Boca Raton council weighs whether to send ‘Save Boca’ petitions to voters or revise language
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Summary
City attorneys told council litigation over the citizen-led Save Boca petitions was dropped, leaving two clear choices: place the certified petition language on a future ballot or draft council-led revisions addressing utilities, easements and nonprofits; council asked staff to return with draft revisions and timing/cost details.
Boca Raton’s City Council spent much of Wednesday’s workshop debating how to handle the Safe Boca citizen petitions, which would require voter approval before the city may lease or sell any interest in city-owned land larger than one-half acre.
City Attorney’s Office counsel summarized a memorandum laying out three paths: direct staff to place the original petition language on the next available ballot, adopt revisions as the council’s legislative action, or pursue a substantially revised ordinance and parallel charter amendment for later voter consideration. The legal adviser also said the mandamus action that had sought to compel the council to act was dropped by the petitioners’ committee over the prior weekend, leaving litigation-related obstacles largely removed. (Mr. Koehler, City Attorney.)
“Those resolutions have an old date. That’s a technicality,” the city attorney said, describing how the petitions had run their submission process and been certified. He cautioned the council that the plain language of any charter or ordinance matters for legal interpretation and suggested council direction was required to move forward.
Council Member John Perlman, who leads the petitioners’ committee and has been publicly active on the issue, urged immediate action. “The same voters who sent us here definitively, loud and clear, have told us what they want,” Perlman said, arguing the petitions were certified by the supervisor of elections and the city clerk and therefore ready to be put to a vote.
Other council members urged a more cautious approach. Several members asked staff and the City Attorney’s Office to study specific carve-outs—utilities, drainage, easements and nonprofit leases—and to examine whether minor language changes could reduce the risk of future litigation while preserving the petitioners’ intent. “I have no appetite to put this resolution on tomorrow the way that it looks,” Council Member Drucker said, urging public input and cost-consciousness around any special election.
The council also discussed timing. Staff reminded members that the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections generally places local charter amendments on the March uniform municipal ballot; running a separate city-administered, vote-by-mail election would require state approvals and city funding.
No final vote was taken at the workshop. The council sought direction for staff and the City Attorney’s Office to draft potential revisions that address the council’s stated concerns and to return with options and timing, leaving both the original petition placement and a revised legislative route on the table.
What’s next: staff and legal counsel will prepare draft language and estimates for council review and public input; council members indicated they expect the matter to return on upcoming agendas for further deliberation and potential action.
