Hollywood

A New Blueprint

Hollywood to begin work on downtown master plan

By Randy Abraham

The city of Hollywood will begin formulating a master plan and zoning guidelines for downtown at a June 17 workshop.

Last week, the city held a town hall meeting to orient residents, businesses and developers to the process, and to introduce architect, urban designer and consultant Bernard Zyskovich, who may be hired to draft the master plan.

The issue comes amid controversy about several proposed redevelopment projects, such as the ArtsPark Village proposed at 1740 S. Young Circle. Yet, with the real estate market in the doldrums, Zyscovich said this may be the ideal time to craft a blueprint to guide future downtown development. “Right now there are not a lot of development pressures,” Zyscovich said June 4. “We have the time to do it right.”

Five years ago, the city hired Zyscovich to craft an area plan, but it was never adopted. Last week, Zyscovich said the 2003 study was rushed and incomplete, and was created to help city leaders understand the implications of development agreements that had been reached at the time. Zyscovich, who also created a beach master plan that city commissioners adopted in December, said he could complete the study in six months.

In an effort to spur downtown revival, the city created a Community Redevelopment Agency in 1979; since then, brick pavers and decorative streetlights have been installed, an ongoing series of special events have been held, and millions of dollars in incentive grants have been awarded to help businesses relocate or remain downtown. In recent years, several large residential projects have been approved and constructed, part of a strategy to attract residents who will patronize downtown businesses. However, projects such as the Radius and Hollywood Station have been criticized as overly dense.

In April, city commissioners granted initial approval to the ArtsPark Village, a mixed-use project with a 25-story, 437-unit residential tower, 26,400 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 58,500 square feet of offices in an eight-story building, 672 parking spaces and a 107,700-square-foot arts and sciences charter school. The project, proposed by WSG Hollywood Development Company, was recommended by downtown CRA Director Neil Fritz, and commissioners narrowly approved the developer’s rezoning request by a 4-3 vote. Some commissioners, including Beam Furr, whose district encompasses the downtown area, said they wanted the developer to scale back the project, and Planning Director Jaye Epstein told elected officials that he disagreed with Fritz’s recommendation, partially because the proposed project would exceed Zyscovich’s recommendation for a 15-story height limit.

Among other recommendations, Zyscovich proposed creating a pedestrian-friendly area featuring broad sidewalks, tree canopies and curved-facade buildings along the round contour of Young Circle. He told commissioners they need to strike a balance between height and density and to consider a project’s context. “Height around the Circle is not necessarily a bad thing,” he said. “What’s problematic is height next to the neighborhoods.”

Hollywood Lakes Section Civic Association President Terry Cantrell, who is active in issues involving the historic neighborhood east of downtown, said he hopes the city enlists Zyscovich to finish his master plan. “We’ve been asking for the Zyskovich guidelines to be codified ever since [the plan] was pulled from the agenda of December 2003,” Cantrell said. “We’re absolutely elated at the prospects for a definitive zoning plan for downtown. … Right now you can go to 15 stories, but a 25-story building is problematic; it can set a precedent. The guidelines should have been codified before the WSG project came along.”

According to an e-mail from city spokeswoman Raelin Storey, on Dec. 15, 2003, the Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the proposed rezoning for Young Circle and the text amendments. On Jan. 7, 2004, the City Commission voted to continue, or delay, a vote until a workshop could be held, but the workshop was never scheduled.

Another neighborhood activist, Pete Brewer from the North Central area just north of downtown, however, denounced the meeting as “only a plot to get the city commissioners and mayor to approve a 20-story building and make it look like the whole community agreed to go with the project.”

Zyscovich, however, denied that he would “whitewash” the WSG project. “I don’t want to do this job if the purpose is to facilitate the WSG project,” he said. “They have a lot more project than we’d like to see. We really need to look closely as to what needs to be built there, and I will work with all parties to see if we can make the project work.”

The City Commission/CRA zoning workshop meeting will be held 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, in Room 215 of Hollywood City Hall, 2600 Hollywood Blvd.