Planning board backs variance and design recommendation for 280‑unit Oakwood Plaza apartment building

The City of Hollywood Planning and Development Board voted to recommend city commission approval of a variance and the design and site plan for a proposed eight‑story, roughly 280‑unit apartment building at Oakwood Plaza, a largely vacant parcel at 2800 Oakwood Boulevard.

The variance request seeks to incorporate setback standards contemplated in the Oakwood Plaza design guidelines into the planned development (PD) zoning ordinance. Omar Javed, a city planner, told the board the variance would “bring the zoning into conformity with the previously approved design guidelines” and that staff finds the required variance criteria met. Javed said the design and site plan request covers an approximately 233,000 square‑foot, eight‑story building with a parking garage and resident amenities.

Why it matters: The change is framed by staff and the applicant as a housekeeping action to codify design guidance that was omitted from the PD regulations when the Oakwood Activity Center was rezoned and master planned. If the city commission adopts the recommendation, future building phases in the plaza will be able to rely on the codified setbacks rather than needing separate variances for similar placements.

Board discussion and details: The proposal would permit reduced internal and external setbacks along public rights of way across the PD. Javed and the applicant explained the requested setback dimensions on the building phase in question: roughly 6.5 feet on the east and south sides, about 5 feet 7 inches on the west, and about 1.5 feet to the north. Javed said the proposed height (about 89–92 feet) and materials are consistent with nearby development and the approved master plan. The site plan presented shows a parking garage, pool, courtyard, dock and breezeway; the application lists 341 parking spaces and 42 bicycle spaces.

Applicants and staff said redevelopment of Oakwood Plaza will be phased around existing leaseholds across the larger retail site. Liz Summerstein, representing the applicant, described the variance as “essentially a housekeeping matter, to incorporate this variance into the rezoning ordinance” so the design guidelines can be used administratively.

Conditions and next steps: Staff recommended approval of the variance and approval of the design and site plan if design is granted. The board approved the variance recommendation and then recommended approval of design and site plan to the city commission, with seven conditions as presented by staff; the applicant had already addressed condition 1, and the board specifically approved design/site recommendation with staff conditions 2 through 7. Staff added or clarified condition language requiring the applicant to work with city engineering on vehicle maneuverability, waste collection operations, and the design of waste collection so those operations function on the site.

Concerns raised: Board members asked several operational questions about traffic, bridge capacity, and whether the development would require a signal or bridge improvements; Engineering staff indicated a traffic study has been completed in concept and potential improvements (including the nearby bridge) have been anticipated as part of the PD but that more detailed intersection reviews and capacity studies occur later in the process. Questions about the fate of adjacent city parkland (to the south) and street name corrections were also raised and noted for the record.

What was not decided: The board made only recommendations to the city commission; final approval rests with the commission. Several implementation details — phasing tied to lease expirations across Oakwood Plaza and future development triggers — remain subject to engineering review and subsequent approvals.

Ending: The board’s recommendations send both the variance and the design/site plan for Oakwood Plaza on to the city commission for final action, with staff‑recommended conditions attached.