BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Boca Raton City Council is set to consider the introduction of a proposed “Save Boca” law next week, a measure that would limit the city’s ability to sell or lease certain public land without voter approval.
The ordinance is scheduled for the April 28, 2026, council meeting. It would apply to city-owned land greater than one-half acre and would require voter approval before the city may “alienate, sell, or lease” that land, with limited exceptions for city operations, utilities, nonprofit leases and short-term community uses.
The proposal is based largely on the petition signed by thousands of Boca Raton voters last year. That petition sought to place similar restrictions on the city’s ability to dispose of public land. It gathered enough signatures to go to voters, but a lawsuit filed by local attorney Ned Kimmelman stopped the measure before it reached the ballot.
Now, the issue is coming back through City Council.
The proposed ordinance does two things at once. It creates local rules governing the sale or lease of city-owned land larger than a half-acre, and it also calls for a city charter amendment that would place similar restrictions directly into the city’s governing document. The charter amendment would have to be approved by voters.
A third measure included with the ordinance says the public must vote on the charter amendment at the “next available election,” but no later than the March 2027 municipal election.
The distinction matters. An ordinance can be changed later by a future City Council. A charter amendment approved by voters would be harder to undo without going back to the public.
The proposal includes exceptions that city staff described as necessary to “enable the city to function efficiently.” Those exceptions would allow the city to keep and update existing nonprofit leases, grant utility easements for resident services, use city land for public facilities and operations, and allow short-term community or recreational uses, such as events or programs.
For those short-term uses, the city would have to maintain control of the property and could not give another party long-term or exclusive control.
The revised language also changes part of the earlier “Save Boca” proposal that raised concerns. The previous version referred to city land “or any part thereof.” That phrase has been removed. In its place, the proposed ordinance says a single parcel or contiguous area of city-owned land cannot be divided to avoid the half-acre threshold.
The “Save Boca” name comes from the group founded by Jon Pearlman, who has since been elected to City Council.
The city’s process will unfold in stages. Under Florida law, ordinances must be introduced on first reading and then adopted on second reading after a public hearing. The first reading is scheduled for April 28. Final adoption is scheduled for May 12.
The charter amendment would move separately through a resolution placing the question on the ballot. That resolution does not require two readings. It is scheduled for May 12, the same meeting as the public hearing and second reading of the ordinance.
Pending petitions from the original “Save Boca” campaign are expected to be withdrawn if the ordinance is adopted and the ballot question is placed before voters.
The Kimmelman lawsuit that blocked the original ballot measure has been voluntarily dismissed, according to a city staff memorandum to the council. That means the court order blocking the ballot measure is no longer in effect.
Pearlman’s appeal of the judge’s decision in the Kimmelman case remains pending. The appeal was filed before Pearlman was elected to the council and is expected to be addressed at the council meeting.
The Boca Raton City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, in the auditorium of the city’s police building at 6500 Congress Avenue.
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