BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher | DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A raucous public meeting set to discuss the Agricultural Reserve clarified two things Friday morning: many of the people who transplanted to West Boca Raton and West Delray Beach communities during COVID have absolutely no idea how local government works, and local developers know how to take advantage of that ignorance.
Case in point: the stunning meeting Friday morning designed to be an info session straddled legitimate concern over traffic problems on Lyons Road and the appearance of Jewish-led anti-Islamic fear. As protestors gathered outside — causing area schools on Jog Road and Linton Boulevard to “lock down,” speaker after speaker expressed concern — some more cryptically than others.
Said one man speaking to Commissioner Maria Sachs: “We don’t want strangers in our community.” A man who identified himself as an IDF member said he moved from New Jersey to South Florida due to the “rapid spread” of the Islamic faith — and that it must be stopped here.
This was not a commission meeting. No votes took place. And that’s the issue. The people complaining about the proposed Islamic Center and School set for Lyons Road south of Atlantic had no idea that Palm Beach County officials approved the plan back in 2022 — despite the fact that Palm Beach County publicizes agendas and meeting minutes. No one seemingly cared until a self-proclaimed Zionist took to social media earlier this week to complain about the Islamic Center. Under Palm Beach County rules: religious institutions are approved administratively after public zoning hearings. No one apparently cared when Palm Beach County Planning and Zoning discussed this years ago.
Commissioner Maria Sachs — who chastised attendees that wouldn’t follow public speaking rules, including Congressional Candidate Scott Singer — encouraged constituents to hire an attorney to force Palm Beach County Commissioners to change the rules. Whether a change could result in a stoppage of the Islamic Center is unclear.
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Not all comments were anti-Islamic. Some speakers truly were focused on parking and traffic problems affecting the whole area. But one speaker received applause when she suggested that someone from Palm Beach County should be planted inside the Islamic center to make sure it is not being used to plan some sort of an attack.
We are publishing a rush transcript of the meeting and selected clips. We note the transcript is computer generated and may contain errors, but should give you a good idea of what was said. A link to the full video is pending. The last few minutes of the meeting is not in the transcript due to a tech error — you can watch the missed minutes on the official video.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT OF AGRICULTURAL RESERVE MEETING
OFFICIAL VIDEO RECORDING OF COMPLETE MEETING FROM PALM BEACH COUNTY:
