Title
A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood, Florida, Allocating 1,000 Flexibility Units To The Regional Activity Center; Providing A Repealer Clause Authorizing The Units To Be Reallocated To The City’s Total Flexibility Pool Should Additional Units Be Secured Through A Land Use Plan Text Amendment To The Comprehensive Plan; Providing For Conflict; Providing For An Effective Date. (25-T-38)
Strategic Plan Focus
Economic Vitality
Body
Staff Recommends: Approval of the attached Resolution
Explanation:
To maintain development momentum and provide available capacity within the Regional Activity Center (“RAC”), staff recommends allocating 1,000 flexibility units. These units will provide needed capacity while a Land Use Plan Amendment (“LUPA”) is pursued to secure additional residential unit allocation. At that point, the flexibility units would be repealed and returned to the Citywide pool.
On May 20, 2025, the Planning and Development Board, acting as the Local Planning Agency, met and held an advertised public hearing and forwarded a unanimous recommendation of approval to the City Commission.
Background
Flexibility units allow cities to increase residential density in targeted areas without a County Land Use Plan Amendment. Hollywood currently has 4,887 flexibility units available Citywide through the Unified Flexibility Zone, confirmed by Broward County Planning Council on May 2, 2023.
The RAC, established in 1990 and expanded since, was capped at 16,100 residential units. Over the past 35 years, 16,294 units have been approved for development-exceeding the cap by 194 units. A comprehensive audit, conducted by City staff and Calvin, Giordano & Associates, Inc., identified this overage based on approved site plans. Further review is underway to account for demolitions and permitted-only projects.
A LUPA is being prepared to request ~8,000 additional units for the RAC. In the interim, allocating 1,000 flexibility units will allow pending and entitled projects to proceed. Upon LUPA adoption, the repealer clause will return the 1,000 units to the Citywide pool.
Fiscal Impact:
The primary revenue source for most municipalities, including the City of Hollywood, is ad valorem property tax-revenue derived from the assessed value of real property. Residential development, particularly within designated high-density mixed-use areas such as the Downtown RAC, plays a critical role in expanding the City’s property tax base. As new housing units are built, the total assessed property value within the City increases, thereby generating recurring revenue that supports essential public services such as public safety, parks, infrastructure maintenance, and community programming.
If the proposed allocation of 1,000 flexibility units is not approved, the City will be unable to issue development orders for new residential construction within the RAC due to the exhaustion of currently authorized units. This would result in an immediate pause in the construction of new housing, including several entitled and in-progress projects. Such a pause would directly impede the City’s ability to grow its property tax base, delaying the realization of long-term, recurring revenue critical to municipal operations. In addition to ad valorem losses, the City would forgo one-time revenues such as development review fees, building permits, and impact fees associated with infrastructure, mobility, safety and parks.
Furthermore, the inability to accommodate current development demand may prompt developers to redirect investment to other jurisdictions with available capacity, thereby reducing private investment and job creation within Hollywood. Over time, this may contribute to the perception that the City is unable to respond effectively to growth, harming its competitive position in the regional real estate market. Conversely, the allocation of the proposed flexibility units will allow development to continue without interruption while the City pursues a LUPA to secure additional long-term residential capacity. This interim measure safeguards the City’s fiscal health, supports ongoing economic development, and ensures a continued return on prior public investments in infrastructure and planning.
Conclusion:
This resolution to allocate additional flex units will allow development to continue while City staff and its consultants apply for a LUPA to allocate additional units to the RAC.
Attachments
Attachment I Planning and Development Board Staff Report with supporting documents
Recommended for inclusion on the agenda by:
Anand Balram, Planning Manager
Andria Wingett, Director, Development Services
Raelin Storey, Assistant City Manager