BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — The city of Boynton Beach is looking ahead all the way to 2045 and asking residents how they want to see their community grow and change over the next two decades.
WATCH BELOW: 'That's the first step, to express your opinion, and for us to listen,' says Chen Moore director of planning Nilsa Zacarias
It's been more than seven years since Boynton Beach last updated its roadmap for the future, the city's comprehensive plan, which guides how land is used, where homes and parks are built, how people move around, and how the city protects its coastal and natural resources.
"That's the first step, to express your opinion, and for us to listen," Nilsa Zacarias, Chen Moore director of planning, told attendees at the first Comprehensive Plan 2045 workshop Monday night.
For city planners, community voices are the cornerstone of the plan. Florida requires every city to update its comprehensive plan regularly, and Boynton Beach leaders said they want this one to reflect the needs and priorities of the people who live here.
Some residents voiced frustration over the pace of development.
"We moved in and they had all the mangroves around us — isn't that nice? And now we find out, all of a sudden, they approved multi-million dollar condos," one resident said.
Others said they're concerned about overdevelopment and losing the city's natural character.
"I'm frustrated with all the concrete going up, and the horizon that I'm losing," another resident said.
Many participants at the workshop said they'd like to see the city focus on redevelopment rather than expanding into new areas — and on reconnecting neighborhoods long divided by I-95.
"Right now, the community is divided by I-95, obviously," one resident shared.
City staff say feedback like this will help shape key elements of the plan, which covers housing, transportation, economic vitality, and environmental resilience.
"Healthcare is going to be here forever, and with an aging population, there's a lot of opportunities there we haven't taken advantage of, and we need to," another resident added.
City data shows the 25-to-44-year-old population continues to grow — another sign that Boynton Beach is evolving. Some longtime residents said that change brings new opportunity.
"I think there's a lot more opportunities here in housing and careers. A lot of the times people used to leave the city, and now I think more people are staying," one resident said.
Next steps include integrating public feedback into draft elements of the plan, updating maps and policies, and holding another public workshop before the city commission reviews the updated plan.
City staff estimate the process could take 33 to 40 weeks to complete — a long-term vision built on listening to residents and planning for the next generation of Boynton Beach.
