“Our kids can't play and we will not be able to walk due to traffic”
Last week Bunny found a flyer on our door:
## NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING…> THE COMMUNITY APPEARANCE BOARD
City of Boca Raton, Florida hereby gives notice:…> 6:00 P.M. on November 18, 2025…> Boca Raton Community Center–Annex Building…> 260 Crawford Boulevard
>
…
>
A phased mater plan amendment and site plan approvals to authorize the following on a 77-acre site, generally located at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, with approximately:
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> * 68,276 square feet [6,343 m^2 —Editor] of office;
* 150,000 square feet [14,000 m^2 —Editor] of retail;
* 130,133 square foot [12,000 m^2 —Edtior] hotel (185 rooms);
* 781 residential units; and
* 2,729 parking space
…
>
That 77-acre site (which is nothing but dense tropical trees) is right behind Chez Boca (and 32 other homes). This is not new—it's been something that the City of Boca has been threatening us with for the better part of fifteen years. And then yesterday, again on our door, we found another flyer, with largely the same information but with “Please attend it is urgent” and “Our kids can't play and we will not be able to walk due to traffic” scrawled in the margins.
Well, how can I pass that up?
At 6:00 P.M I found myself sitting in the Boca Raton Community Center Annex Building with about 50 other people. As the meeting began, it became apparent that this will happen. Maybe not next year, but eventually. Also, this meeting was to approve the architecture and landscaping only! No mention of traffic or noise would be brokered, nor would questions during the presentation of the architectural and landscaping firm. Afterwards, yes. But not during.
During the presentation, it was mentioned that the development was based loosely upon Mizner Park [1], an upscale mix-zoning development near downtown Boca Raton. They were going for a similar mixed-zoning but not with the same architectual style as Mizner Park. The plans aren't as dense as they're zoned for, so it's not quite the 150,000 square feet of reatil mentioned, which is nice. And they aren't developing the entire 77-acres—there's a large section in the north-east that will be left largely alone for now.
But one of my bigger concerns going into the meeting was ingress and egress. There are four potential spots for this—the one to the north would be a nightmare as it would be between the I-95 exit and residential homes. The one to the south is better—it's near the I-95 exit but not right on top if it. The final two spots lead directly into our neighborhood, at both ends of the street I live on!
Turns out there are only two points of ingress and egress. The main one on the south, and the other one off the street I live on (at the south end) to only be used by emergency vehicles like fire and ambulances; it will be fenced off from any traffic (car or foot) otherwise.
We were also assured that there will be a 100 foot (30 m) buffer between homes along the easter edge and any development, with none of the trees removed in said buffer space (with the exception of invasive species, which will be replaced with native trees).
I'm not trilled with the prospect, but if the current plans are followed, it's not horrible; it could be a lot worse. I also thought of asking when this development was supposed to actually start only after the meeting, but given how long this has been threatened, I'm not expecting any ground breaking any time soon.
I hope.