The Palm Beach County Zoning Commission recommended approval of a development‑order amendment and class A conditional use to add 89 multifamily units to the Boca Raton Commerce Center site, including a workforce set‑aside of 25 percent (22 units), after hearing neighbor concerns about traffic, emergency‑vehicle access and drainage.

Applicant presentation: attorney Cameron Nennas said the project occupies a 4.79‑acre parcel just south of Glades Road and west of the Turnpike and that an existing roughly 15,000‑square‑foot office building on the north side of the parcel would remain. He described the proposal as a transition use between industrial and residential neighborhoods: industrial and logistics properties lie to the east and south of the site and Meisner Point single‑family development lies to the west.

Nennas said the project was reduced during review from an earlier 110‑unit concept to the current 89‑unit plan, a design change that lowered peak trips and reduced height near the residential edge. He said the current design steps building height down to four stories along the west edge, with a taller central portion set farther from Meisner Point, and that bedroom windows that face the neighborhood were converted to clerestory windows to limit views into existing homes.

Traffic, access and flooding concerns: two speakers from the Meisner Point Homeowners Association raised concerns about Boca Rio Road’s two‑lane configuration and heavy morning congestion, limited emergency access during rush hours, and recurring flooding on Via Eden behind the neighborhood. Joan Teitelbaum, Meisner Point HOA president, said Boca Rio “is a 2‑lane road … There is no room for emergency vehicles during rush hours.” Another neighbor, Mariela Ferrari, asked how emergency responders would access Meisner Point if the new project added traffic on the single access easement.

Staff and applicant responses: the applicant said the multifamily plan would generate far fewer daily trips than the maximum trips already allocated to the site under its existing commercial‑office future land use designation. The applicant also said a 20‑foot drainage easement and a stormwater plan to hold runoff on site would improve local drainage. County traffic staff confirmed the road currently fails some background conditions but said a county‑planned Boca Rio Road widening project (targeted in 2027) would expand capacity along the corridor. Fire Rescue reviewed the zoning files and raised no objections to circulation and emergency access for the proposed plan.

Condition drafting note: one commissioner pointed out a confusing carry‑forward condition in the packet that referenced a 2018 building‑permit cutoff date; staff and the applicant said they would correct and reconcile build‑out/building permit language prior to Board of County Commissioners review.

Commission action: the commission voted to recommend approval of the development‑order amendment (8a) and the class A conditional use (8b) to the Board of County Commissioners; one commissioner recorded an opposed vote on the conditional‑use recommendation. The commission’s packet included a staff‑recommended condition set; staff said they and the applicant were working on final engineering language for a condition added on an add/delete and would correct the build‑out permit language before the Board hearing.

Next steps: recommended items will go to the Board of County Commissioners for final action. Staff said the project will be conditioned on the traffic, drainage and sidewalk commitments discussed during review, including a sidewalk connection and a requirement that the site’s permitted traffic intensity be tied to the project as approved in the application.