Dania Beach developer looks to destroy protected Mangroves & wildlife habitat for a….warehouse ?

Staci-lee Sherwood
Oct 4
10 min read

By Staci-lee Sherwood

A small parcel of wetlands, 4.2 acres, home to protected mangroves and wildlife is on the chopping block by a wealthy developer who wants to build a 64,000 square foot warehouse. According to LoopNet there are over 1200 empty warehouses available in Florida ready to lease or buy with over 400 empty warehouses in Broward County. Why have the expense of building something that already exists? This is a hidden piece of land with only a dirt road entrance, a great little hideaway from prying public eyes, is that the real appeal? Ask yourself what type of legitimate business would need this much privacy? A quick Google search shows how saturated the warehouse market is and more are being built every day. What is really going on?

https://www.loopnet.com/search/listings/warehouses/broward-county-fl/for-lease/

Meet the land owner

Shlomo Melloul is a wealthy developer with property all over Florida. He’s made several multi-million dollar land deals. In 2019 he bought this protected wetland parcel, the sale itself raises ethical questions. In 2020 Melloul applied for and was denied a 404 permit to fill in the wetlands. Now he’s back so what changed? Is there a change to a more developer friendly Dania Beach or Broward County commission? Is the rabid pro development of Governor Desantis more amenable now? Something has ramped up.

On September 23, 2025 lawyer Edwin Stacker hosted a Zoom meeting. At the beginning of the recorded meeting Stacker said Melloul was in attendance. During the 80 minute meeting not a peep was heard by him even when I asked repeatedly why the need for the warehouse. Several people asked why destroy the wetlands, where are the details. No answers were given to any questions raised.

One would think if the developer had nothing to hide he would be happy to be forthright and honest in his proposal but with his silence, one must be suspect. As we have seen time again honest people come forward with an explanation while…..less honest people prefer to be silent. This isn’t an accusation just an honest observation.

Shlomo Meloull

Why mangroves are vital to ecosystem and people

Mangroves are important to a healthy ecosystem which makes them equally important to us. Florida sits just above sea level with little to no elevation and is prone to storm flooding. Hurricanes of course flood many areas and not just the coastline. A typical rain storm can flood roads several miles inland.

Due to massive uncontrolled development on the coast the beaches have been destroyed when mangroves, seagrapes and seaoats are removed for buildings. Their root system hold the sand in ways beach nourishment can never do. During storms they absorb water to prevent floods. Barrier islands should never have been developed as nature designed them to absorb storm water, like a sponge, and prevent flooding inland. Development removed that ability and now both the coast and inland flood all the time. Mangroves played a big role in flood prevention for millions of years but in the last 50 years developers have destroyed them with the blessing of Florida officials. Why destroy what’s left.

Aerial photo of the 21 acres of wetlands showing the (yellow) 4.2 acre proposed project site

IUCN map of Mangroves

Are government officials really doing what they say?

Broward County Commission -

Elected officials supposedly honor the public doctrine of trust. In simple terms public servants are suppose to act with ethics and integrity and apply reason and logic to any policy decision. Why do politicians fail to follow their own statements? In a nutshell because they know the public has a short attention span and social media has shortened even that. Despite 24 hour ‘news’ and the internet few people look up votes or hold elected officials accountable.

In 2024 Broward County commissioners made a glossy report with claims of protecting its residents, their home and streets from floods while being proactive with sustainable development. A report is not action. It’s up to the public to see it gets done.

CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE VISION 2024 Broward County land use (https://www.broward.org/BrowardNext/Documents/Resiliency%20Primer.pdf

On page 7 - STRATEGY EP-2: Create a countywide water management/flood protection plan.

’wetlands can play a vital role in improving the County’s water quality and in providing natural areas for storing floodwaters and maintaining surface water flow. Wetlands function as natural sponges which trap and slowly release water. Wetlands also function as primary fish and wildlife habitats by providing food, water and shelter for a wide variety of plant and animal species.’

‘Protect the functional value of wetlands, hydric soils and vegetative communities within Broward Count’

On page 8 - STRATEGY EP-3: Preserve and protect Broward County’s natural environment through County and local environmental regulatory programs and well-planned patterns of growth and development.

‘Acquire, protect, preserve and enhance Local Areas of Particular Concern. Preserve and enhance Broward County’s tree canopy and encourage the use of native vegetation for all new development.’

Fast forward to May 2025 the Broward County Board of Commissioners voted to remove protection of the parcel in question in Dania Beach, clearing the way for development. Despite several commissioners having spoken out previously on environmental issues when it came to this issue seems like they forgot what they claimed to believe in. In politics you’re only as honest as your last vote because actions speak truth more that any statement. Here we have Broward County officials voting to destroy a wetlands despite evidence given by their own Planning and Environmental permitting agencies not supporting it.

