Planning board approves 27-unit Polk Street apartment with conditions after neighbor raises noise concern

The City of Hollywood Planning and Development Board voted to approve the design and site plan for a four-story, 27-unit apartment building at 2323 Polk Street (file 24DP78), with the board reading three conditions into the record before passing the site-plan resolution.

Planning staff presented the proposal as a 4-story, roughly 30,600-square-foot multifamily building in the DH-2 zoning district within the Regional Activity Center, located north of Hollywood Boulevard. Staff said the project would include 27 units, about 55 parking spaces (including tandem spaces assigned to two-bedroom units), eight bicycle racks and 21 percent open space, and that the proposal met applicable height and open-space requirements. "The request before you is consistent with the city's zoning and land development regulations and the comprehensive plan," staff said, recommending approval of the design and site plan.

The applicant, architect Dopoldo Bello, told the board his team "has complied with every department, every consultant" and was "ready to accept the staff recommendation for approval." The board moved to approve the design and, following a separate motion, approved the site plan with conditions. The vice chair read the three conditions into the record: record a covenant acceptable to the city attorney holding the city harmless against claims arising from mechanical parking-lift accidents prior to the first building permit and recorded before certificate of occupancy; revise the road-restoration plan so the applicant restores the full northbound lane along Polk Street consistent with sheet C9; and coordinate with the Department of Public Utilities on any proposed encroachments into utility easements and address impacts to utilities to that department's satisfaction.

A resident and nearby property owner, Christina Spear Garber, spoke during public comment and said she had "nothing against" the project but expressed concern about "the health of my grandson. He's autistic. He's very sensitive on every sound." Spear Garber had declined to waive quasi-judicial formalities earlier in the hearing; the city attorney had explained that quasi-judicial items require the board to decide based on "competent substantial evidence" presented at the hearing and that public sentiment alone is not competent substantial evidence.

The board recorded the motions, heard no opposing votes on either motion and the chair declared both the design and the conditioned site-plan approvals carried. The chair also asked the developer to contact the neighbor and other nearby residents to maintain clear communication during the process.

Next steps: the applicant will proceed with permitting and must satisfy the listed conditions (the covenant, road-restoration revisions and utility coordination) before final approvals such as certificate of occupancy are issued.