HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Hollywood residents are fired up over a plan that could turn a stretch of city-owned beachfront property into a major development, while city commissioners move forward with the project.
The proposal calls for the building of Portofino Hollywood, a 27-story luxury high-rise.
The 3-and-a-half-acre site at 1301 S. Ocean Drive is currently home to a community center, park and public parking lot.
The resolution passed Wednesday in a 5-to-2 vote with city commissioners siding with developers, giving them a 99-year lease for a portion of the parcel to be developed.
Residents have been fighting the project for years, saying they want to keep the land for public use.
“It’s not your property to give it away,” Hollywood resident Mark Ross said.
City commissioners are now pushing the development forward using the state’s Live Local Act. The law limits local zoning rules as long as 40% of the units are set aside for affordable housing.
“My thoughts are …every step of the way something is happening -- somehow a few of the commissioners always managed to push for just a little bit more," resident Dennis Dimartino said.
“Back during the great recession of 2008, 2009, this city lost more than a third of its tax base,” City Manager Raelin Storey said.
Still, residents say they fear they will be priced out and continue to oppose the project despite the affordable housing requirement.
“With $75,000 a year, about $1,400 a month rent, but the estimates that I’m hearing, $2,600 is being cap for what people can reasonably afford on a low income salary is just absurd,” resident Melissa Sherman said.
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