📌 STATUS UPDATE — April 15, 2026: The Hollywood City Commission voted 5-2 to begin the permit process for buoys at 218 yards. This petition now focuses on influencing that permit process through state agencies. Full update and next steps at the bottom of this page.  This petition was created September 14, 2025 and is updated as new information becomes available.

 

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION TO SUPPORT SAFER BOAT BOUNDARIES FOR REEF ACCESS


By respectfully asking our City Commission to place boat boundaries outside the natural inner reef ledge.

 

Hollywood’s natural reefs are a community treasure—just a short swim from shore and enjoyed daily by families, snorkelers, and divers.   In an effort to increase safety, the City has voted to permit vessel exclusion buoys at 218 yards—82 yards closer than our current 300-yard ordinance. This plan does not increase safety.  This plan creates a dangerous boat lane directly over areas where snorkelers and divers swim, putting lives at risk. Parts of the first reef begin around 320 yards and extend farther out, so neither 218 nor 300 yards provides safe protection (see map at bottom). 

 

Fire Chief, Jeff Levy, gave sound advice to our commission ‘to keep buoys past our nearshore reefs.’  We respectfully ask that this same safety measure be extended to include the natural first reef (aka 'inner reef'), where so many people snorkel every day.

 

We urge the City to place buoys beyond the first natural reef (or adopt other safety measures) to:


-Protect snorkelers, divers, and swimmers enjoying our popular Perry Rocks and first reef areas as well as mermaid project.

-Provide safe boat anchoring on sand, not reef
 (see map)

-Ensure fair reef access for both boaters and shore swimmers 

 

✍️ For the swimmers, for the reef.

Protecting the lives of those who swim to the first reef begins with our officials understanding how many people visit it each day.

Please sign the petition to urge our elected officials to ensure safe shore-to-first reef access and help safeguard these natural reef treasures for generations to come.  

 

⬇️ COPY & PASTE TO SHARE — please share with everyone you know!

 

The more signatures we gather now, the stronger our voice at every permit stop along the way. Anyone may sign — you do not need to live in Florida!  💬 Leave a comment — personal stories are powerful  

 

📱 SHORT VERSION — Hollywood Beach needs your help protecting safe shore-to-reef access. Please sign, comment, and share! Anyone may sign — you do not need to live in Florida. 🌊🐢  ✍️Petition Link:  https://www.change.org/SaferBoundaries    📺 Watch the coverage:  Beyond Florida  

 

📖 LONGER VERSION — Hollywood Beach is working to protect safe shore-to-reef access for snorkelers, divers, boaters, and families. The Florida Reef Tract — one of the largest coral reef ecosystems in the world — is rarely accessible from shore, yet here in Hollywood, thousands of people swim to these reefs every year — just a 10-minute swim with fins. Only a small handful of other cities in Florida have access this close. A boat boundary at 218 yards would place boats directly over active snorkeling areas. Please sign and share this petition to help protect safe access for everyone. 🌊🐢 ✍️ Sign here:  https://www.change.org/SaferBoundaries  📺 Watch the coverage: Beyond Florida 📧 Get involved: SafeReefAccess@gmail.com  

 

Your signature still matters!

✍️ Anyone may sign — you do not need to live in Florida
📲 Please share widely — every signature counts through 2027
💬 Leave a comment — personal stories are powerful

 

📢 WANT TO DO MORE?

The most impactful actions right now are:

📝 Sign and share this petition — numbers matter at every permit stop along the way
👀 Stay engaged — we will notify you when public comment periods open with FWC, FDEP, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Coast Guard
📧 Get involved: SafeReefAccess@gmail.com

 

📌 When emailing state agencies during the permit process, consider copying Mayor-Commissioners@hollywoodfl.org so your correspondence becomes part of the public record.

 

📌 Commissioner emails and public comment meetings will become important again closer to November 2026 when new commissioners are seated. We will keep you updated on exactly when and how to engage.

 

For reference — previous action emails and commission contacts:

Mayor & Commissioners: Mayor-Commissioners@hollywoodfl.org
Public Safety: cobrien@hollywoodfl.org
Beach Safety: jfuhrman@hollywoodfl.org
Fire Chief: jefflevy@hollywoodfl.org
Parks & Recreation: rengle@hollywoodfl.org

 

Below, is list of all emails to easily copy and paste: 

rstorey@hollywoodfl.org, Mayor-Commissioners@hollywoodfl.org, cobrien@hollywoodfl.org, jfuhrman@hollywoodfl.org, jefflevy@hollywoodfl.org, rengle@hollywoodfl.org  

 

*Barriers should be beyond the first reef,  not at 218 or 300. See below map for shore to reef distances.  (Note the natural sandy area just past the first reef).

