For the second time within several months Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth’s attempt to introduce an Ordinance that would create added density beyond what is allowed by existing City Code hit a roadblock. How fitting that this roadblock occurred regarding Planned Mobility. For relevant background on this item please see Hot Topics on the BocaWatch website for the article “Beware The Trojan Horse”.
During City Council Workshop on Monday, July 27th, Mr. Weinroth reluctantly withdrew his plan to Introduce Ordinance 5312 after realizing there would be no support forthcoming from the four other Council members. Kudos to those four who articulated sound reasons for not offering their support.
Speaking of sound reasons, Mr. Weinroth was at a total loss as to why his plan made sense in the first place. From a landowner or developer perspective it makes all the sense in the world. Added density means added value to the land. Bigger and more intense projects mean more construction dollars.
The veiled excuse of bringing items up “for discussion only” is a weak effort at disguising the true agenda. Over time it has become increasingly clear that Mr. Weinroth has chosen to represent the interests of “Big Development” first and foremost in the City of Boca Raton and will support or craft any Ordinance to modify existing City Code as a means to that end. Based on his commentary during Monday’s meeting this is a story that will not end anytime soon. The last seventeen minutes of the Workshop meeting are worth watching. Link to meeting
George, Nice job bringing the issue into the light. Councilor Weinroth wins another F minus for his knowledge of municipal civics and council process, not to mention his (in)ability to create consensus. Introducing an ordinance is a pretty heavy-handed way to “initiate a discussion”. If one wants to initiate a discussion at a city council meeting, all they gotta do is – you guessed it – initiate a discussion! A simple, but apparently elusive, concept…………