Boca Raton council advances centennial planning, parks projects and downtown master plan
May 23, 2024 | Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida
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The City of Boca Raton met on May 23, 2024, for day two of a strategic planning workshop that moved a number of staff projects from concept into operations and set direction for next steps on downtown planning, recreation and climate adaptation.
Facilitator Trina Pulliam of Trainovations told the council staff had reorganized materials so the council would discuss staff-ranked projects first; the goal, she said, was to "stay strategic" while ensuring staff and council share clear expectations for project outcomes. Councilors agreed to re-score items after hearing more detail and to prioritize projects that can be implemented quickly.
Among operational moves, sustainability staff confirmed Boca Raton is actively applying for the Blue Flag international beach designation. Lindsay Naraka, the city's sustainability manager, said the application is "about a year long" and that staff "anticipate being awarded in the next award cycle, which will be May 2025." Council agreed to move that work into operations so staff can complete the application and the sampling schedule.
On downtown planning, City Manager (Mr. Brown) told council the downtown master-plan update is scheduled for introduction at the next meeting and is expected to be adopted in June. He said the city will reallocate some tax-increment (CRA) funding to support the update.
Recreation and parks emerged as another central theme. Council asked Recreation Services to roll the skate-park relocation into a larger recreation master plan and to pursue joint meetings with the Greater Boca Beach & Park District to resolve field relocations and service duplication. Recreation Director Greg Stevens told the council the city's park system faces a build‑out challenge and that master planning must balance short‑term field needs with longer facility planning.
The council also heard an overview of climate and adaptation work, including a grant-funded Climate Adaptation Action Plan that staff said must be completed by June 2026 to unlock implementation funding.
Next steps: staff will return with more detailed budgets, timing and metrics for the items moved to operations; the workshop resumes the next day to focus on transportation and mobility.
Facilitator Trina Pulliam of Trainovations told the council staff had reorganized materials so the council would discuss staff-ranked projects first; the goal, she said, was to "stay strategic" while ensuring staff and council share clear expectations for project outcomes. Councilors agreed to re-score items after hearing more detail and to prioritize projects that can be implemented quickly.
Among operational moves, sustainability staff confirmed Boca Raton is actively applying for the Blue Flag international beach designation. Lindsay Naraka, the city's sustainability manager, said the application is "about a year long" and that staff "anticipate being awarded in the next award cycle, which will be May 2025." Council agreed to move that work into operations so staff can complete the application and the sampling schedule.
On downtown planning, City Manager (Mr. Brown) told council the downtown master-plan update is scheduled for introduction at the next meeting and is expected to be adopted in June. He said the city will reallocate some tax-increment (CRA) funding to support the update.
Recreation and parks emerged as another central theme. Council asked Recreation Services to roll the skate-park relocation into a larger recreation master plan and to pursue joint meetings with the Greater Boca Beach & Park District to resolve field relocations and service duplication. Recreation Director Greg Stevens told the council the city's park system faces a build‑out challenge and that master planning must balance short‑term field needs with longer facility planning.
The council also heard an overview of climate and adaptation work, including a grant-funded Climate Adaptation Action Plan that staff said must be completed by June 2026 to unlock implementation funding.
Next steps: staff will return with more detailed budgets, timing and metrics for the items moved to operations; the workshop resumes the next day to focus on transportation and mobility.
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