Following a fiery meeting last week, the city’s Planning and Zoning Board recommended granting approval to LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels for a requested zoning change involving the $500 million Bahia Mar Park project. The approval brought the developer closer to what LXR Vice President Peter Henn called “shovel time.”

Much of the crowd at the meeting was divided into two opposing camps. Some residents said the new project, which will include luxury condos, a hotel, a hidden parking garage and retail stores and restaurants, will bring increased revenue to the city and attract larger events. Others said the new buildings will negatively impact the beach skyline and surrounding environment and cause major traffic problems. Henn said the enterprise has taken “two and a half years of my life.”

This time, Henn and his team reconfigured the buildings to create a “wow” effect. LXR had previously offered to shrink two residential building by three stories. Fort Lauderdale’s Central Beach Alliance, on whose turf the project sits, voted in its favor in May.

The recent Planning and Zoning Board meeting was to consider LXR’s request for a Planned Unit Development zoning change that would let the developer build taller buildings than current law allows.

The meeting lasted several hours. Some residents voiced concerns that the project would block their views and disfigure the beach, while others praised its scope and potential to help revitalize the city.

The fate of the Bahia Mar project is now in the hands of the City Commission. Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom, who has opposed the project, appeared to suggest the board might postpone its vote, leading Central Beach Alliance member Sadler James to call out, “I strongly protest a city commissioner standing in front of this board.”

Kathleen Ginestra, a Harbour Inlet Association board member, said she was disappointed that developers continue to build in ways that impact traffic.

Mike Ferber, a longtime Fort Lauderdale resident, said the Bahia Mar issue is a replay of a clash nearly four decades ago, when developers built the present Bahia Mar Beach Resort.

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