A recent workshop meant to refocus the city on invigorating its downtown offered up a stew of ideas, with a decent helping of Boynton-style controversy to spice it up.
Redevelopment officials, developers and commissioners talked about creating a consistent theme to the downtown, broached the idea of narrowing Boynton Beach Boulevard, and a possible new complex of apartments at Boynton Beach Boulevard and Federal Highway.
The three-hour evening affair was meant to be peppy “ its theme was ‘Energizing Downtown!’ ” but it ended up getting a little peppier than expected.
With a real-estate lawyer, a developer, and a consulting firm on the agenda to speak to the commission, Commissioner Steven Holzman declared that their presentations would violate the city’s lobbying law since the speakers weren’t registered as lobbyists. When the first presenter approached the lectern anyway, Holzman packed up his things and left, saying he wouldn’t be a party to it.
“It’s literally a venue for lobbying,” he said on the way out.
A real-estate lawyer who represents developers talked about marketing, a public relations firm talked about creating a city brand, representatives of the Heart of Boynton project talked about that effort, and a developer with the Patrinely Group talked about a proposal to build a new city hall and 200 apartments at Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway.
Commissioner Bill Orlove was worried enough about the lobbying law that he spoke on behalf of consulting firm Charlotte Pelton & Associates about a proposed arts center in the downtown, which he favors.
After the presentations, City Attorney Jim Cherof said he was comfortable that no laws were violated.
“What’s expressed that’s generic in nature and not specific to something that’s on next week’s agenda, or the week after, or a month from now … that’s not covered under the anti-lobbying provision,” he said.
Mayor Jose Rodriguez said he was comfortable with the presentations, saying that his everyday interactions could be construed as lobbying in a sense.
“Everybody I talk to all day long says, ‘Hey, when can we do this? When do we do that?’ ” he said. “That’s what we do.”
Before he left, Holzman, along with Rodriguez, challenged Development Director Quintus Greene’s assertion that the city hall site at Boynton Beach Boulevard and Seacrest would be better used for commercial development.
Long-term ideas for the downtown, interim Community Redevelopment Agency director Vivian Brooks said, include narrowing Boynton Beach Boulevard from four lanes to three and creating a downtown development district. She also suggested that the city should embrace its origins as a fishing village as it tries to develop a theme.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy,” she said. “I think we can be fun, and I think we can be funky.”
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