Saturday, July 11, 2009

Video On Amendment 4. By Geniusofdespair


This guy isn't accurate AT ALL. For example, I checked with Miami Beach and Coral Gables on how many comp plan changes were approved. The Gables said they didn't know but it had to be less than 5 a year at most. Miami Beach knew, they said they had one comp plan change in the past 3 years: a text change Aug. 28, 2007 that would have required a vote under Amendment 4 -- ONE in 3 years! So this guy is scaring you needlessly -- saying there would be hundreds, it is bullshit. Even the entire County only has a few. Don't believe the hype. Besides it can be managed by scheduling votes on Comp Plan Changes at the same time as elections.

3 comments:

Lee Allen said...

It really depends on the jurisdiction. Miami Beach and the Gables are bad examples because they are pretty much built out and because of the way the zoning works, especially on the Beach, very few changes are necessary.

As I've noted before, the other extreme is the City of Miami, which seems to require an amendment for every project. This is because the City's comprehensive plan mimics the zoning code so closely.

As for the County, looking at the most recent pair of typical amendment cycles -- October 07 and April 08 -- you get 25 total applications. The reason I am using these is because October 08 was a special cycle and therefore is not typical.

I think 25 is a lot. The only way you end up with a "handful" is to have a plan that only is changed with amendments brought by the local government itself.

Anonymous said...

The program was full of half-truths. The guy kept giving an example where his family had to get a special exception in South Miami in order to open a restaurant. The fact is, that special exceptions are part of the land development code in South Miami, not the comprehensive plan and would not be affected by Amendment 4. Unfortunately, the person who was supposed to be advocating for the amendment was totally unprepared as was Helen Ferre. The backers for this amendment need to get a better spokesman who understands development law.

Anonymous said...

Lee Allen: Only amendments APPROVED are subject to a vote...not ALL applications. APPROVED!!!