 

UPDATES AND NEW INFORMATION (Added after April 10, 2026)

Original main petition content above remains unchanged since Sept. 14, 2025.  

 

🗓️ ADDED APRIL 20, 2026  

MEDIA COVERAGE 

Beyond Florida https://www.facebook.com/reel/1456894329799497

PBS Miami PBS Miami

Sun Sentinel  Article here 

 

🪸 WHY HOLLYWOOD IS DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER CITY  

 

Most people — including many longtime residents — don't realize how rare Hollywood's reef access truly is.  

 

-The Florida Reef Tract is the 5th largest coral reef ecosystem in the world


-It is the only one accessible from shore in the continental United States


-Along the entire Florida coast, only a small handful of Broward cities have shore access this close to that habitat — and Hollywood stands apart from all of them.  Just a 10 minute swim with fins.

-Our Mermaid Reefs begin at just 160 yards from shore — closer than any comparable installation in the region
-Our natural inner reef ledge (part of the Florida Reef Tract habitat) follows just beyond them.


-We have 7 miles of shoreline with a Broadwalk lined with restaurants, hotels, parking, and restrooms right on the sand — no road to cross, no barrier between you and the water


-Broward reefs generate $2.1 billion annually and attract 9.4 million visitors. Safe access is not just a safety issue — it is the foundation of our economic future.

-Hollywood has the infrastructure, the reef tract proximity, and the Mermaid Reefs to become the shore snorkeling capital of the Continental United States — but only if we protect safe access to get there.  

 

The rare combination of near shore artificial reef installations, paired with our extraordinary close access to FL Reef Tract habitat creates an obligation no other city in Florida has — to protect safe shore-to-reef access for the thousands of people who swim these reefs every year.

 

📋 PROGRESS  UPDATES

April 15, 2026--Commission voted 5:2 to change the boat boundary from 300 to 218 yards to begin the permit process for buoys at 218 yards.

✅ Voted against changing to 218  (thank you!): Commissioner Caryl Shuham and Commissioner Idelma Quintana

❌ Voted to change from 300 to 218: Mayor Josh Levy, Vice Mayor Traci Callari, Commissioner Gruber, Commissioner Hernandez, Commissioner Biederman  

 

This is not over: 

-This vote only initiates a permit process

— buoys are NOT installed yet
-Mayor Levy stated this is to "see if we can even get buoys at 218" --further discussion will follow


-Commissioner Callari noted that if buoys are ultimately installed at an unsafe distance, they can be moved


-The ordinance change was necessary to apply for permits at that distance — but it can be changed back with a simple 4/3 commission vote


-The permit process involves FWC, FDEP, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Coast Guard — each a public comment opportunity


-The process can take up to a year or longer


-3 new commissioners join in November 2026 — a meaningful opportunity to revisit this issue and potentially reverse this decision  

 

April 15, 2026--Commissioner concerns raised

"Buoys further out could make lifeguards work harder"

 

Buoy distance does not change lifeguard responsibility. Lifeguards already manage the 50-yard threshold — anyone without a dive flag is called back regardless of where buoys are placed. Experienced snorkelers and divers with dive flags are already swimming to reefs at 300+ yards every single day — thousands of them each year. They are attracted to the reefs, not the buoys. Whether buoys are placed at 100 yards or 500 yards, those with dive flags will swim to the reef. Buoys further out simply ensure that when they get there, boats are not waiting for them.

 

For responses to all other commissioner concerns, please review the full safety briefing sent below.👇    

 

👋 GET INVOLVED

We are looking for self-directed individuals who are able to identify a need and take initiative. If you have a specific skill, connection, or time to dedicate to a specific task — whether legal knowledge, media contacts, diving expertise, or political connections — we would love to hear from you. Please reach out and share what you are able to offer and contribute. Every skill, connection, and dedicated hour counts — and we would love to celebrate every step forward together!

📧 SafeReefAccess@gmail.com

 

 We are grateful for every single person who has signed, shared, and shown up for our reefs.

 

Thank you for everything. Together, our mission continues. 🌊🐢    

 

📍 Hollywood Beach Reef Map — showing shore-to-reef distances including Mermaid Reefs, Perry Rocks, and the natural inner reef ledge. Note the sandy bottom just past the first reef — ideal for safe boat anchoring."

 

 

 

 

📌 SAFETY BRIEFING SENT TO COMMISSIONERS — April 10, 2026 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                           

 

*Any donations go to change.org, not the organizer.  You do not need to donate to sign.