Chuck Hansen has lived in his Illini condo on Seabreeze Avenue for more than a decade and calls it a “little corner of paradise.” He opposed the $500 million Bahia Mar hotel and condo project, and he doesn’t plan to change his position just yet. Nor do many of his neighbors.

"We don’t need another monolith down here,” Hansen said. “Let them go to Miami.”

Hansen and other unit owners were encouraged in mid-July when Fort Lauderdale city commissioners stalled the approval process because the terms didn’t include enough money for the city. The city’s Planning and Zoning Board will consider the project at a meeting on Sept. 16. Hansen had already contacted the board’s offices and said he was told residents could express opinions via e-mail or letter.

But last month, board members complained that the large volume of e-mails they had received regarding Bahia Mar was “intrusive.” Board member Fred Stresau was deleting his Bahia Mar e-mails unread. Hansen said he wonders whether his letter was ever read.

Whether their e-mails are read or not, groups such as the Illini association are not letting go of their opposition.

“We’ll be at the hearings,” said Tamara Tennant, president of the Riviera Isles Homeowners Association. “We don’t object to the buildings; we don’t believe they’re going to happen. LXR will simply sell the lease. We’ll object. It would just mean more expensive lawsuits.”

Mary Fertig, president of the Idlewyld Improvement Association, said that she and her neighborhood, which sits right across the Intracoastal from the project, are not convinced that the redevelopment is inevitable.

“A major concern is the current lease, which we understand prohibits residences,” she said. “We need to know more.”

Hansen said he will also be at the Planning and Zoning Board meeting, taking the opportunity to tell board members that supporters of the project often live miles away from the impact area.

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