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Board approves relocation of Ricketts House to Boca Raton Cemetery
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Board voted 7‑0 on June 5 to approve relocating the historic Ricketts House to the Boca Raton Cemetery, granting a large front‑setback variance and a driveway width deviation while requiring landscaping and screening measures.
The Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board unanimously approved a plan on June 5 to relocate the historic Ricketts House to the Boca Raton Cemetery and Mausoleum, preserving the 1939 structure while authorizing a major front‑yard setback reduction and a driveway width deviation.
City planner Jacob German presented the site plan for the approximately 24.8‑acre parcel at 755 Southwest 3rd Avenue, explaining that the applicant requests to reduce a 100‑foot front setback to about 25 feet, and to reduce an existing driveway width from 24 to 20 feet. German said staff supports approval because the relocation preserves the house instead of allowing demolition and designs landscaping and screening to minimize impacts on existing cemetery areas.
Applicant representative David Millage said the project will preserve the Ricketts House in the southeastern corner of the cemetery, provide landscaping buffers including bald cypress and native shrubs, and keep traffic impacts low because the building will not operate daily. Architect Jess Sowards said the site design minimizes impacts and that the proposal is intended to safeguard the structure’s long‑term use as office space for cemetery and parks & rec staff.
Several board members pressed staff and the applicant about preservation easements, prior county resolutions and code enforcement history; staff and the applicant said they had revised a resource management plan, addressed violations and incorporated many recommendations from the Environmental Advisory Board. A resident during public comment urged caution about converting recreational land and the wider downtown campus plan; another resident supported active preservation.
After discussion the board voted unanimously to approve the site plan, technical deviation and variance with conditions including the proposed landscaping and monitoring. The board’s action preserves the Ricketts House by relocation rather than demolition and requires the conservation and management measures presented to staff.
