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Planning board approves relocation of historic Ricketts House to Boca Raton Cemetery site
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Board approved a site plan to relocate the Ricketts House from Crawford Boulevard to the Boca Raton Cemetery and Mausoleum, with associated landscaping, a driveway-width deviation, and a front-yard setback variance; the measure passed 7–0.
The Planning & Zoning Board of Boca Raton on June 5 unanimously approved a site plan to relocate the historic Ricketts House to a southeastern corner of the Boca Raton Cemetery and Mausoleum at 755 Southwest Third Avenue.
Jacob German, Planner II, told the board the Ricketts House—built in 1939 and previously moved to 498 Crawford Boulevard in 1989—will be re-sited instead of demolished. The application included a site-plan amendment, a technical deviation to reduce a driveway width from 24 feet to 20 feet, and a variance to reduce a required front-yard setback from 100 feet to 25 feet 2 inches. Staff supported the variance and technical deviation, noting the required 100-foot setback would have encroached on areas designated for future burial plots and cemetery roadway.
Architect Curtis Sowards described the relocation as a preservation measure: if installed at the cemetery the Ricketts House will be used as office space for cemetery and recreation services. Landscaping plans include bald cypress, live oak and silver buttonwood plantings and hedges to screen the structure and parking; the site will also screen an existing lift station.
A public speaker, Judy Morrow, urged the board to prioritize recreational land and raised broader concerns about future changes to park and recreational spaces; there were no speakers in opposition to the Ricketts House move. The board voted to approve the site plan and variance on a 7–0 roll call.
The relocation will preserve the Ricketts House in city ownership and place it in a cemetery setting, with conditions and landscaping intended to minimize impacts to burial plots and adjacent properties.
