This article, originally published by Al Zucaro on BocaWatch.org, is preserved for historical purposes by Massive Impressions Online Marketing in Boca Raton.
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Since 2009, Boca Raton citizens have communicated their desire for a public park or urban greenspace at the site of the former Wildflower restaurant. But for those six years, the City Council has ignored them and pursued a restaurant. A recent Boca Raton Tribune survey confirmed once more that only 22% of citizens prefer developing the public land at taxpayer expense for a private restaurant.
The behavior of the City Council on pressing forward with plans for a restaurant on the site, despite overwhelming opposition from the citizens, is reminiscent of the following exchange from the movie Dumb and Dumber.
Lloyd Christmas: What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me… ending up together?
Mary Swanson: Well, Lloyd, that’s difficult to say. I mean, we don’t really…
Lloyd Christmas: Hit me with it! Just give it to me straight! I came a long way just to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?
Mary Swanson: Not good.
Lloyd Christmas: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?
Mary Swanson: I’d say more like one out of a million.
[pause]
Lloyd Christmas: So you’re telling me there’s a chance… YEAH!
So the City, through various communication channels, has tried to convince the citizens that the citizens really want a restaurant. In addition to the City Staff misrepresenting their survey results, the restaurant was proclaimed a “done deal’ for a number of reasons, the credibility of the citizen surveys were attacked as being not significant, misleading technical information was presented and contrary anecdotal evidence was claimed. Follow this link for some background on the situation. https://bocawatch.org/there-is-nothing-more-frightful-than-ignorance-in-action/
It is time for the City Council to stop behaving like Lloyd Christmas and realize that, after six years of their trying, there is no chance that the citizens will accept anything other than a park on the Wildflower site.
The Boca Raton Tribune survey was started in their on-line edition on October 28, 2015 and the article reporting the results was published on November 13, 2015. The results of the survey are consistent with all of the fair citizen surveys on the use of the Wildflower site. Following is the the article reporting the results of the Boca Raton Tribune Survey.
Boca Raton Tribune Article & Survey
“The Changing Landscape”
” We have been the most prodigal of people with land, and for years we wasted it with impunity. There was so much of it, and no matter how we filed it, there was always more over the next hill, or so it seemed. ”
William H. Whyte, The Last Landscape