Boca Raton council approves conditional use for vehicle storage, service and appointment-only showroom at 6403 W. Rogers Circle amid traffic concerns

The Boca Raton City Council on Sept. 10 approved a conditional use and site-plan amendments allowing vehicle storage, limited repair and an appointment-only showroom at 6403 West Rogers Circle, despite sustained opposition from nearby property owners and tenants who said the change would worsen traffic and safety near local schools.

Council adopted Resolution 80-20-24 (conditional use) and Resolution 81-20-24 (site-plan amendment and technical deviations) by unanimous votes (5–0). The approvals followed a staff presentation, a detailed applicant submission and roughly an hour of public comment at the quasi‑judicial hearing.

Senior planner Owen Devlin told the council the roughly two-acre property is in an M3 manufacturing/industrial zone and that staff initially recommended denial because the original submittal resembled a car dealership and showed a large net‑trip increase. After the applicant revised the floor plan, parking calculations and a traffic study, staff concluded the motor‑vehicle sales showroom would occupy 7.85% of the floor area and recommended approval. Devlin said the applicant reduced projected daily trips from about 1,152 in the original submittal to 296 in the revised study and proposed 11,365 square feet for automotive repair and restoration along with an expansion of an existing mezzanine by about 4,000 square feet.

The applicant, David Milledge, emphasized operational limits in his presentation: “It’s online only. All the transactions would be online. All vehicles have to be stored inside the facility. There’s no outdoor display…no test drives on the property,” Milledge said, adding appointments would be required and staff would limit onsite sales employees to no more than 10. He said extensive repairs would be sent to the Fort Lauderdale Ferrari dealership.

Neighborhood business owners and tenants told the council they did not trust those restrictions to prevent increased traffic, noise and unsafe driving. Thomas Laird, president of the South Congress Industrial Property Owners Association, said the 1985 master plan for the industrial center was written to disallow retail and urged council to preserve that restriction: “If you change the rules, I’m sure this will not be the only one that will follow,” Laird said, asking the council to vote no.

Several tenants described chronic congestion on Rogers Circle and Holland Drive and questioned the plausibility of the revised traffic numbers given the building’s size and potential staffing. Louis Rosner, who owns contiguous buildings in the industrial park, said that a showroom next to a Montessori school would be inappropriate: “For all intents and purposes, this really is a dealership, whether it has a license or not,” Rosner said.

Council members pressed staff and the applicant during questions on ventilation and exhaust, where the additional mezzanine square footage came from, and how the city would enforce conditions if the use shifted. City staff said the extra square footage resulted from an expanded mezzanine and that ventilation would meet Florida building code. Staff and the development services director described enforcement remedies — code‑enforcement proceedings and potential revocation if conditions are violated — and said they had added or strengthened conditions, including signage to clearly mark employee‑only areas and an explicit restriction preventing franchise dealer licensing for the site.

Several council members said the applicant had responded to staff concerns and made substantial changes that reduced the traffic impact and the retail look of the property. Council member Rucker said staff had done their due diligence; Rucker and other supporters stressed there are existing enforcement mechanisms if the operation departs from its approved conditions. Council member Wigdert said the city should pursue traffic‑calming and stepped‑up enforcement on nearby streets if speeding remains a problem.

The council’s approvals included the conditions discussed at the hearing: a requirement that sales be appointment-only and online, no outdoor vehicle storage or display, no test drives permitted from the property (including by technicians), limits on sales staff, required signage and restrictions on obtaining a franchise dealer license for the location.

What happens next: Both resolutions were adopted that night; the project may proceed subject to the conditions approved by council and any required permitting. City staff said they would monitor compliance and pursue code enforcement if conditions are violated.

Votes at a glance: Resolution 80-20-24 (conditional use) — adopted 5–0. Resolution 81-20-24 (site-plan amendment and technical deviations) — adopted 5–0.