Environmentally Sensitive Land Cleared in Boca Raton WITHOUT a Permit from City

Why has over 20,000 sq. ft. of environmentally sensitive land (ESL) been cleared between I-95 and NW 5th Ave. over the past few days? It appears that there has been no permit issued by the city for clearing this ESL. There appears to have been no attempt by the operator of the Bobcat equipment to protect or preserve any of the endangered wildlife, such as gopher tortoise that are known to habitat the area.

Is it a coincidence that on 12/21 the city received the contingent approval from the Florida Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) to change the land use on this 79 acres of land the city (which has been designated as environmentally sensitive by the city) from residential-low density to planned mobility and less than a week later the land is being cleared? This land use change was actively opposed by residents in the adjacent single family homes along NW 5th Ave. between Spanish River Blvd. & Yamato Rd./East of I-95. This land use change would allow over 1.3 million sq. ft. of development and over 1,500 residential units to be developed on this land instead of the approx. 240 units allowed under the existing land use designation.

On 12/23 & 12/24 neighbors in the Spanish River HOA area along NW 5th Ln. & NW 50th Place heard land behind their houses being cleared. When residents investigated the activity on this environmentally sensitive land they were told by the operator of the Bobcat (with a bush-hog clearing implement on the front) that this was a fire road he was clearing.

This operator of the Bobcat did not have any surveying stakes or protective fencing to designate the specific area to be cleared or to protect the sensitive wildlife in this area. There was no permit visible on the site which was entered on the west end of NW 50th Place.

These pictures illustrate the extensive damage done to the ESL on this property. At a public meeting on Nov. 3rd the CEO of the property owner stated that this property was for sale.
Was this clearing related to the approval of the land use change and the planned sale of the property?

What legal responsibility, if any, does the property owner have for this clearing of ESL without a permit from the city? Will this be investigated in a similar manner to the recent US Foodservice damage to ESL in north Boca Raton in which they were fined over $200k and had to restore the damaged ESL adjacent to their property?

The Notice of Intent issued by the DCA on 12/21 indicates that the amendments to the city's comprehensive growth management plan are not effective until after 21 days of publication of the notice and is subject to being challenged by affected residents. Accordingly, the land use change was not effective as of the date of this clearing operation so who is responsible for this destruction of this ESL area?