Boca Raton Council Votes 4-1 On Controversial Ballot Question Wording After 6 Hours of Debate

The city government campus and Memorial Park redevelopment area, Boca Raton, FL, Oct. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

A grueling six hours of debate left few satisfied with the wording of a ballot referendum that will – or won’t – authorize the city council to move forward with a downtown redevelopment plan in partnership with development partners Terra Group and Frisbie Group.

The marathon debate session was kicked off by Councilman Andy Thomson, who objected to the language that was proposed to appear on the ballot, calling it “insulting to voters.” The plan, as a whole, encompasses a 31-acre area, a 7.8-acre portion of which would be leased to developers Terra-Frisbie for 99 years, with the promise of using revenue generated from the partnership to fund a new city government campus and park improvements west of 2nd Avenue. The matter has generated intense controversy, with residents packing council meetings for months to express their opposition and question whether the financial promises made by the development group are accurate. Earlier this year, Terra-Frisbie agreed to place the agreement on the ballot for a public vote, which will occur alongside the municipal elections in March.

This week is the deadline for adopting the language of that ballot question, which appeared in the text of the meeting agenda posted several days ago. The initially-proposed language of the measure was:

Shall the City approve agreements with Boca Raton City Center, LLC leasing 7.8 acres o f City property east o f Northwest Second Avenue near Brightline Station, for 99 years, creating a walkable neighborhood with residential and commercial uses, generating estimated rent and revenues to City of over $ 3 billion, enhancing City-owned property, including:

• Preserving Memorial Park area and honoring veterans,
• Expanding public recreational and green spaces,
• New community center, City Hall, and police substation?

“This, in my view, is insulting to voters,” Thomson said, calling the language “cherry-picked exclusively from the favorable side.”

His opinions were shared by objectors to the project, including John Majhess, who pushed for a referendum as part of the “Save Boca” movement.

“There’s one problem: this is a misleading marketing piece,” he said. Likewise, Thomson said it was his understanding that the would-be developers of the downtown project, Terra and Frisbie, were consulted as to the language of the ballot measure, though no hard examples were shared publicly.

“It reads like a Terra-Frisbie sales pitch,” another resident said. “It really should say, ‘we plan to build 140-foot high buildings.’”

Thomson gave a lengthy presentation to his fellow council members on an experiment he conducted using artificial intelligence service ChatGPT, which concluded, on a one-to-ten scale, that the ballot language was ranked “8.5 to 9” slanted to entice voters to choose ‘yes’ rather than ‘no,’ invoking patriotic and emotional language concerning veterans, green space, and a “walkable neighborhood” without mentioning more than 900 residential units, a 180-room hotel, or the fact that the city would still be funding its own government complex before – hopefully – generating enough revenue to be made whole.

He then motioned to introduce an alternative ballot wording, which he wrote, that was found by the artificial intelligence system to be politically neutral. He found immediate support from Councilman Marc Wigder, who agreed the language of the question should be edited, thus kicking off the hours-long debate on the 75-word referendum.

Mayor Scott Singer, a proponent of the development partnership, largely favored the initial wording.

“The question is not about the redevelopment proposal overall, it’s about the land lease,” he said, further stating that the ballot question is designed to seek approval for the idea of a public-private partnership in and of itself rather than the details of its content. “There is a dramatic increase of green space, and I think the question should reflect that,” he added.

“It’s not a description of every detail of the project, nor can it be in 75 words,” said City Attorney Joshua Koehler. “It’s got to tell the public what the chief purpose of the measure is. There is more than one way to bake a cake.”

Thomson’s proposal succinctly focused on the project proposal’s details, asking:

“Should the City redevelop its government campus  31 acres of City-owned land – by partnering with developer Boca City Center LLC to rebuild City facilities (City hall, police substation, Memorial Park) and leasing to the developer for 99 years 7.8 acres of City-owned land to build private mixed-use development (residential, hotel, office, retail) with associated project costs and projected revenues as outlined in the agreements?”

The back-and-forth between council members dragged on until about 1 a.m. City staff dutifully edited the wording on a large projection screen and Koehler provided impromptu legal advice. Singer and Councilwoman Yvette Drucker advocated for maintaining the language noting a “walkable neighborhood” with transit connections, while Wigder and Thomson cautioned against including specific financial promises to the ballot language.

A revised downtown development plan with more green space. (Credit: Terra-Frisbie)

Renderings of a proposal by Boca City Center, Terra-Frisbie Group, for the city’s new downtown campus. (Planning Document)

Councilwoman Fran Nachlas took a middle ground, but favored fewer details and more of a focus on the concept of a partnership effort with the developers.

“I believe [voters] read what they sign, and research what they vote on,” she said. “I think everyone will be doing their research on this and, hopefully, as we get into the final details of what this is supposed to be, paying attention.”

A sign from the ‘Save Boca’ campaign in opposition to a government campus redevelopment plan. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Council members wavered on additions and deletions, and appeared poised to reach a 3-2 position on a variant of Thomson’s framework, but pivoted back to the original question at the suggestion of Singer. From there, the wording was again modified to include elements of Wigder’s and Thomson’s suggestions, but maintained much of the framing of the initial question, leading Thomson to object.

“I can’t support this language that is slanted and promotional,” he said. “I would vote yes on a neutral ballot question. This doesn’t cut it.”

Ultimately, as the council meeting that began at 6 p.m. Dec. 2 meeting was about to enter the 1 a.m. hour of Dec. 3, council members – with Thomson casting the sole dissenting vote – agreed on final language:

Shall the City approve agreements with Boca Raton City Center LLC leasing 7.8 acres of City property east of Northwest Second Avenue near the Brightline station, for 99 years, creating a walkable neighborhood with residential, retail, office and hotel uses, generating rent and revenues to the City for general uses and enhancements to City property, including:

• Preserving memorial Park area honoring veterans,
• Expanding public recreational and green spaces,
• New community center, City Hall and police substation?

The final language drew consternation from members of the Save Boca group who had stayed for the entire session. The council then voted on a small number of routine items before adjourning what would have been a hearing on the Atrium Residential development application until a future meeting, given the hour.