Boca Raton council adopts resolution affirming March 10 referendum is binding, rebuffs petition drive

The Boca Raton City Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution declaring that a citywide referendum set for March 10, 2026, is the sole binding mechanism to approve the proposed downtown campus public–private partnership and directed the clerk not to process a recently filed petition that council members said would duplicate that vote.

City Attorney Mr. Koehler told the council that “nothing about this project happens unless the voters approve it,” and that the agreements and ordinances already in place condition the transaction on an affirmative vote. He said the resolution and Ordinance 57-72 — introduced that morning but not voted on — are intended to remove ambiguity about the legal effect of a negative referendum outcome.

That explanation was the centerpiece of the hearing. Mr. Koehler said the master partnership agreement and related documents “say the same thing, verbatim,” and that “if the voters reject the project, the ordinance is automatically repealed. No further council action is required.” He also noted the city’s legal team and outside counsel had reviewed the documents and reached the same conclusion.

Members of the public at the hearing were sharply divided. Joe Magus of Save Boca urged the council to adopt the resolution, saying the group was founded to ensure public land receives a public vote and calling the petition effort “disingenuous.”

John Perlman, identifying himself as a petitioner, said the city lawyer had created a clause that would have made the contract binding if a referendum failed and said petitioners planned to deliver signed petitions to the city clerk under charter section 6. Perlman: “We will deliver the signed petitions to the city clerk within the 30 days as set forth in the charter.”

Mayor Singer and other council members repeatedly rejected those assertions as incorrect. Singer told petitioners: “Everything in the deal is contingent upon the vote of the residents,” and emphasized that ballots for the March 10 election are already being printed and mailed. Council member Thompson said the referendum had been secured months earlier and called the new petition “redundant” and “confusing.”

After public comment, a council member moved to adopt Resolution 6-20-26; the motion was seconded and passed on a 5-0 roll call. The clerk then read Ordinance 57-72 aloud and a council member formally introduced it as a clarifying, “belt-and-suspenders” measure; that ordinance will return for further action per the city’s process.

The council did not take other formal action on the downtown campus during the special meeting. Mayor Singer and council members said that if voters reject the project they will consider options for the downtown campus — including leaving it alone, upgrading existing buildings, or seeking other proposals — and reiterated a commitment to a formal dedication at Memorial Park regardless of the referendum outcome.

Resolution 6-20-26: adopted 5-0. Ordinance 57-72: introduced, no vote taken.

A follow-up: the March 10, 2026 referendum ballot will present a single yes-or-no question on the downtown campus transaction; vote-by-mail is underway.