Keepers of the Boca Raton look facing tall challenges

Click title for link to a Sun-Sentinel article on what keeps Boca Raton looking like Boca Raton. Standing guard is what is called the Community Appearance Board. It has a reputation for being exacting and acting in the role of "taste police" in terms of protecting the general ambiance of the city. It's challenged now by the large number of taller buildings that are in the development pipeline. The article outlines some of the board's history and it's current workload. From the article:

The Community Appearance Board, which includes residents who work as building and landscape architects, a general contractor and a real estate agent, reviews everything from sign sizes to color palates to architectural details to whether the trees should be canopy shade trees or East Palatka hollies.
A recent meeting offered a glimpse at how the board works, and how exacting they can be. Discussing some revisions to the Via Mizner project, the second building in Boca to bust through the 100-foot height limit, board members grilled the developer's representative.
"Some of these shadows you are showing here might not even happen," said Juan Caycedo, a Boca architect who sits on the board, as he examined a rendering of Via Mizner's facade.
Carlos Bravo, the architect representing the plan, explained that additional market studies had led to simplifying the building's architectural details.
Plus the proposed vegetation wasn't right.
"I don't think the East Palatka holly is appropriate for this site," Board member Joe Peterson said. "There should be canopy trees pulled out from along the highway."