Commission approves right-of-way license for seawall at 5409 N. Surf Road; vote 6–1 amid neighbor concerns

The Hollywood City Commission on Feb. 19 voted 6–1 to authorize a right-of-way license agreement allowing property owners Steven and Jody Straley to pursue permits to reconstruct and extend a seawall adjacent to 5409 North Surf Road.

The license agreement authorizes city officials to sign outside-agency permit applications required for seawall construction on an unimproved portion of the Broad Walk (the public right of way) east of Surf Road. Andrea Winget, director of Development Services, told commissioners the applicant will pay for the work and that the city’s role under the agreement is to be a co‑applicant for required state and county permits. Winget said the license clarifies that the area will remain public and may only be closed for construction or as directed by the building official.

Douglas Mann, the project’s coastal engineer with Aptum Environmental and Infrastructure, described the proposed structure as an anchored/anchored-sheetpile style seawall. Mann said crews would drive sheet piles down to rock, “we think that the rock underneath the beach is down about 12 or 13 feet,” then flush and pour concrete to form reinforced cells. He described the cells as 8 inches wide and said the design would tie back to the house with return walls so the repaired and extended wall would function as a continuous protective structure.

Owner Steven Straley told the commission he…