The joint meeting of the Boca Raton City Council and the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District was so full Tuesday (Feb 28) that about 30 people still waiting to get in were shut out when the doors to the Royal Palm room were closed. The people left out were ordered to disperse from the hallway by orders of the Fire Marshal. Citizens were visibly upset when they realized they would not only be unable to attend the public meeting, but there was no audio for them to follow the proceedings.

Many Boca residents, and those following the preservation of golf course greens for recreation and property values, were extremely interested in the outcome of such a joint meeting. These were important discussions for anyone interested in securing Ocean Breeze (aka Boca Teeca) Golf course for city residents, as well as people interested in protecting golf courses and property values in general in Palm Beach County.

The District has said it would buy and run the former course property after the city purchases it, but  price negotiations with the bank-owned course are a top issue. The city likely would be selling a municipal golf course it owns outside its limits (west of Glades and the Turnpike). Three bidders – GL Homes, Lennar Corp and Compson Boca Argent have made varying proposals to the city.

See the choices facing the city on the Ocean Breeze Golf Course issue in The Palm Beach Post here.

The discussion will continue. Another joint meeting was scheduled to reconvene sometime in April.

Hopefully Boca Raton and the District will hold their next joint meeting in a larger venue to accommodate the public interest.