Public commenters press council over Save Boca petition, park protections and long leases; staff outlines ordinance for public‑land dispositions

Multiple residents used the Dec. 15 workshop public‑comment periods to criticize council conduct and raise concerns about the proposed downtown project, long leases and protections for public lands.

Mike Liebelson (a mayoral candidate) and other speakers criticized the appraisal methodology and argued the council had not adequately respected the Save Boca petition. Liebelson said residents lack trust in the council and urged that the public’s concerns be respected; John Perlman and others disputed some of the signature-count assertions and discussed overlapping batches submitted to the elections office (Mike Liebelson; John Perlman; James Hendry).

Mayor and staff provided factual clarifications about the petitions: the mayor noted that roughly 6,200 city‑resident signatures were certified by the supervisor of elections on the larger question and explained that overlap among submitted batches affected totals that had been publicly cited. The mayor said the judge’s order currently limits what the council may place on the ballot in that language (Mayor Singer).

On protections for public land, staff summarized proposed ordinance 5,766 — requiring two public hearings and mailed notice to owners within 500 feet for disposition of lands greater than half an acre — and recited existing charter, comp‑plan and code protections that already limit uses of parks, beaches and Intracoastal lands. Several council members said they were sympathetic to adding firmer park protections but cautioned that drafting detailed referendum-style or charter-level language is legally complex and must be done carefully (Koehler; Wigdor).

Next steps: staff said ordinance 5,766 will be on the introduction agenda and more detailed materials about existing protections will be assembled for the public hearing; no charter‑level vote or referendum action was taken at the workshop.