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Planning board approves relocation of historic Ricketts House to Boca Raton Cemetery
Summary
The board approved moving the Ricketts House from Crawford Boulevard to the Boca Raton Cemetery, including a front setback variance and a 4-foot driveway-width deviation. Staff supported the move as preservation in lieu of demolition; the project passed 7–0.
The Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously on June 5 to approve a site plan amendment that will relocate the Ricketts House from 498 Crawford Boulevard to a southeastern corner of the Boca Raton Cemetery & Mausoleum at 755 Southwest Third Avenue.
City planner Jacob German said the timber-frame house, originally built in 1939 and moved previously in 1989, would be preserved at the cemetery rather than demolished. The application included a variance from section 28-3431(a) to reduce a required front (street) yard setback from 100 feet to 25 feet 2 inches — a reduction of 74 feet 10 inches — and a technical deviation from section 23-190(d) to reduce driveway width from 24 feet to 20 feet. German said staff recommended approval of both the variance and the technical deviation.
German described landscaping and screening measures: six bald cypress, live oaks, silver buttonwoods and cocoa plum hedges, and screening for an existing lift station. He told the board the relocated house would be used as office space for cemetery and recreation services and would not operate daily. Jacob said the narrower driveway was acceptable given low expected traffic and site constraints that prevent widening without relocating the lift station.
In public comment, longtime resident Judy Morrow urged the board to protect recreational land, and no speakers opposed the Ricketts House move. Board members had limited questions; Chair Seville said he hoped the structure’s relocation would be its “final resting place.” The board approved the site plan and related variance and technical deviation by a 7–0 vote.
