George O’Rourke, writing in BocaWatch, has raised a red flag over a Boca Raton ordinance that would increase the density allowed in the city’s Planned Mobile Districts (PMD) a “whopping 80 percent,” from 2,500 units to 4,500 units. Ordinance 5312 seems to have arisen from a request by a developer who wants to build more density than the city code allows. The ordinance will be introduced to city council at its Tuesday, July 28, meeting.
O’Rourke’s warning about the ordinance sounds all too familiar to UnitedPBC readers:
“The plan is designed to increase the value of the underlying property and if allowed will further stress our roadways and infrastructure. The trouble will come for those that live in the aftermath”
PMDs are based on the concept of Planned Mobility (PM) design, where auto transportation is minimized and buses, car pools, bicycles, walking are optimized. Boca Raton already has some PBDs in place.
An earlier city report related to the proposed ordinance indicates that increased density in the city’s PMDs would not reduce current daily car trips.
O’Rourke concludes, “The Trojan Horse of Planned Mobility as a solution to traffic woes, under the circumstance of increased density, is no solution at all.”