Early voting opens Oct. 19 at three Boca sites, and four precincts move
Early voting sites, four moved precincts, a Columbus Day pickup shift and the mayor's town hall.
Starting Oct. 19, Sugar Sand Park and two city libraries open for early voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closer in, Columbus Day shifts trash pickup, and city beach gatehouses now take only cards and phone wallets.
Boca voters don't have to wait for Nov. 3. From Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, early voting runs 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at three sites in city limits: Sugar Sand Park and the downtown and Spanish River libraries. More early voting sites will open elsewhere in the county.
Mail voters are on a tighter clock. Requests for a mailed ballot are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 22. Filled-out ballots must reach the elections supervisor's main office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day, and county public schools will be closed.
Anyone voting in person on Nov. 3 should check their polling place first, because four Boca precincts have moved. Precincts 1701 and 1702 leave Above and Beyond Community Church for the 6551 Building on Park of Commerce Blvd. Precinct 1713 moves from Patch Reef Park Community Center to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 2601 St. Andrews Blvd. Precinct 1714, also from Patch Reef, now votes at Spanish River Library.
Compson pitches 157 homes for Park at Broken Sound office land
The old Arvida Park of Commerce keeps swapping office space for homes. Boca's Compson Associates, which Carl Klepper Jr. and Robert D'Angelo lead, wants 157 units in two eight-story buildings at the Park at Broken Sound.
Park Tower at Broken Sound is the bigger one, with 97 units on Broken Sound Parkway at Nos. 1075 and 1095, plus 2,100 square feet for a shop or restaurant. Ten of its units would be affordable housing, which city rules require on a site normally zoned for offices.
The Bertani at Broken Sound would add 60 luxury condos of 1,620 to 2,500 square feet on a parking lot at 6001 NW Broken Sound Parkway. Six would be workforce housing. Boca's planning and zoning board takes up the Bertani on Oct. 15. Klepper said both buildings could break ground as soon as next summer.
Neighbors are filling in too. Ram Realty Advisors plans a 291-unit building on the west side of the lot at 1150 NW Broken Sound Parkway, and Pebb Enterprises and BH Group started work in August where Office Depot once had its headquarters. A 494-unit building is going up there. Add Ram's 291 and Pebb's 494 to Compson's 157, and that's 942 new homes planned or rising in the old office park.
Boca's beach gatehouses take cards and phones, not cash
Cash is out at the gatehouses for Boca's city beach parks. Since Oct. 1, visitors paying to park there need a credit card, debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Most people won't feel it. Under 17% of gatehouse payments were made in cash before the switch. The city says going cashless speeds up the line, means less money changing hands at the gate and tightens payment security. Holders of a valid city beach parking permit are unaffected and can keep using the parks as before.
Amendment 3 could raise the non-school homestead exemption to $250,000
This year a qualifying homeowner can exempt up to $51,411 from non-school taxes: $25,000 that applies to every levy, plus $26,411 more. Amendment 3 would raise the non-school exemption as high as $150,000 in 2027, then $250,000 a year later, with inflation increases after that.
School taxes are the catch. Their $25,000 exemption would not move, so most homeowners would still get a school tax bill. For owners of qualifying non-homestead property, the yearly cap on assessment growth for non-school taxes would drop from 10% to 5%. It would not limit their tax bills or tax rates themselves. Newcomers who become Florida residents on or after Jan. 1, 2027, would start at $50,000 for non-school taxes and could get the larger exemption after five years.
Local budgets could feel it too. The amendment would steer county and city property tax money toward a list of uses, including public safety, schools and infrastructure. Nothing in it guarantees a set funding level for law enforcement, fire rescue or EMS, the Property Appraiser notes.
Passage takes 60% of voters on Nov. 3. The change would first show up on TRIM notices in August 2027 and on November 2027 tax bills. An online calculator from the Property Appraiser gives an estimate for your own homestead.
Mayor Thomson takes residents' questions at an Oct. 14 town hall
- When
- Wednesday, Oct. 14 · 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Where
- Spanish River Library
- Address
- 1501 NW Spanish River Blvd.
Residents get a chance to question Mayor Andy Thomson in person at an informal evening event at Spanish River Library.
The city says he will talk through what is happening around Boca and what the city has planned. Residents can use the night to ask questions and give feedback on city plans and projects.
Columbus Day pushes Monday and Tuesday trash pickup back a day
Columbus Day closes Boca city offices on Monday, Oct. 12, and it nudges the start of the trash week. Monday's collection moves to Tuesday, Oct. 13. That pushes Tuesday's routes to Wednesday, Oct. 14.
The change covers collection areas 1 through 4. Residents can sign up for email alerts when holidays change the pickup days.