughout a neighborhood, several blocks, or even citywide. The ordinance also allows for changes to existing historic preservation criteria and procedures.
The Commission adopted a resolution to form a Homeless Advisory Committee, which is intended to provide recommendations to the Commission about perceived gaps and additional initiatives to help address homelessness in the City. The committee will comprise five Commission-appointed community members, one City business owner, and one subject-matter expert. The committee’s objectives include reviewing best practices in addressing homelessness; providing feedback on the strategic plan to prevent, reduce, and address homelessness; assisting in identifying funding for homelessness initiatives, and helping raise awareness of City actions.
The Commission approved a cost-capacity increase to the Stormwater Master Plan Modeling and Design Implementation contract with Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. The $9.6 million increase changes the total amount to $32.8 million. The increase is needed to fund construction, engineering, and inspection services, environmental and cultural assessments, and for the Master Plan stormwater improvement projects in several neighborhoods – SE Isles, Victoria Park, Progresso, Durrs, and Dorsey-Riverbend.
The Commission approved a resolution accepting an amendment to the agreement to construct pedestrian lighting on the west side of A1A between the South Beach Parking Lot and Sunrise Boulevard. There are currently no pedestrian lights on this stretch of A1A, and the $1.6 million project would feature a dual-lighting fixture that provides amber lighting during the sea turtle nesting season and white lighting outside of the season.
