Boca Raton council votes 4-0 to extend Save Boca land protections to CRA property

The Boca Raton City Council voted 4-0 on Tuesday, November 10, to extend the Save Boca land protections so they now cover land owned by the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency, including the Mizner Park area. The move means the city and the CRA cannot sell or lease CRA-owned land larger than half an acre without first winning approval from voters in a referendum.

The vote came on Resolution 141-2026 and Ordinance 5815, which together write the protections into the city charter as a new Section 7.11. Council Member Michelle Grau told the room that residents have made it clear public land belongs to the people, and that voters should have the final say. The motion passed four votes to zero.

The protections started as a citizen-led effort to keep city-owned land in public hands. Extending them to CRA property closes a gap, because the CRA holds significant parcels in and around downtown, and a sale or long-term lease of that land would previously not have needed a public vote.

Two more measures on the same topic were introduced for later votes: Ordinance 5814, a code amendment extending the land protections to CRA property, and Ordinance 5813, a construction and demolition debris franchise agreement with Great Waste Service. Neither was voted on Tuesday night.

The council also appointed Council Member Stacy Sipple as its representative to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, filling the seat vacated by Yvette Drucker.