The Hollywood City Commission met on September 16, 2026, starting at 1:00 PM to address a full agenda including proclamations, a loan for affordable housing, a parking variance, comprehensive plan amendments, and a controversial Hollywood Beach Overlay District. The meeting extended past midnight due to extensive public testimony and commission debate. Key decisions included approval of a $1.95 million loan for the Mosaic Hollywood affordable housing development, approval of a parking variance for a coffee roastery, adoption of three comprehensive plan amendments, and first-reading approval of the Hollywood Beach Overlay District with amended height limits.
All right, welcome everyone. Welcome to City Hall here in the city of Hollywood. Today is September sixteenth, twenty twenty six. We are here for what's called a regular city commission meeting, but as I always say, no meeting is ever regular in that sense of that word. Uh we always have important and exciting issues to uh take up on the a city's agenda, and today is no different. Uh let's all please arise for a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. Another important moment we take uh up here in the city of Hollywood is to recognize our veterans, active service personnel and their families. So if you are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, an active service member perhaps, or a family member thereof, please rise. We'd like to recognize contributions. Uh receiving and accepting the proclamation will be members of our Hispanic Affairs Committee. Uh please come on up, members. In nineteen sixty-eight, President Lyndon B. Johnson established Hispanic Heritage Week and the observance was expanded to a month in nineteen eighty-eight by President Ronald Reagan. And whereas the City of Hollywood has been recognized by a national publication as a city of the future, exemplifying the population diversity and typical American city in the twenty-first century. And it is celebrated for its rich culture diversity and initiatives that promote community inclusiveness, and whereas the US Census Bureau estimate that as of July first, 2025, approximately 43% of the Hollywood population, nearly sixty seven thousand residents are of Hispanic or Latino origin. Hispanic and Latino residents contribute to the community as local business owners, civic leaders, cultural organizations, and festival participants, as well as city employees serving the public and whereas. They have in reach and shape our national character for with centuries, old traditions that reflect multi ethnic and multicultural customs of their proud history. And whereas the National Hispanic Heritage Month theme for 2026 is pioneers of change, shaping the future together. National Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes the valuable contribution made by the resident of Hispanic descent to all aspects of American life, including leadership and public service, businesses, the arts, education, civil rights, and social growth of the United States. And whereas doing Hispanic Heritage Month, the City of Hollywood invites all residents and visitors to attend the Hispanic Heritage celebration on October tenth, twenty twenty six, from three p.m. to nine p.m. at the Arts Park at Young Circle, Florida, featuring music, culture, performance, art, fellowship, as we honor the enriched traditions and contribution of the Hispanic community. Now, therefore, Josh Levy, mayor of the City of Hollywood, Florida, and the Hollywood City Commission hereby proclaimed September fifteenth through October 15, 2026 as National Hispanic Heritage Month in the City Hollywood, Florida. Congratulations. Mayor and Commissioners, it's uh honored to receive this proclamation. Thank you so much. And um we are very exciting in all of the we are putting together. I hope you guys are gonna attend and it's uh you know, invite all the community and see the value of the Hispanic Heritage thing we have in City of Hollywood. October tenth, yes. October tenth. Christina, tell us all about it. She knows more. Well, I think it's gonna be amazing. There are gonna be so many of the local schools and the children that will be representing their countries with a parade of nations. Uh yesterday we went to another Hispanic Heritage uh celebration where we got to meet a bunch of the consulates from the different countries, so we got commitments from a bunch of them that are gonna attend. And then um we're gonna have uh an art exhibit that is also going to be based on Hispanic artists, who is gonna be led by Alejandra Palacios, and then the musical part is gonna be very rich because yes, there will be salsa, but that's not the main focus. We're gonna have a mariachi. Um we're gonna have a very exciting international um artist who's a young man, he's thirteen years old who plays Vallenato. So that's gonna be super amazing and in honor of Venezuela uh in Colombia and everything that's happened. We're gonna have um Tamboris Venezolanos. So it's really gonna be totally different than anything that we've put together before. And uh we have um as the NMC, uh Nati Rodriguez from iHeart Radio who agreed to to be our MC. So we are super excited, and I tell you, this lady here has worked really, really hard. People see her coming, and I think they just opened a checkbook. I don't know how that happens. But uh and uh so we have had a lot of community involvement, which is a point. Uh La Casita Tropical and uh Coffee Cult and a lot of the businesses are also very excited about the initiative, so much so that they chose to be sponsors, even though they could have not done so. So we're we're very, very, very happy.