Broward County Planning Council Holds Meeting Affecting the Future of Golf Course

Woodlands Country Club. Photo by Sharon Aron Baron.

By: Sharon Aron Baron

Members of the Broward County Planning Council will make a decision affecting all residents of the Woodlands Country Club.

On Thursday, January 23, 2020, at 10 a.m., 20 members of the Council will decide if they will support and approve the proposed change of county land use designation of The Woodlands’ Golf courses from Commercial Recreation to R5 Low-Density dwelling units per acre. 

This change will result in an additional 400 or more homes — and almost 50 percent increase in the number of homes in the Woodlands. 

13th Floor Homes is promising this will be a long-anticipated upgrade for the 50-year-old community of 890 existing homes. The proposal calls for it to become a gated community, protected by walls and fewer entrances.

After a record-breaking, 10-hour and nine-minute meeting, on July 11, the Tamarac city commission voted 3-2 to change the land use from recreational to residential.

However, there was no traffic study performed on the impact of these homes on the local roads in the Woodlands, and every roadway is one lane in each direction.  There are no sidewalks in the Woodlands,  so residents walk on the bike lanes on Woodlands Boulevard or the roads. 

The City of Lauderhill had opposed any entrances or exits on NW 44 Street or NW 64 Avenue for extra traffic. Now, we’ve learned 13th Floor Homes has withdrawn its application to the City of Lauderhill for an entrance/exit on 44 Street which now may result in more traffic on Woodlands Boulevard, Sago Palm, Bayberry Lane, and Holly Drive.

According to the proposal, approximately 225 dwelling units are proposed along NW 44 Street, including a two-story option, on small lots — higher lot density than Woodlands Section Seven, which is the closest section to this area.  Currently, there are less than ten two-story homes in the Woodlands.  

Five days before the meeting, a copy of the proposed land use amendment can be found at broward.org/planningcouncil.

All residents can speak at the hearing, and it is essential to let the Planning Council members know your opinions and/or concerns about the proposed development of the Woodlands Golf Courses. If you are planning on attending this meeting, you will need to sign up to speak, and you will then be given three minutes.

There is a parking garage to the west of the Broward County Governmental Center at 115 S Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.

Some residents are organizing carpools to take them to the meeting, so stay tuned or subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the information.