{"id":395333,"date":"2026-09-10T00:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T00:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/395333\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T00:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T00:52:09","slug":"planning-board-to-hollywood-keep-condo-tower-to-one-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/395333\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning board to Hollywood: Keep condo tower to one story"},"content":{"rendered":"

A controversial Live Local tower slated for public land on Hollywood beach would be only one story high under a recommendation approved unanimously this week by the city\u2019s planning board.<\/p>\n

Joseph Stadlen, chair of the board, suggested the 30-story project be no higher than 15 feet, similar to the one-story community center that currently occupies the taxpayer-owned parcel at 1301 S. Ocean Drive.<\/p>\n

Stadlen\u2019s proposal, delivered about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday during a marathon meeting that began Tuesday afternoon, drew applause from residents but stunned the senior city attorney.<\/p>\n

She asked Stadlen if he meant 15 stories. He corrected her, saying he meant 15 feet \u2014 a far cry from the 375-foot height requested by the developer, Miami-based Related Group.<\/p>\n

Stadlen noted that the project as proposed is simply not appropriate for that particular stretch along the beach.<\/p>\n

Critics came out in force against the project soon after it was proposed six years ago, saying a private condo does not belong on public land.<\/p>\n

But in March 2022, Hollywood commissioners voted 5-2 in favor<\/a> of a deal that would let the developer lease the land for 99 years and build a condo tower and restaurant. As part of the deal, the developer has promised to build a new two-story community center.<\/p>\n

The tower now known as Portofino Hollywood is slated to rise on public beachfront land as a Live Local project<\/a> with condos and rental apartments that qualify as workforce housing.<\/p>\n

The developer has requested setbacks of 0 feet on all sides. But Stadlen recommended the project be set back 100 feet from Ocean Drive; 230 feet from Surf Road; and 15 feet on either side.<\/p>\n

Keith Poliakoff, attorney for the Related Group, noted that the planning board did not deny or table the item.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are pleased that the Planning Board has unanimously recommended approval of the project and advanced it to the City Commission,\u201d he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we recognize that some board members characterized their votes as a form of protest, the important result is that the project can now move forward for final consideration by the City Commission on Oct. 7. After nearly six years of extensive public review, community input and careful planning, we look forward to bringing this process to a successful conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

Mike Stocker \/ South Florida Sun Sentinel<\/p>\n

Residents protest outside Hollywood City Hall on Sept. 14, 2021. The group is fighting a plan to build a private condo on public beachfront land at 1301 S. Ocean Drive. (Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n

In May 2023, Hollywood\u2019s planning board rejected the developer\u2019s request for a land-use change.<\/p>\n

Dick Blattner, a former city commissioner who now serves on the planning board, reminded his colleagues of that unanimous vote from three years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour people who are sitting up here voted unanimously to deny this on environmental and sustainability issues,\u201d he said during this week\u2019s meeting. \u201cThose issues have not gone away. I, on that basis alone, cannot support this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stadlen then weighed in, referencing a lawsuit filed three months ago seeking to block the project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be decided by courts,\u201d Stadlen said. \u201cThis is at best a public dumpster fire. And I\u2019m reminded that in this case three things can be true at once. We can have a world-class developer making a presentation. We can have a phenomenal attorney making arguments on behalf, and making some very valid arguments. And the last thing could be that this proposed project is just not appropriate for this space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stadlen suggested the board consider the character of the existing space and recommend setbacks from the project similar to what exist today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the character that our citizens have come to enjoy in this space,\u201d he said, drawing applause from the dozen or so residents still in the audience at that late hour.<\/p>\n

A final vote by the City Commission is expected on Oct. 7.<\/p>\n

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @ Susannah_Bryan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A controversial Live Local tower slated for public land on Hollywood beach would be only one story high…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[506,28,249,251,250,686,114,266,109],"class_list":["post-395333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-broward-county","tag-florida","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-hollywood","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}