Boca Raton council sends downtown '1 Boca' redevelopment and related charter measure to Jan. 13 referendum after heated public comment

The Boca Raton City Council voted Tuesday to submit two citizen-initiated measures restricting the sale or lease of city-owned land larger than one-half acre to the Jan. 13, 2026 special election, after a developer presentation and more than three hours of public comment.

The measures — a proposed ordinance and an identical charter amendment certified sufficient by the city clerk — would require voter approval before the city could lease, sell or otherwise alienate any parcel larger than one-half acre.

The action came after the council received a staff briefing and a public presentation from Rob Frisbie of the Frisbie Group on a revised plan for the downtown government campus, billed by its proponents as a mix of civic uses, parks and a reduced private development footprint east of Northwest 2nd Avenue. Frisbie told the council the revised plan keeps all land west of NW 2nd Avenue, including Memorial Park, in city ownership and reduces the developer’s leased footprint to under 8 acres east of NW 2nd Avenue. He also presented financial projections, saying the project could generate about $3.8 billion in gross revenues over a 99‑year term and an NPV of roughly $370 million; Frisbie described those figures as the developer’s preliminary pro forma and said third‑party analysis is underway.

The presentation and the staff briefing led into an extended public-comment period in which dozens of residents took the podium. Residents supporting the project said it would fund replacement civic buildings, modernize aging recreational facilities and bring economic vitality. Opponents, including organizers of the Save Boca campaign and several long-time residents, argued the proposal would hand public land to private interests, increase downtown density and traffic, and lacked adequate independent cost‑effectiveness, environmental and legal review.

Dr. Lorraine Blank, a resident who said she filed suit in August challenging the process, told the council she had asked a court to require a cost‑effectiveness analysis and, if successful, an injunction halting the project; she said a first hearing is set for Dec. 12. "A referendum based on incomplete information is a disservice to the public," she said.

Council members also debated procedural and legal questions about how to handle citizen initiatives. Council member Thompson had earlier moved that the council vote on the certified initiative ordinance before sending it to voters, but that motion failed for lack of a second; the council later considered and approved resolutions to refer both the ordinance and the charter amendment to the January 13 ballot. Mayor Singer and other members repeatedly said they had sought to balance transparency, public input and the need to examine financial and infrastructure details that staff and independent consultants are still reviewing.

The council’s formal action was two separate roll‑call votes: Resolution 159‑2025 (referring the citizen ordinance) passed 5–0 with the special election date amended to Jan. 13, 2026; Resolution 160‑2025 (referring the charter amendment) also passed 5–0. When asked about procedural obligations under the charter, the city attorney advised the council that referring the measures for a public vote is consistent with the charter’s initiative and charter‑amendment procedures.

What’s next: staff said further financial analysis from the city and its independent consultant (PFM) will be presented at a forthcoming meeting scheduled for more detailed review. The referendum campaign timeline and ballot language will follow the clerk’s office process for a January special election.