BROWARD COUNTY PLANNING COUNCIL MAY 22, 2025 (Meeting & vote) https://www.broward.org/PlanningCouncil/Documents/May%2022%2C%202025%20Approved%20Summary%20Minutes.pdf

PH 2 AMENDMENT PCNRM 24-3

Public Hearing on Amendment to the Environmentally Sensitive Lands (ESL) Map of the Broward County Land Use Plan Natural Resource Map Series – Portion of Site 97/Map Label 136 – City of Dania Beach

Ms. Boy indicated that Broward County review agencies (Urban Planning, Resilient Environment, and Environmental Permitting) do not support the proposed amendment because the site is hydrologically connected to the surrounding wetlands and the Dania Cutoff Canal. She stated that the site is within a priority planning area where flooding and stormwater management are a concern. Ms. Boy stated that Planning Council Staff is not supporting approval of the amendment

Secretary Gomez made a motion to approve Item PH 2. Vice Chair Castillo seconded the motion. Without objection, the motion passed unanimously by roll call vote. (Ms. Jessica Abramson, Mayor Angelo Castillo, Mr. Adam M. Geller, Mayor Michelle J. Gomez, Ms. Ryann Greenberg, Mayor Rex Hardin, Councilmember Denise Appleby Horland, Commissioner Letitia Newbold, Mayor Michael J. Ryan, School Board Member Allen Zeman, and Chair Thomas H. DiGiorgio, Jr.)

I spoke with Mayor Beam Furr in October 2025. I asked about the vote, specifically why the commission voted for something most had previously opposed and then countered their own Planning and Permitting agencies who also opposed it. Furr said “I’ll be honest I missed this one.”

Dania Beach Commission -

Here is a letter sent on behalf of Dania Beach commissioners agreeing to remove the parcel from the Environmentally Sensitive Land map. This is done to remove obstacles for the developer. This project sets a precedent that could have a negative domino effect called unintended consequences. Did the commissioners give away protected wetlands based on flawed/misleading/incomplete data provided by The Chappell Group?

Note this is from the City Manager not the Commission

Flaws of Florida Fish Wildlife Commission (FWC) & Florida Dept Environmental Protection (FDEP) agencies -

I can attest that FWC is currently being sued by multiple groups for using misleading data and ignoring public will to allow for policies that egregiously go against conservation. I have documented many false claims over 15 years and provided that to various cases, which included information given by former employees. In March 2012 FDEP did a butcher job cutting down protected Sea Grapes on A1A in Boca Raton to allow travelers an ocean view. The roots of Sea Grapes and beach vegetation are critical to keeping sand on the beach and preventing erosion. FDEP’s actions caused more erosion leading to taxpayer funded beach re-nourishment which costs tens of millions of dollars.

In September 2012 I gave testimony against FDEP at a hearing in Ft Lauderdale, Florida when they knocked down a dune endangered Green Sea Turtles nested on in the wee hours so one condo can have an ocean view. I have 11 years of proof that FWC lies and inflates numbers about endangered sea turtles and other species. All this done to allow for more development as the entire Board of Commissioners are developers.

Any information provided by these two agencies can be assumed to be flawed at best an outright lie at worse. If Dania Beach commissioners based their permission on these two agencies, it’s like fruit of the poisonous tree where the head is rotten and everything below is rotten too. No one should ever take claims by either agency verbatim without at least a secondary non biased professional report, as the proof of flawed data is obvious. That’s why they are continuously being sued.

This is also true for any business/agency/individual or government entity either in whole or in part that relies on their ‘expertise’ when filing for a permit or making a change in land use status using their data. The fact that state agencies have not rushed to approve this project should give pause to everyone reading this. A pro developer agency that hasn’t rushed to approve means the report they got from The Chappell Group is so incomplete even they can’t rubberstamp it.

How is scientific data recorded?

Looking at the report by The Chappell Group they failed to give an accurate honest assessment of the parcel in question. They merely put pen to paper to write what their client, Shlomo Melloul, wanted to ease the way for his development. An accurate assessment involves several field trips, the use of video and audio traps and expertise by those who would know the biology of the area. Regarding this project they failed to do the following:

No use of video trail cameras (I work with FWC setting these up and know how valuable they are and none were used)
No use of audio/ acoustic recording devices
No meeting with the biologist just next door who runs the sanctuary and knows the land inside and out for over a decade.
No photographic evidence taken over multiple days

How can anyone make an honest report without this information? They can’t. How can Broward County Commissioners and Dania Beach Commissioners make an informed decision when the data is incomplete at best and deliberately skewed at worst? Would you be willing to support something without having all the facts? I doubt anyone would want that on their public record. After talking to several officials at the local, county and state level it’s clear they did not get a full picture and confirmed the data was incomplete. One such official said they made one quick trip and confirmed none of the above tools were used to gather data about the area.

