This is a republish of one of our Substack articles in depth reporting on Broward secrets
The reason I’ve nicknamed Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy “Joshzilla” is because, to me, it represents what eight years of his leadership have come to symbolize: a developer-first agenda with residents consistently pushed to the back of the line. When I had Levy on my podcast during his 2024 reelection campaign, he gave the impression that 1301 Ocean Drive was essentially a dead deal and wasn’t moving forward. Yet almost immediately after he was reelected, 1301 was back on the front burner. At the same time, we’ve watched an increasingly aggressive development agenda move forward with limited meaningful resident input. Then, just two weeks before the 2024 election, it was reported that Related Group had contributed $100,000, which raised obvious questions about influence and timing. More recently, Steve Schneider has been reporting on the Washington Heights/Washington Industrial area, including the city’s approval of roughly $28 million in improvements, while questions have also been raised about Levy family land interests in that area. Put all those pieces together, and you get why I call him “Joshzilla”: a symbol of a municipal development machine where developers seem to come first and residents come second. And that’s why I think Cat Udin’s warning is becoming more prophetic by the day: if this agenda continues unchecked, Hollywood Beach risks becoming the next Sunny Isles—wall-to-wall high-rises, massive development and a completely transformed coastline. Joshzilla isn’t just a nickname; it’s a warning about what Hollywood could become if residents don’t stand up now.
Hollywood Residents Have Had Enough: August 20 Is the Day Broward Gets to Hear Their Voices
What happened at Hollywood City Hall on August 11 wasn’t just a canceled meeting. It was a warning. And on August 20, the Broward County Commission has an opportunity to listen to the people who have been sounding the alarm.
There comes a point when a series of events stops looking like a collection of unfortunate coincidences and starts looking like a pattern.
For Hollywood residents watching the fight over 1301 S. Ocean Drive, the future of the beachfront, and the city’s increasingly aggressive development agenda, that point may have arrived.
The latest example came on August 11.
Residents showed up at City Hall expecting to participate in a Planning & Development Board hearing involving File No. 26-Z-18—a sweeping, 541-page beachfront overlay ordinance with potentially enormous consequences for the future of Hollywood’s barrier island.
Instead, they waited.
And waited.
Then, after staff began arriving, residents were informed that the meeting was being canceled because of a failure to properly post the required public notice.
Think about that for a moment.
Residents did what government always tells citizens to do: show up and participate.
They showed up.
The government didn’t.
At least not in a way that allowed the advertised public business to take place.
And now residents are being told that the solution is essentially to move the matter to September 8.
That’s not good enough.
This Isn’t “What It Is”
According to residents who were there, when concerns were raised about pushing the enormous ordinance into the September 8 agenda, the response from City Manager Raelin Storey was essentially that the date was already scheduled and that it was “OK.”
But residents aren’t asking for government to tell them that something is “what it is.”
They’re asking for government to explain why it is.
Why should a 541-page ordinance fundamentally affecting the barrier island be rushed into a post-Labor Day agenda?
Why should residents have to absorb hundreds of pages of complicated zoning language through poster boards and informal conversations?
Why should a public hearing be canceled because the city failed to properly handle public notice—and then the burden of accommodating the city’s administrative failure be placed on the public?
And perhaps the biggest question:
Why does it always seem like the development process has a timetable, while the public is expected to catch up?
Where Is the Public Process?
The August 11 failure also prompted residents to look more closely at the city’s public meeting information.
Residents report that they could not find the Planning & Development Board’s remaining 2026 meetings properly reflected through the city’s public-facing calendar and agenda system.
That matters.
Because if residents are told a particular meeting is “already scheduled,” the public should be able to see that meeting.
Government shouldn’t operate on an inside calendar and an outside calendar.
There should be one calendar.
The public one.
And when the government is dealing with something as consequential as the future development rules for Hollywood Beach, transparency shouldn’t be an afterthought.
It should be the starting point.
