What can you do in 1/2 hour to make all of Florida better? By Geniusofdespair

If I had one thing to tell you to do that WOULD MAKE THE MOST DIFFERENCE to save Florida it would be this:
Go download this damn Petition! Print out one. Take it to the office. Run off a few copies. Get 10 people to fill them out, collect them and then YOU send them in.

Short of voting for the right president, this petition is really important. I know, you are lazy - we all are. I am lazy but I have sent in 100 petitions so far. You should try for the 10.

Florida Hometown Democracy is a proposed state constitutional amendment. What does it say and why is it needed?

This amendment lets YOU the voter decide whether your city or county comprehensive land use plan (Every city and county has a comprehensive land use plan) will be changed. Currently, city and county commissions make decisions to change plans. You can go look at your city’s plan, it is at your city hall. They are written pretty good, I have seen a lot of them. The problem is: THE CHANGES to them. the devil is in that detail!

Most of the really dumb developments you see around are a result of CHANGES to the comprehensive plan. Like the Hialeah Racetrack proposed development. Developers give these darn politicians so much money the politicians give developers just about any change they ask for. All we are asking is, let the people who live around the developments make the decisions. Let the people vote for the changes from now on. Let’s take back some power people!

If we get enough petitions signed, we the people would vote on any plan changes. That doesn’t mean development would stop. Development that is okay in the Comprehensive Plan could go forward. It would just stop all the really stupid, really annoying, really horrible developments. It would also stop the 20 stories building next to a single family house.

So, if you care, this is something easy you can do. They have to get 600,000 signed to get this on the 2008 ballot -- they need about 400,000 more. They need your help. Email what I wrote here to your friends, that will help. Nothing has scared the bejesus out of developers like this petition has. Press "read more" to read a good article by Carl Hiaasen on this, in case I haven't convinced you. Here is the link again: http://floridahometowndemocracy.com/ just go to "The Petition"

Posted on Sun, Mar. 28, 2004

COMMENTARY
Amendment has developers in a panic

Carl Hiaasen

A grass-roots move to give Floridians a defining voice in how their communities grow has touched off a backroom panic among some developers, builders and the politicians they own.

The proposed Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment would provide citizens with the final vote on substantial changes to local comprehensive land-use plans ( www.florida hometowndemocracy.com).

For example, if the development boundaries in your county were to be altered to make way for an outlet mall, a high-rise condo or a new housing subdivision, the project would go to a public referendum.

Such a radical notion -- giving voters a direct say over projects that affect their lives -- is viewed as pure poison by the special interests that hold power.

''A bad, bad, bad, bad idea,'' fumed a lobbyist for the Florida Home Builders Association. That view was echoed, literally, by Gov. Jeb Bush, who called the Hometown Democracy Amendment ``a great name but a bad idea.''

-snip-
It wouldn't be an issue if the state and local governments were doing a responsible job of monitoring growth, but they're not. The so-called Growth Management Act is a polite charade in which the public's input is sought, acknowledged, then often ignored.

Chaotic sprawl

Witness the stampeding fiasco in the Panhandle, which the St. Joe Co. is steamrolling into its own lucrative version of Boca Raton. Long-time residents have seen their concerns brushed aside as local officeholders unabashedly embrace the role of St. Joe cheerleaders. All that's missing are the pom-poms.

Selling out to wealthy developers is a grand tradition in Florida politics. Those who are paving and malling the state throw more money at candidates than do any other groups.

Their high-paid lobbyists and lawyers typically call the shots with county commissions and zoning boards. They're accustomed to getting what they want, which is why they so dread the prospect of a citizen referendum.

They know that people are fed up with ugly chaotic sprawl, and its attendant headaches of gridlock, overcrowded schools, crime and pollution.

The push for the Hometown Democracy Amendment comes from two lawyers, Russ Burnaman and Lesley Blackner, who grew up in Florida and were dismayed by the damage caused by runaway growth.

Contrary to what some opponents say, the measure would not dismantle the present system by which major developments are processed. Local zoning and planning boards would still be involved from the beginning. Basically, the major difference is that voters -- not elected officeholders -- would make the ultimate decision in cases requiring changes in the land-use plan.

Its foes condemn the amendment as a no-growth weapon. Some contend that average citizens aren't technically qualified to evaluate complicated development projects (as if politicians are), and that they'd automatically reject most proposals.

It's a flimsy argument. Vero Beach has for years required a public vote on any new project in which the height or density differs from the comprehensive plan. The city has continued to grow robustly, and so has its business core.

There are other precedents for growth-issue referendums, at least one of which has been endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The city of Eastlake, Ohio, passed an ordinance stating that any change to its comprehensive plan be approved by 55 percent of voters. Eastlake was sued by a high-rise developer, who said his constitutional rights were being violated.

The high court disagreed, and upheld the city's right to call a land-use referendum.

The stakes are high in Florida. The state has no serious manufacturing base, and its agricultural acreage is shrinking rapidly. More than ever, the economy is relying on growth for the sheer dumb sake of growth. As an industry it ranks second only to tourism.

As you'd expect, state legislators are studiously conspiring to keep the Home Democracy Amendment away from the electorate -- after all, they feed at the same trough as other politicians.

Secret influence

There are some legitimate apprehensions about land-use referendums. As in any election, the risk exists for confusion, impulsiveness and, ultimately, unwise choices.

But the next time you're stuck on the interstate in southwest Broward, look around and ask yourself if ordinary citizens could possibly do a worse job of managing growth than the chowderheads who are currently in charge.

In theory, of course, we shouldn't have to go out and vote on every major development. In theory, the people we elect to office should be able to make those decisions competently and free of secret influence.

In theory, the interests and welfare of a neighborhood should carry just as much weight as those of St. Joe, or any other big powerful company.

Maybe things really work that way somewhere in the universe, but not here in Florida.

Not in real life.