Residents ask Boca Raton to form a Pearl City preservation committee as Dixie Manor case nears hearing

During public request, longtime resident Marjorie O'Sullivan told the council that Pearl City has been listed on the National Register of Historic Neighborhoods and asked that the city create a provisional committee to oversee preservation and celebration of the neighborhood's history.

"Pearl City has now been put on the national registry of historic neighborhoods," O'Sullivan said, and she recommended a committee that would include a city council member, the Boca Raton Historical Society, neighborhood representatives and planning and zoning staff.

Mary Zarr, executive director of the Boca Raton Historical Society, said the society stands ready to assist in preserving Dixie Manor and documenting neighborhood history. The deputy mayor prefaced public comments by telling speakers that Dixie Manor is a quasi-judicial matter scheduled for the regular council meeting the following day and that formal action would not occur in the workshop.

Other residents used the public-comment period to ask the council to consider appointees for advisory committees and to urge transparency on the long-range financial plan. There was no council action on the preservation request during the workshop; the council will hear the Dixie Manor quasi-judicial matter at the regular meeting tomorrow.