Check out Ron Littlepage on Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 who I quoted in the title of this post. He says:The amendment, if passed, would require that changes to comprehensive plans be approved by local voters.
That would mean that the developers who have controlled city, county and state officials like puppets for decades would no longer be the only kingmakers. The people whose lives are impacted by growth run amok would also have a powerful voice.
And that has folks at the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the business-backed Associated Industries of Florida as nervous as long-tailed cats in a roomful of rocking chairs.
They will be spending a ton of money to defeat Amendment 4, and their tactics won't be above board. For instance, they are behind Floridians for Smarter Growth, which has been trying to get another constitutional amendment on the 2010 ballot that would give voters a say in changes to comprehensive plans.
Good name and same thing, right?
No. Instead of the vote on changes being automatic, 10 percent of the registered voters in the county would have to sign petitions to put each change on the ballot.
And they would have to go to the county's Supervisor of Elections Office to sign petitions. And they would have 60 days to do that.
In Duval County, there are currently 527,876 registered voters.
To have a voice on a land use change, 52,787 registered voters would have to go to the Supervisor of Elections Office and sign petitions.
To meet the 60-day deadline, an average of 880 registered voters a day would be required, or 110 an hour, about two per minute.
You can probably see why Floridians for Smarter Growth's amendment is a ruse.
I'm not certain Amendment 4 is the way to go, but I can understand its appeal.
People who have invested in property based on the comprehensive plan only to have the plan changed willy-nilly to line the pockets of developers have a right to be angry.
This battle is going to be fierce.
ron.littlepage@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4284
7 comments:
I was really pleased to see Mr. Littlepage touch on a point that has always been important to me - "People who have invested in property based on the comprehensive plan only to have the plan changed willy-nilly to line the pockets of developers have a right to be angry."
You bet we do.
But whenever we attend commission meetings to object to a land use change we are called NIMBYs and are lectured on the sanctity of property rights.
Well, when I looked at the county's comprehensive plan and decided to buy property in a specific area because it was slated to remain rural through the 2025 planning window I had an investment backed expectation for the county to follow its plan.
Developers aren’t the only ones with property right.
Dade County can barely turn out 10% for an election much less 10% to go downtown or to Doral to sign a petition. People should be outraged at the dirty tricks to keep them from voting.
Good thing the long tailed cat wasn't living in Palmetto Bay or Cutler Ridge.
You go Jill!
People need to be checking the section line roads too... Your property just may be a future four lane and you may want to think about that before purchasing.
Look out for expandable businesses: such as car dealers, businesses masquerading as your friendly neighborhood churches and schools and strip malls.
Honest, not to be cynical or anything.
It's all about holding the line somewhere.
Letting the Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries control anything is a recipe for disaster.
Let the people vote to decide the future of their own communities.
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