Dozens of residents told the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency on Nov. 4 that plans to redevelop the downtown government campus and adjacent properties risk worsening traffic, eliminating public green space and placing public land in private hands.

Pam Paschke, a Boca Raton resident at 341 Southwest Second Street, told the CRA that proposed changes to the Camino Square development agreement would replace earlier promises for low-rise retail and three-story buildings with eight-story structures she called a "monstrosity" behind existing two-story multifamily homes. "I ask all the people on the dais if you would like an 8-story building built right behind your house," Paschke said.

The residents' comments came during the meeting's public-requests period and focused on the government campus project, the Terra/Frisbie-related proposals, and traffic impacts along Palmetto Park Road. Several speakers said earlier developer promises about retail replacement had not been fulfilled and questioned whether city staff had adequately flagged concerns in its recommendation to council.

Steve Zumtobel, a Camino Gardens neighbor, described existing ingress and egress problems for Camino Gardens and Carriage Hill and warned that additional development on Palmetto Park Road would worsen gridlock and could slow emergency access. "They can't get in and out of their neighborhoods," Zumtobel said, describing long queues at signals and near the railroad crossing.

Longtime residents raised similar themes. Barry Freeman, who said he has lived in Boca Raton since 1986, described a steady increase in construction and congestion and asked, "When is it enough?" Tim White, who recently moved from Northern Virginia, said he relocated to Boca in part because of open space and neighborhood scale and expressed concern that continued infill is eroding those qualities.

Some commenters urged changes to process. Mike Liebelson said several developers or their representatives had contributed to local campaigns and urged the council to require registration for developers' representatives. He also referenced the pending "Save Boca" petition and said placing a fully finalized development agreement on a March ballot could be infeasible given current timelines.

Commissioner Singer, who delivered the CRA report later in the meeting, acknowledged the concerns and offered follow-up: he suggested staff address legal questions about any right of first refusal with the parties involved and directed staff to look into traffic signal timing at the Palmetto Park Road railroad crossing before the high season. He also said the CRA is continuing work with consultants on downtown activation, parking hubs and multimodal options.

Why it matters: The downtown government campus and related projects use public land and tax-increment financing tools; changes can affect neighborhood character, daily travel times and public access to nearby parks and recreation areas. Speakers said the projects could alter long-standing neighborhood patterns and remove recreational fields and tree canopy that residents value.

The CRA did not vote on any measures at the Nov. 4 meeting. Chair Wigtor offered to take callers and meet with residents offline and closed the public-requests period after asking staff to follow up on the most detailed legal and traffic questions.