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Who We Are: We are a coalition of concerned Boca Raton residents who desire to maintain the green space within our community, as we believe that green space is a valuable feature in an urban environment and is directly linked to the quality of life of the residents. Protecting the quality of life in residential communities throughout Boca Raton is a goal of this volunteer organization.
What We Are Doing: We are working with residents within the community who may not have the experience that we have in dealing with professionals in the legal, traffic and land planning areas in order to preserve the green space in Boca Raton and the residential quality of life. We seek to assist local communities within the city in understanding the land use process, as well as provide guidance and assistance in protecting their neighborhood from undesirable and incompatible developments. Paving over green space is not in the best interest of the residential character of our city and we seek to achieve an improved balance in the planning & development process that will favor the residential concerns within the city. Below is a summary of some of the projects that we have been involved with in assisting our members to preserve green space and the residential quality of life within Boca Raton: Boca Teeca Project: Ocean Breeze/Boca Teeca Country Club obtained city council approval on 12/11/07 to rezone almost 30 acres of golf course property for the construction of 211 townhomes and the doubling of the capacity of the hotel located at the intersection of NW 2nd Ave. & Jeffrey St. Not only does this result in a rezoning of valuable green space from recreational land use to medium density residential, it sets the wrong precedent within the entire Boca Raton community for the reduction of green space and the associated quality of life, in favor of a developer who purchased the property knowing that the land was not zoned for further development. In addition to the loss of green space, this development approval mitigation agreement will require the developer to pay the city $6 million. These funds are for the cost of widening of NW 2nd Ave. to a 4-lane divided highway which was estimated at a cost of $14 million by the city's 2005 E.A.R. NW 2nd Ave. has been designated as a 2-lane road in order to preserve the residential character of the adjacent communities, so if this change is made, then it is ecpected to have a significant negative impact on the residents in the entire area of North Boca Raton. But, since there is no requirement that the city widen the main roadway through this residential community then the city will retain $3 million. So, the city obtained a $3 million committment from this developer in exchange for approval of this incompatible development that not only destroys green space but also destroys the propoerty values of the adjacent residential property owners. In order to illustrate the financial impact on these residents, in 2007 the Palm Beach Co. property appraiser reduced the appraised value of the land on each lot adjacent to this development by 40%. Some of the leaders in this community have supported this project after their condo associations signed agreements providing approx. $220/unit if this develpment proposal was approval and was built. The condo associations which accepted this offer did not agree to provide any support to the approval process, but since it was in their best financial interest to support this proposal some of these leaders spoke in support of the proposal at the public hearings. The leaders of these same condos had previously opposed the final buildout of units allowed in the Boca Teeca master plan in part due to the increased risk to motorists and pedestrians within their community, but they were not offered a financial incentive to support this development.
Yamato Crossing Project: This commercial property was approved several years ago after a church located at the southwest corner of NW 2nd Ave. & Yamato Rd. sold this property and moved their church elsewhere within the city. The adjacent residents of Boca Pinar were active in the proposed development of this process since this proposed development would have a significant impact on their quality of life and property values. Accordingly, the retail portion of the development was to be located on the north side of this site with a 1-story commercial building providing a buffer between the retail development and the residential townhouses in Boca Pinar. The commercial building was occupied by Envirodyne for many years but they moved out in approximately 2006 and the property has been vacant for a few years. In early 2009 the owner of the property sought and obtained approval for changing the use of this property for a warehouse business that would be allowed to operate 24 hours/day and would be allowed to add a 2nd floor to this building. In spite of the past promises of the city and the objections of the adjacent residents, the city approved these changes in order to help the financially strapped owner of the property. Later in 2009 this property has been reported to be in foreclosure yet the nearby residents are faced with the possibilty of an incompatible development being constructed which will not only destroy their quality of life, but also destroy their property values.
Addison Park Project: This townhouse development is lcoated on the south east corner of NW 4th Ave. & 20th Street and was originally approved as a 3-story owner occupied development with significant architectural features designed to enhance the value of the property. The nearby residents worked with the city planning department and elected city council members to be assured that the development being proposed would have a positive impact on their community. In spite of these reassurances to the nearby residents this developer proposed a significant change in the development which virtually elimated the significant architectural features after the construction of one building which met the requirements of the original development order. This change in the development order was not communicated to the nearby residents and was not required to be approved by the city council, as only the approval of the city's volunteer community appearance board was required for this significant change in the development order. More importantly the promised use of this townhouse development has been changed by the developer to provide for rental of the townhouse units by the bedroom to local college students. This change of use from owner occupied townhouses to a rental-by-the-room property is certainly inconsistent with the originally promised development and is not compatible with the single family homes adjacent to the development. The nearby home owners have complained to the city, but the response has been that this change of design was done according to the city's policies and the change of use is not regulated by the city. At the August 25, 2009 city council meeting the proposed change to the planning ordinances was sent back to the planning & zoning board for further consideration. This change has no provision for regulating the use of the property and local development attorney Charlie Simeon has spoken publicly against this ordinance at a previous council workshop in which this ordinance was eventually pulled from the agenda.
The Eden Project: This rental apartment conversion to condominiums is located within eyesight of the Boca Raton city hall along the south side of Palmetto Park Road and to the west of city hall at Palmetto Park Rd. & Boca Raton Blvd. For many years this development was only partially completed with the west side of the development site described as having the appearance of a war-zone by a resident of the development. Nearby residents to the west side and south side of the development site have been overlooking a development disaster for several years as the developer had made numerous promises to the city to obtain extensions on the development permits. Finally in July 2009 the city council voted to terminate the building permits under the terms allowed in the city planning ordinances. Unfortunately for the impacted nearby residents this does not solve their problem of having a view of a half-constructed buildings with no paint on the concrete and a construction fence surrounding the property. This developer cited on numerous appearances to the city council that there would be financing available to finish the project if the city would provide more time and in 2008 he was even granted a significant change which would allow for a large clubhouse/commercial building within this residential site. This is an illustration of the problem of accepting the promises of an overleveraged and undercapitalized developer and the negative impact on the citizens of Boca Raton.
Environmentally Sensitive Land Ordinance: In 2008 the city development services department proposed an amendment to the city's ordinance that protects land that is designated as environmentally sensitive land (ESL). This ordinance indicated that isolated & relatively small areas of ESL were difficult to maintain and monitor so the city should allow these areas to be developed with suitable compensation paid to the city in order to help fund the maintenance of other ESL owned by the city. This ordinace was changed significantly after the aprpoval of the city's Environmental Advisory Board and contained no provision to require this land to actually be isolated. This ESL ordinance amendment was approved in early 2009 and during this approval process there was one developer who spoke in support of this change, the Kolter company. During this ESL amendment process the Kolter development company was also in the process of obtaining approval for a commercial & retain development located at the north east corner of Military Trail and Spanish River Blvd. This site was previously apoproved for a residential development and the city had consulted with the Palm Beach County environmental management staff regarding this residential development since there is a portion of the proposed development site that is designated as ESL which is adjacent to the county's 75 acre Pond Hawk nature reserve located on Spanish River Blvd. As a result of the amendment of the ESL ordinance this Kolter development would be allowed to be expanded to include development on the designated ESL even though this was adjacent to a 75 acre ESL area owned by the county. |
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