Boca Raton has reached a crossroads. On one side is the vision of a livable city, rooted in open sky, shaded paths, and green sanctuary. On the other is the hollow promise of quick profit: more towers, more concrete, more crowding.
We’ve been here before. Every time a developer points at our open spaces, residents scramble to fight back with petitions, protests, and—lately—pointless amendments against property owners from capitalizing on their property rights. Amendments that sound good but never truly stop developers doing what they’re legally entitled to do. Amendments that can be overturned by a slick campaign, or bent by City Hall, or simply drowned out the next time the monorail salesmen come to town and convince a mob that sacrificing green for a shiny toy is somehow progress.
That’s not protection for green space. That’s delay.
Real protection means putting green space beyond the reach of political winds. Democracy isn’t the solution to protecting these spaces. Donald Capron showed us how to do it and what is real, lasting protection. He didn’t waste energy writing “No” on a sign. He rolled up his sleeves, raised the money, and bought private land to make it public green space. That land remains ours today—safe, permanent, and untouchable by any developer’s dream.
That is the model Boca needs again, now.
Instead of exhausting ourselves trying to halt one project after another, we should demand that our city secure what we already own. Our 30-acre city campus must not become Terra-Frisbee’s latest conquest. It must become the people’s sanctuary—our park, our cultural heart, our guarantee that green space will survive for the generations that follow.
We should be aggressive not in saying no, but in demanding yes:
- Yes to permanent protections for the city’s green heart.
- Yes to parks and cultural spaces that uplift the community.
- Yes to a Boca that values peace, shade, and clean air more than empty towers and traffic.
- Because the truth is simple: quality of life is not measured by what developers build, but by what residents preserve. Families feel richer under trees than they ever will under condos. Cities endure when they protect balance, not when they sacrifice it to sales pitches and hollow returns.
If we don’t fight for the permanent protection of our green space, no amendment and no temporary protest will save it. But if we act with vision—if we channel the spirit of Capron—then we can make our city campus forever green, no matter who’s selling false promises tomorrow.
This is Boca’s moment. Either we build our sanctuary, or we watch it disappear.
LET’S DECIMATE OVERDEVELOPMENT!!!!
Draft Amendment for Permanent Green Space Funding and Growth:
Title: The Boca Raton Green Future Amendment
Purpose:
To guarantee the preservation and expansion of Boca Raton’s natural beauty by dedicating a portion of the city’s tax revenues to the acquisition of private lands for conversion into public green space.
Text of Amendment:
(a) Beginning in the fiscal year following the adoption of this amendment, the City of Boca Raton shall allocate no less than ten percent (10%) of its total annual tax revenue to the acquisition of privately owned lands within the city limits.
(b) Lands acquired under this amendment shall be permanently designated as public green space, parks, cultural open space, or ecological preserves.
The allocation shall continue each fiscal year for a period of twenty-five (25) years.
(c) Green spaces acquired under this amendment shall not be sold, leased, or developed for any purpose inconsistent with their designation as public green space.
(d) A citizen advisory committee shall be formed to recommend acquisition priorities based on ecological value, cultural value, and proximity to population centers.
Why This Amendment Matters
People don’t come to Boca Raton because it offers the cheapest place to sit in the sun. Anyone could drive a few miles south or north and find warm weather at a lower cost. What draws people to Boca—and keeps them here—is the aesthetic. It is the way lush Florida greenery softens the city, the way banyans and palms and open lawns give relief from the relentless march of asphalt and concrete.
This aesthetic is not a luxury; it is Boca’s identity. It is what defines quality of life here. Without it, we are just another overbuilt coastal city, stripped of charm and soul.
The relentless drive to develop every square foot of private land has already eroded this identity. Residents have fought project after project, and too often they’ve lost. The only way forward is not to fight against developers—it is to act for green space.
By dedicating 10% of city revenue for the next 25 years, Boca Raton will take a stand for permanence. This isn’t a band-aid, a petition, or a temporary “no.” This is a structural guarantee: year after year, land that might have been turned into more traffic and more towers will instead be turned into shade, peace, and space for the community.
It will also put Boca back in line with its history. The spirit of Donald Capron showed us that acquisition is protection. Land that is bought for green space cannot be swayed by future politics, slick salesmen, or developer pressure. It is ours. Forever.
A Call to Action
We must decide: do we want Boca Raton to remain a place where people are drawn to its natural balance, or do we want it to become just another city people flee once the green disappears?
This amendment gives us the chance to choose permanence over loss, vision over reaction, and beauty over short-term profit.
Let Boca Raton invest in its future, 10% at a time, starting now.
