Boca Raton officials moved to tighten oversight of city land deals, approving an ordinance that requires two public hearings and findings that justify how the deals will help the public.
The measure, approved by the city council Tuesday night by a vote of 3 to 1, was approved more than a month after a judge blocked a proposed referendum that would have required any sale or lease of public land larger than a half-acre to be approved by Boca Raton voters instead of just elected officials.
The blocked referendum, which garnered thousands of signatures from registered voters, and the new city law were inspired by a pending 99-year lease deal with David Martin’s Terra and Palm Beach-based Frisbie Group that would enable them to build a 1.15-million-square-foot mixed-use community near Brightline’s Boca Raton station, a deal that has already been backed by the city’s planning and zoning board.
Brandon Schaad, director of development services, said the new city code creates a “higher standard” for the sale or transfer of city land. Among other things, the city now requires that people within 500 feet of a half-acre property under consideration for sale or lease be notified 10 days prior to the first hearing.
The transaction would also have to accomplish a public purpose, such as revenue for the city, substantial community benefits, or a project that would enhance recreational, cultural or economic opportunities for residents, according to the ordinance.
The new code specifies that this won’t apply to easements or right-of-way conveyances needed for utilities and other public purposes. It also won’t impact renewals and extensions of already approved leases where “the underlying public purpose continues to be served.”
Jon Pearlman, founder of Save Boca, said the ordinance was drafted by Mayor Scott Singer to “mimic” a law pushed by his grassroots organization that would have required such deals to be ratified by voters. Although Save Boca’s petition drive for such a referendum attracted thousands of voters, it was declared unconstitutional in late November by Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Curley following a lawsuit from Boca Raton attorney Ned Kimmelman. Pearlman said the judge’s ruling is under appeal.
“The bottom line is that [the city ordinance] does not put the power of disposition of city land, the sale of city lands and the lease of city lands, in the hands of the people, which the Save Boca laws do,” Pearlman said.
Singer, though, said his proposed ordinance marked an improvement over the status quo.
“We should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” the mayor said.
But Councilmember Andy Thomson, a critic of the One Boca project, said he didn’t see the Singer’s proposed ordinance as “meaningful.” He voted against it.
Although a referendum on future city land deals has so far been stopped, the council, Terra and Frisbie agreed last year to hold a referendum on the One Boca project on March 10.
Boca Raton voters will have final say on One Boca, but city officials are still moving forward with the process. At this week’s meeting, the council also introduced an ordinance to approve a 99-year lease deal with Terra and Frisbie.
Under their current plans, Terra and Frisbie would build three buildings, up to 130 feet tall, that would consist of 947 condos and apartments, 120,000 square feet of office, 79,100 square feet of retail, a 30,000-square-foot grocery store, and a 180-room hotel on 7.8 acres of mostly public land at approximately Northwest Second Avenue and Northwest Fourth Street, Deputy City Manager Andrew Lukasik said. The deal would include Terra and Frisbie reviving the 17-acre city hall campus, which is scheduled to come back for second reading on Jan. 20.
The proposed development has been evolving ever since Boca Raton officials picked Terra and Frisbie over four other contenders nearly a year ago to redevelop its city hall campus. Back then, Terra and Frisbie’s proposed project spanned 2.5 million square feet, which was later reduced to about 1.5 million square feet. Following vocal opposition from hundreds of residents, Terra and Frisbie agreed to further scale back their project and limit it to the east side of Northwest Second Avenue.
Read more
Development
South Florida
Boca Raton board backs approval of Terra, Frisbie’s controversial 99-year lease