Boca allows taller buildings on smaller lots downtown

Buildings taller than any others currently finished in downtown Boca will be allowed on smaller lots, the City Council decided Tuesday.

In a 3-2 vote, the City Council decided that parcels must be at least 1.2 acres to qualify for downtown high-rises that reach 140 feet, plus 20 feet for decorative elements. Before the decision, the pieces of land eligible for high-rises needed to be larger: At least 2 acres.

Tuesday's decision means that six new parcels in the downtown area are eligible to have buildings that rise to the maximum height, according to Jim Bell, acting deputy development director for the city.

The council held meetings Monday and Tuesday where many residents stepped forward to urge the city to reject allowing bigger buildings on smaller lots. Residents raised concerns about traffic and parking and said they feared construction-related problems.

Barbara Stone, a downtown resident for the past 3 1/2 years, said she prefers the current skyline. "I came here to enjoy the sky, the trees," she said.

But City Council members said they believed the residents' concern grew out of a fundamental misunderstanding of what dropping the minimum acreage for taller buildings would mean.

Councilman Mike Mullaugh said dropping the acreage requirement down to a 1.2-acre-minimum will allow buildings to rise higher. But that will come with other required features, such as bigger sidewalks and beautiful architectural details.

He cited an opinion from the city's design consultants, Urban Design Associates, that other requirements for the taller buildings also would prevent inappropriately large buildings on small lots. "I personally accept ... what UDA said, and we don't need" any acreage requirement, Mullaugh said.

The new code approved Tuesday represents a compromise from what Urban Design Associates suggested: It said the city should have no minimum parcel size for taller buildings.

That suggestion was considered Monday by the City Council, meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency. But the council ultimately agreed that parcels must be at least 1.2 acres for the taller buildings.

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Boca allows taller buildings on smaller lots downtown