The Poster Boards Aren’t Enough
The city’s current public outreach strategy has also left many residents frustrated.
Informational sessions have essentially put residents in front of a series of poster boards explaining portions of the proposed changes.
That might work for a simple neighborhood improvement.
It is not enough for a 541-page zoning ordinance.
Residents need to hear the same questions and the same answers.
They need the ability to challenge assumptions.
They need to see the actual language.
They need to understand what is changing—and what isn’t.
And they need a meaningful opportunity to speak before decisions are made.
That’s why residents are demanding a centralized microphone for the August 19 and 20 sessions, with questions and answers audible to everyone in the room.
They’re asking that the actual ordinance be displayed and reviewed.
They’re asking for a formal record of questions and answers.
They’re asking that the ordinance receive a dedicated hearing rather than being buried in an already crowded agenda.
Those aren’t outrageous demands.
They’re what meaningful public participation should look like.
And That’s Why August 20 Matters
Now we get to the real reason this story matters.
On August 20, the Broward County Commission will take up the 1301 S. Ocean Drive matter.
This is the property at the center of one of the most consequential development fights Hollywood has seen in years.
The county’s involvement isn’t new.
Hollywood formally asked the County Commission to review the Broward County Land Use Plan interpretation concerning the city-owned 1301 S. Ocean Drive property. The County Commission subsequently moved the matter toward a public hearing process. (Broward Legistar⁠)
The Planning Council’s own records show that the dispute centers on the land-use designation for the roughly one-acre property and whether it should be treated as Medium-High Residential, allowing 25 dwelling units per acre, or under the alternative interpretation at issue. (Broward County⁠)
And now Broward County gets to weigh in.
That is why August 20 is important.
It isn’t simply another government meeting.
It is an opportunity for the people of Hollywood to make their voices heard outside the walls of City Hall.
The People Are the Stakeholders
For years, residents have watched Hollywood transform.
More towers.
More density.
More traffic.
More pressure on infrastructure.
More development proposals.
And increasingly, a feeling among residents that the vision for their city is being determined by people who see the beachfront primarily as a development opportunity.
But the beachfront isn’t just another piece of real estate.
It is the defining public asset of Hollywood.
It belongs to the community.
And the residents who live here, pay taxes here, operate businesses here, raise families here and depend upon this community for their quality of life deserve a seat at the table.
Not a poster board.
Not a rushed informational session.
Not a meeting canceled because somebody forgot to properly post the notice.
A seat at the table.
Broward County Has a Choice
On August 20, Broward County commissioners have a choice.
They can look at 1301 as another land-use matter on another agenda.
Or they can recognize the larger issue.
This is about whether public land should be transformed in a way that permanently changes the character of Hollywood’s beachfront.
It’s about whether the public’s interests are being given the same consideration as development interests.
And it’s about whether government is willing to slow down long enough to actually listen.
The residents of Hollywood aren’t asking government to stop development.
They’re asking government to stop steamrolling the public process.
There’s a difference.
Development can happen.
But development should happen transparently.
It should happen responsibly.
And most importantly, it should happen with the people who live here—not around them.
August 20 Is About More Than 1301
That’s why the events of August 11 matter.
That’s why the questions surrounding 26-Z-18 matter.
That’s why the city’s public-notice practices matter.
And that’s why the August 20 Broward County Commission meeting matters.
Because these aren’t isolated events.
They are pieces of the same larger conversation about who gets to decide what Hollywood becomes.
The residents have been told to be patient.
They’ve been told to attend informational sessions.
They’ve been told to look at the posters.
They’ve been told that meetings are scheduled.
They’ve been told that development is inevitable.
But residents are finally saying something back:
We’re paying attention.
And on August 20, they have an opportunity to make sure Broward County is paying attention too.
Let the people speak.
Not after the decision.
Not after the plans are finalized.
Not after the development agreements are signed.
Before.
Because once Hollywood’s beachfront is changed forever, there is no going back.
And that is precisely why the people of Hollywood deserve to be heard now.