Beach Freeze
April 12, 2006; Page B4

Officials in Hollywood, Fla., say it is time to cool things down a little.

The City Commission has approved a temporary freeze on new building permits for new construction along a two-and-a-half-mile stretch of Hollywood's seven miles of Atlantic Ocean beachfront. Gil Martinez, executive director of the Hollywood Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, says the commission wants to ensure this central area of the beach doesn't become dominated by the high-rise condominium towers that dot much of South Florida's coastline. "We learned our lessons from Miami Beach," says Mr. Martinez.

The freeze is designed to temper development pressure and land speculation while officials fine-tune the city's master plan. One idea to make the area "pedestrian-friendly:" a tram to transport people to the beach without their cars.

City officials admit a few developers may be miffed by the freeze, scheduled to last until Oct. 1. Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti notes the beachfront area in the south remains open to development. "It's really just to make sure that people don't put in projects that will do us a disservice," says Ms. Giulianti.