Holly Schuttler (l-r), Liz DeBiase, Jon Pearlman and Dawn Alford Zook, of Save Boca, hold signs in support of their agenda. The group’s petitions call for amendments to a city ordinance and to the City Charter that would not allow the City Council to lease or sell any city-owned land greater than one-half acre without an election. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Mary Hladky
What started as contained protest has morphed into all-out rebellion, as residents step forward to oppose Boca Raton’s plans to redevelop the city’s 30-acre downtown campus, which includes government and park space.
With the new residents group Save Boca in the lead, the opposition now has the trappings of a movement with Save Boca lime green and bright navy T-shirts and yard signs — and volunteers going door-to-door to collect signatures on petitions that would force the city to let residents vote on the project.
Organized by Jon Pearlman, Save Boca has a website, SaveBoca.org, where petitions are available, and a Facebook page. Residents can go to the Downtown Library every Tuesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. to sign a petition or pick up a yard sign.
Save Boca exhorted residents to voice their opinions at the July 15 City Council meeting. They responded in force.
Project opponents filled every seat in the council chambers and spilled over into a foyer. More than 30 spoke.
“This is too big,” Brett Lassen said of the project. “We are taking paradise and putting up a parking lot.”
Said Joe Majhess: “Traffic will drastically increase. Our quality of life is being sacrificed. We are done. Put it to a vote.”
“I have not heard one single person who wants this development. Not one,” said Patricia Dervishi. “They want it completely scrapped. Not changed. Scrapped.”
“People are shocked,” Pearlman said. “This project has brought to light we the citizens do not have any power over our public land.
“That is what the petitions seek. We need to put the protection of our public land back in the hands of the people.”
As he shouted “Save Boca!” the audience cheered.
The two petitions call for amendments to a city ordinance and to the City Charter. They would not allow the City Council to lease or sell any city-owned land greater than one-half acre without an election.
Mayor faults petition words
The city, in a public-private partnership, plans to lease the 30 acres for 99 years to a joint venture of Terra and Frisbie Group for redevelopment.
An analysis by city consultant CBRE found the deal would yield the city $3.6 billion. That includes lease payments to the city and a $2.2 billion increase in tax revenue the property will generate over the 99 years once redeveloped. Pearlman contends the revenue would be far less.
What Pearlman and Save Boca supporters see as an issue of resident control over what happens to city-owned public land, Mayor Scott Singer sees as a grave impediment to governance.
“Unfortunately, these petitions are confusing to many residents because they have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond just the downtown campus,” he said in statement to The Coastal Star.
“The language could imperil all our longstanding relationships with core nonprofits, facilities and cultural centers, including the Boca Museum of Art, Boca Raton Historical Society, Fuller Center, Tri-County Animal Rescue and many more groups.”
Every time the city wanted to lease land to such groups, there would have to be a costly election, he said. Either the groups would have to pay for it, or the City Council might decide not to pay that cost and so not provide leases.
“Residents who have concerns may prefer to give feedback to the evolving (downtown campus) plans, rather than sign this petition that may prevent nonprofits in the future from providing many benefits to our city,” he said.
Jon Pearlman and Dawn Alford Zook of Save Boca review petitions outside the Downtown Library that are aimed at halting Boca Raton’s downtown campus redevelopment plans. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Ballot initiative
Save Boca must collect at least 6,112 signatures for the charter change and 3,676 for the ordinance change to get either measure on a ballot.
As of late July, Pearlman did not have an exact count of how many signed petitions have been collected, but said it was over 1,000 for each of the two measures.
“I am very confident we will get the amount of signatures we need for this petition to become successful,” he said.
There is no specific deadline for submitting the petitions. Once they are filed with City Clerk Mary Siddons, she would coordinate with Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link to verify the signatures and voter registrations. If the petitions meet the requirements, the measures would go to a vote.
The next city election is on March 10, 2026, when voters will determine the next mayor and who will fill two City Council seats. A special election with only the two measures on the ballot would cost about $200,000.
Was city outreach enough?
Several residents complained at the council meeting that they did not know the scope of the redevelopment project that will bring residential, retail, two office buildings and a hotel to the downtown site. It also will include a new, but smaller City Hall, larger Community Center and a police substation.
They criticized city officials for poor communication and outreach.
But city officials insist they have worked diligently to keep residents informed.
All documents detailing the project are on the city’s website.
Officials also post regular updates there and on social media about the project’s status. They have held two charettes that allowed residents to see the plans and speak with Terra/Frisbie officials. For more than six months, city officials and CBRE have provided updates at every council meeting and allowed the public to comment.
And yet, many residents either were unaware or assumed the project was limited to building a new City Hall and Community Center, which they generally support.
The exception is users of the campus’ recreation facilities, including the tennis center, skate park and softball fields. They know the city plans to move most of those to other parks and have strongly objected.
Most recently, the city said it would build a $12 million softball complex at Sugar Sand Park, which is owned by the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District. Once it is built, the district will own and maintain the complex.
In responding to criticisms during the meeting, Mayor Singer said, “It disheartens me that despite so many communications so many people are unaware.”
He noted that Mizner Park was created as a public-private partnership that “transformed that area of the downtown. We have the opportunity to do the same thing here. … Everyone would say (Mizner Park) is successful.”
“This is an ongoing process,” he said after residents had weighed in. “We appreciate your comments and will see what we can make better.”
Comments