Protected species who make this area their home

Mangroves are vital to this small ecosystem but they aren’t the only protected species living there. There are several other protected and not so protected species of animal, insect and plant living there. It’s possible the state protected Florida Bonneted Bat is there. According to The Chappell Group this land is a degraded wasteland with no life. We counted over 19 distinct species, many protected and many other species including insects and plants likely live there unseen. State protected birds like Wood Storks and Tricolored Herons are routinely seen in the area. Being native and migratory it’s within the realm of possibilities they too call this home or a foraging area. It’s an ecosystem not wasteland.

Per FWC website ‘All native bird species are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act , regardless of whether they migrate.’ The U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), makes it illegal to hunt, capture, or harm them. Just a few documented include the following with their corresponding Statutes of Federal/State law:

Mangroves are protected by the 1996 Mangrove Trimming & Preservation Act 403.9321 Short title. Sections 403.9321-403.9333, Florida Statutes, may be cited as the "Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act." (sections 403.9321-403.9333, F.S.) defines a mangrove as any specimen of the species Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove), Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove) or Avicennia germinans (black mangrove). The Mangrove Act does not distinguish between living and dead mangroves, so the same trimming regulations apply to each. Doesn’t look degraded as claimed by The Chappell Group.

Brown Pelican is protected by MTBA and FWC general prohibitions from take under 68A-4.001, F.A.C. Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.

White Ibis is protected by the MBTA and protected from take by 68A-4.001, F.A.C. Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.

Cooper’s Hawk are protected by the MBTA , CITES Appendix II and Florida state law.

Northern Mocking bird commonly seen there and are protected in Florida under the MBTA and is Florida State Bird

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron is protected by the MBTA

Great-crested Flycatcher are protected by the MBTA

Snapping turtles The alligator snapping turtle is protected as a State Species of Special Concern by Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule. The alligator snapping turtle is currently under review for Federal listing by the USFWS. FL Status: Other snapping turtle species are protected via Florida Administrative Code.

Great Blue Heron are protected by the MBTA

Other species observed there and would be impacted by development are the following but not limited to: Black –crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, Cattle Egret, Blue jay, Grey Squirrel, Raccoon, Red-winged Blackbird, Black Vulture and Blue Land Crabs along with :

Southern Watersnake

North American Racer

The wild Vervet monkeys who have lived there peacefully for decades would have their habitat degraded and shrunk and those monkeys in the FWC licensed sanctuary would also be impacted

How to help

Contact Broward County Board of Commissioners (BEFORE NOVEMBER 13) ask they vote NO on approving this development and filling in protected wetlands ‘Portion of Site 97 Map Label 136 Dania Beach’ and attend the November meeting.

Mayor Beam Furr –

Bfurr@Broward.org 954-357-7006

Vice Mayor Mark D. Bogen –

Mbogen@Broward.org 954-357-7002

Commissioner Nan H. Rich –

Nrich@Broward.org 954-357-7001

Commissioner Michael Udine –

Mudine@Broward.org 954-357-7003

Commissioner Lamar Fisher

Lfisher@Broward.org 954-357-7004

Commissioner Steve Geller –

sgeller@broward.org 954-357-7005

Commissioner Alexandra P. Davis -

Alexandradavis@broward.org 954-357-7007

Commissioner Robert McKinzie –

Rmckinzie@broward.org 954-357-7008

Commissioner Hazelle P. Rogers –

Hazellerogers@Broward.org 954-357-7009

Contact Dania Beach Commissioners ASAP (BEFORE OCTOBER 14) and ask they vote NO on approving this development and filling in protected wetlands ‘Portion of Site 97 Map Label 136 Dania Beach.’

Mayor Joyce L. Davis -

jdavis@daniabeachfl.gov 219.670.1066

Vice Mayor Marco A. Salvino, Sr. –

msalvino@daniabeachfl.gov 954.914.5416

Commissioner Lori Lewellen -

llewellen@daniabeachfl.gov 954.993.6283

Commissioner Luis RimolI -

lrimoli@daniabeachfl.gov 954.686.7340

Commissioner Archibald J.Ryan IV - (plans to run for Broward County Commission)

ajryan@daniabeachfl.gov 305.985.9802

Follow The Dania Beach Monkey Sanctuary for updates on this proposal

https://vervetproject.org/