Hollywood commission votes 5-2 to allow Live Local amendment for 1301 South Ocean Drive amid heavy public opposition

The City Commission of the City of Hollywood on May 20 voted 5-2 to adopt a resolution expressing the city's willingness to amend the 2022 comprehensive development agreement for 1301 South Ocean Drive so the project can use the Live Local Act to provide workforce housing.

City staff framed the amendment as a public-private partnership revision that would increase the maximum private facilities from the originally authorized 190 dwelling units to up to 210 units and make 84 of those units "hero" or workforce rental units reserved for households at or below the Live Local income limits. Lisa Liotta, the city's development officer, said the amendment would require the developer to record restrictive covenants in Broward County to enforce the affordability restrictions and that, under staff proposals, the workforce units would be maintained at affordable levels for a minimum of 30 years.

David Keller, the city's finance lead, presented the staff'prepared revenue estimates. Keller said the agreement's closing-rent formula (14% of projected sales proceeds) and other streams yield a large up-front and long-term value to the city under the assumptions shown to the commission and that staff's 99-year cumulative projection for those revenue streams was $2.72 billion. Keller also described offsets and minimums: he said initial payments and developer expenditures for the new community center reduce the immediate net, and staff noted the CDA includes an established floor on upfront receipts that staff characterized as a minimum guarantee.

Public comment ran more than an hour and was overwhelmingly opposed. More than two dozen speakers cited deed restrictions and the parcel's long-held public purpose, warning that a private condominium or rental tower on deeded beachfront parkland would "circumvent" county protections and expose the city to long-term maintenance or resilience liabilities. "We oppose this project," said Terry Cantrell of the Hollywood Lakes Civic Association, calling the financial assumptions "a gamble." Several speakers urged the commission to send any long-term lease or density change to a public referendum.

Commissioners debated statutory authority, public benefit and timing. Commissioner Shuham said she could not support invoking Live Local under the current draft and urged several specific changes if the amendment advanced, including banning separate entrances and amenities for the workforce units and requiring an independent valuation of the proposal. Vice Mayor Calari said she brought Live Local for discussion to reclaim local control over density and stressed the city's pressing infrastructure and stormwater funding needs. Several commissioners said a second, binding amendment to the CDA and to the ground lease would be required before any site plan, design sign-off, or lease changes take effect.

The motion to approve the resolution was made by Commissioner Hernandez and seconded; the measure passed 5-2. Commissioners and the project's attorney and P3 representative acknowledged on the record that the resolution expresses the city's willingness to allow density under Live Local if and when the law applies, but that final contractual changes'including detailed lease terms, parking calculations, the community center design and enforcement mechanisms for the affordable units'will return to the commission for approval.

Next steps: staff will work with the P3 partner to draft formal amendments to the comprehensive development agreement and the ground lease and will return to the commission with site plans, revised exhibits and legal analysis. The commission also asked staff to provide options that would (1) prohibit segregated entrances or amenities, (2) clarify parking requirements for the added units, and (3) analyze whether the developer's $20 million community-center commitment could be structured or reallocated to address other priority infrastructure or parks needs.

The meeting ended after the vote; staff and the developer said they will continue to refine the documents and return to the commission for further approvals.