First Eagle would carve 284 homes from Emerald Hills golf course

Hollywood planning staff is recommending approval of a rezoning that would convert 166.16 acres of The Club at Emerald Hills from Country Club to Planned Development, clearing the way for as many as 360 homes on the perimeter of a golf course open since 1969. The staff report posted ahead of an August 4 board hearing is the clearest read yet on how a South Florida golf course gets developed without being deleted.

Why it matters

Golf course redevelopment is one of the few remaining ways to add real residential density inside built-out Broward County, and the fastest way to fill a commission chamber. Emerald Hills separates the two fights and takes them in sequence. First Eagle Management LLC settled the land use question first, in 2022, under City File No. 22-L-80: six noncontiguous parcels along the course perimeter totaling about 36.8 gross acres, roughly 22 percent of the property, moving from Open Space and Recreation to residential. The rest stays golf course and open space. The City Commission adopted Ordinance No. O-2024-02 on March 6, 2024.

The density was therefore settled before a building elevation was drawn, so this request is the implementation step, not a new entitlement ask.

The numbers

The Planned Development caps residential at the 360 units already authorized, fixes density parcel by parcel, and prohibits transferring density between parcels. Two conditions carry forward from the 2024 ordinance: the Low (5) Residential parcel is limited to two single-family homes, and the clubhouse must stay tied to the golf course and available to golfers during course hours.

The companion design and site plan application, File 25-DPJ-16, asks for 284 units across eight sites, a mix of single-family, multifamily and townhomes, plus a clubhouse with indoor and outdoor sports courts, a ballroom and dining, and 40 lodging units. That is 76 units short of the cap, which suggests the applicant is holding capacity in reserve rather than maximizing the first plan. PPG Development LLC is the applicant of record on the site plan; First Eagle Management LLC is the owner.

Staff also recommends a variance cutting setbacks from public rights of way to 15 feet where 25 is required, plus parking modifications. Before any building permit, the applicant must record a covenant in lieu of a unity of title demonstrating unified control of the district.

What’s next

The Planning and Development Board sits as the Local Planning Agency on August 4 and forwards a recommendation to the City Commission, so this is not the final vote. Approving the rezoning alone would amend the zoning map without granting the variances or parking modifications, which ride on the separate site plan file. Track the South Florida hub.