Everyone Knew

The City Council has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to hire consultants to design only the 17 acres west of NW 2nd Avenue.

• Not the land east of NW 2nd.
• Not the land at the center of the final Save Boca battle.
• Not the Police HQ site.
• Just the civic campus.

They call this a "fresh start." They say they want to "move quickly" to improve Memorial Park. They promise they'll think about a comprehensive plan for Boca Raton later.

But planning in silos is not planning. It's fragmentation — and it shortchanges the residents of Boca. They have to reach out to all residents to find out what they envision for downtown, so why not use this opportunity to find out what they envision for all of Boca. It will be time consuming and costly to go back to residents to ask about downtown and then to go back to them again to ask about the rest of Boca.

At a minimum, the planning area must include the 8 acres the community fought for and won back from Terra Frisbee. That land is part of the story. It must be part of the plan.

And the RFQ itself raises red flags:

• The scope is vague.
• The timeline is unrealistic.
• The deliverables are undefined.
• The public engagement structure lacks substance.

The RFQ even instructs consultants to consider "commercial uses" on the 8 acres — without specifying what those uses might be — while simultaneously excluding the 8 acres from the planning boundary. If the land is important enough to mention, why wasn't it included?

Meanwhile, Council meetings continue to debate:

• Where Police Headquarters should go — downtown or somewhere more central?
• Which City Hall functions should remain downtown?
• Where are recreational facilities most needed?

These are citywide questions. They need a strategic citywide plan.

The City Council has a rare opportunity to rebuild trust in Boca Raton's government. They should do it right. Piecemeal planning will not build trust.

The Scope of Work for the consultants can be changed during the contract negotiation stage.