Plans to build new residences on a West Boca golf course have been scaled back, bringing a developer’s latest proposal down to just over 460 homes.

The effort has been unfolding over the past year alongside pushback from the Boca Lago community, and more recently, an ongoing court case, which is set for a hearing in early September.

Boca Lago, at 8665 Juego Way, is a large community with more than 1,800 homes, and a 27-hole golf course.

The community encompasses a large swath of land in West Boca, framed to the south by Palmetto Park Road and to the east by Boca Rio Road. Its western boundary is Lyons Road and its northern boundary is a few blocks south of Glades Road.

In documents submitted on July 27 to Palm Beach County, developer Lennar Homes outlined a plan for 463 townhomes and a renovated 18-hole golf course.

This is a drop from an earlier version of the project that proposed 762 townhomes and condominiums. Last year, that plan was met with avid opposition from residents who raised concerns about traffic, emergency-response times and their quality of life being affected.

According to the documents: “The proposed revisions to the master plan include a comprehensive transformation of the site to provide for additional residences while enhancing functionality and overall community experience.”

The townhomes are proposed to be built in five different “residential pods,” which will each have internal roadways with pedestrian pathways and landscaping to “create a cohesive neighborhood environment.”

Elliot Cohen, a Lennar spokesperson, said in an email the company generally does not “publicly comment on communities that are going through the approval process.”

“We are pleased to continue working with the surrounding neighborhoods as we make progress,” Cohen wrote.

Community outreach

In February, the county’s planning, zoning and building executive director, Whitney Carroll, said Lennar’s original proposal had “significant issues that are still being addressed.”

Lennar says it has since “has implemented extensive outreach efforts to maintain clear communication with the Boca Lago community throughout its residential development process,” according to county documents.

These efforts include launching a website, digital newsletters, appointing community liaisons, sending letters to property owners and conducting meetings with Boca Lago leadership.

According to the county’s zoning department, Lennar’s project still is “in process,” but has not been set for public hearing.

Despite the revisions and outreach, some still oppose any new Boca Lago development. Sheri Scarborough is the president of the West Boca Community Council, and though she was not initially aware of the proposed revisions, she said she doesn’t think residential development is a good fit “at this time.”

Scarborough said she thinks the area’s roads need to be improved before any more residences are added, leading to more drivers in the neighborhood.

“If Boca Rio was widened, if there was a turnpike interchange on Palmetto Park, that would be different. But right now, Lyons Road is just overly congested,” she said.

The traffic issue then “trickles down to a safety concern,” Scarborough said. She said she and others are worried fire-rescue response times won’t be as quick if traffic is “bumper to bumper.”

A Kimley Horn traffic study projects 2,870 new daily traffic trips if Lennar’s project is approved as proposed.

According to the county, road improvements are coming for some of the thoroughfares near Boca Lago.

For example, Boca Rio Road — the corridor just west of Florida’s Turnpike that runs parallel to that highway — is set to be widened between Glades Road and Southwest 18th Street, though that may not be fully completed for several years.

Lyons Road also is set to be widened between Palmetto Park Road and Southwest 18th Street, and intersection improvements at Palmetto Park Road and Lyons Road also are planned.

An effort to add new residences to the Boca Lago community has been unfolding over the past year alongside pushback from neighbors in West Boca. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Traffic flows along Lyons Road northbound at Boca Lago Boulevard near the Boca Lago Golf and Country Club. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel) The Boca Lago Golf and Country Club is shown on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Traffic flows along Lyons Road southbound near the Boca Lago Golf and Country Club on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Traffic flows along Lyons Road at Boca Lago Blvd. near the Boca Lago Golf and Country Club on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 6A golfer putts at Boca Lago Golf and Country Club on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Expand

A legal challenge

Despite Lennar’s efforts to work with residents and alter the project, some living at Boca Lago have presented a challenge in court.

The Boca Lago Property Owners Association Inc. is trying to halt the development project by arguing that the land where Lennar wants to build is meant for recreational use only, according to a motion filed May 14.

This argument stems from a settlement agreement made in 2015 among the former Boca Lago property owner, Boca Lago Country Club Inc., along with the property owners association and individual condominium associations.

This agreement, which was a court order, stated that Boca Lago had to maintain a recreational tract consisting of two golf courses, a clubhouse and other amenities, “in perpetuity.”

Then, in 2018, the Boca Lago property was bought by Boca Holdings LLC, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser. Boca Holdings is managed by Steven Danza, who also is the president.

According to the motion filed in May, the Boca Lago condo and property owners associations “began hearing rumors” in 2021 that Lennar wanted to buy part of the recreational tract for residential development. They believed this would violate the 2015 settlement agreement.

In the years that followed, Lennar began moving forward with a proposal for residences. Stuart Zoberg, the attorney representing the Boca Lago Property Owners Association, said he believes Lennar does not have the right to do that.

The fact that Boca Lago was sold to a new owner doesn’t matter, Zoberg said, arguing that the 2015 agreement still stands.

Zoberg’s motion argues that Danza, who manages Boca Holdings, should be required to withdraw his consent for Lennar’s development application. In response, Danza and Boca Holdings’ attorneys filed a motion to dismiss on July 27.

Representing Danza and Boca Holdings is Sachs, Sax, Caplan, Kaskel and Schner, Boca Raton attorney Peter Sachs’ law firm. The motion to dismiss argues that Danza and Boca Holdings are not beholden to the 2015 agreement.

“You just can’t file a motion and say, ‘Hey, you’re bound by this agreement.’ Because they’re not bound by the agreement. They may be bound by covenants on the property, but they’re not bound by a settlement they were not parties to,” he said.

A hearing is set for Sept. 3 in West Palm Beach.

Golf courses in demand

The Boca Lago Country Club does not require membership from residents the way many other golf clubs do, so working with Lennar could be a way for the club to sustain itself going forward, Michelle Rolon told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in February.

Lennar has said its “redevelopment approach” at Boca Lago “preserves substantial open space, maintains an 18-hole golf course amenity and integrates new residential pods in a manner that is compatible with surrounding development patterns and existing infrastructure.”

With vacant land scarce in South Florida and a demand for new housing, many other golf courses across South Florida have been eyed for redevelopment over the years.

In Margate, for example, plans are in the works to bring more than 500 residences and shops to the former Carolina Club Golf Course, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported in April.

And coming to the now-shuttered Margate Executive Golf Course is Coral Edge, a 132-townhome community. The townhomes currently are being sold.