Some tea party members are still undecided about the efficacy of Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4. Perhaps we should take a closer look at the effects on Florida if Amendment 4 fails. Without Amendment 4, we will have business as usual. We will continue down the path of overbuilding, which leads to higher taxes and lower quality of life. Our opponents are in the business of building. They want to build houses, even though we have a glut of houses. They want to build strip malls, amid dozens of empty strip malls.
What can we expect if Amendment 4 fails:
The value of our homes will continue to decline. Nothing proposed by Amendment 4's opponents will turn the tide of declining home values.
Local and state governments will continue to expand in size, power, and cost. After all, governments rely on growth to grow themselves. Salaries of county commissioners are based on a state
formula, the biggest component of which is population growth. The structure of local government encourages and feeds on growth.
Rural Florida land, formerly devoted to agriculture, will continue to fall victim to development. Florida is losing farmland to development at alarming rates. According to a tampabay.com article,
"Harvesting Profits Over Crops", University of Florida professor John Reynolds estimates the state is losing 150,000 acres of farmland a year. The article quotes Agriculture and Consumer Services
Secretary Charles Bronson, "If you don't like depending on foreign oil, imagine depending on foreign-grown food".
Rights of citizens will continue to be eroded. Amendment 4 provides a check and balance for citizens against the power of developers, special interests, and land speculators.
1000 Friends of Florida recently rescinded its opposition to Amendment 4. Why? Its position statement says, "Whatever the outcome in November, Florida cannot return to business as usual. The recent economic crisis has proven all too clearly that a growth- and development- driven economy is costly, shortsighted, and untenable over the long haul." Tea partiers would do well do heed these warnings and vote Yes on Amendment 4.
Tea Parties for Amendment 4
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
An important letter to Florida's teachers about Amendment 4
More important information, from school teachers to the rest of Florida's school teachers. If you know a school teacher in Florida, forward this letter/e-mail to them:
From FEA Teachers in Marion County to Fellow Teachers of Florida:
Why Florida Educators Must Support Amendment 4…
Our own union, the FEA, is in Concert with Our Anti-Union Opponents!
Teachers! Remember how Senator John Thrasher, state lawmakers and the Florida Chamber of Commerce ganged up to snatch our pensions, strip away our credentials, fire thousands of our colleagues, and privatize schools?
And remember why they did this? It was, in part, because they wanted an easy way to finance the shortfall in funding for schools and other social services caused by the recession.
What caused Florida’s Big Recession? It was Florida’s Sprawl Machine which flooded the state with massive and unneeded subdivisions and retail centers. And its financially-backed friends, posing as elected officials helped by approving these unpopular land-use changes.
Because of this reckless over-building, 350,000 vacant Florida homes are now rotting and driving down property values. This means property taxes are also sinking—money that’s not being used to support schools and libraries andother government services.
Governor Crist stopped them with a veto. But they’ll be back —soon.
Sadly, there’s more troubling news for educators.
Our own union, the FEA, is now aligned with Thrasher and Company on the issue of Amendment 4—a citizen initiative designed to clean up the mess that Big Sprawl caused. Union officials in Tallahassee, without input from teachers/members, decided to line up with our anti-union opponents to kill Amendment 4. (see list of anti-union forces funding the “NoOn4” campaign below!)
Why would they do this? Because, as FEA officials will tell you, the AFLCIO wanted them to. Sure, as a labor union, the AFLCIO is understandably concerned about construction jobs, but they obviously didn’t think A4 all the way out. If they had, they’d understand that Floridians are out of work because something like A4 wasn’t in place.
Amendment 4 appears on the upcoming November ballot, because many FEA educators and other hundreds of other Floridians worked hard to put it there. If passed, it will let voters support or veto the decisions of local officials, if these politicians decide to make land-use changes to our comprehensive growth plans.
This amendment gives citizens a say in how their local communities develop. It will also help prevent the old boom-bust cycle that has cost millions of Floridians, including many teachers, their jobs.
Despite what critics say, A4 doesn’t take away property rights and has no impact on zoning. It affects only land-use changes — major designations such industrial, agricultural, rural, residential--that communities hammer out in public meetings to plan how their communities can grow in an orderly, affordable way. And voters will decide on changes at the next scheduled election -- no special elections needed.
The Sprawl Machine—using federal bailout money--is frantic to kill our right to vote. Right now their huge war chests of money enable them to control local and state governments, allowing them to build wherever they please, and ignoring environmental, traffic, tax, and quality-of-life concerns. They don’t want to give us this power.
It’s crazy to continue to base funding for Florida’s public schools on irresponsible, runaway growth, which is what we’ll continue to do, unless Amendment 4 passes. Until then, those responsible for the Big Recession will blame everyone except themselves, and make you and me pay for their disaster. Check the facts at http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.
What you can do. Approach you local FEA membership. Ask to speak to the building reps or the executive committee and ask them to do the following:
1) Endorse Amendment 4
2) Send this letter or one of your own to the entire union membership.
Locals are free to make their own decision like this. We, the undersigned FEA teachers in Marion County, hope you will join us today.
John Dunn - Forest High School
Tom Lakin - Forest High School
Ron Woodard - Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary School
Gene Hotaling - West Port High School
Guy Marwick (retired) - former social studies teacher and Director of the Silver River Museum
ANTI-UNION FORCES WHO ARE
FUNDING THE “NO ON 4” CAMPAIGN:
ABC OF FLORIDA
BANK OF TAMPA
FL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY, LLC
FLORIDA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
FLORIDIANS FOR SMARTER GROWTH (THATCHER’S GROUP)
LYKES BROS., INC.
MACY'S
NORTH AMERICAN MINING
PROGRESS ENERGY
PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS, INC.
UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATION
WACHOVIA
WALGREENS
WAL-MART STORES, INC.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
[Please note the union label on the Amendment 4 signs and bumper stickers, you won’t find that on the No on 4 materials!]
Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL
From FEA Teachers in Marion County to Fellow Teachers of Florida:
Why Florida Educators Must Support Amendment 4…
Our own union, the FEA, is in Concert with Our Anti-Union Opponents!
Teachers! Remember how Senator John Thrasher, state lawmakers and the Florida Chamber of Commerce ganged up to snatch our pensions, strip away our credentials, fire thousands of our colleagues, and privatize schools?
And remember why they did this? It was, in part, because they wanted an easy way to finance the shortfall in funding for schools and other social services caused by the recession.
What caused Florida’s Big Recession? It was Florida’s Sprawl Machine which flooded the state with massive and unneeded subdivisions and retail centers. And its financially-backed friends, posing as elected officials helped by approving these unpopular land-use changes.
Because of this reckless over-building, 350,000 vacant Florida homes are now rotting and driving down property values. This means property taxes are also sinking—money that’s not being used to support schools and libraries andother government services.
Governor Crist stopped them with a veto. But they’ll be back —soon.
Sadly, there’s more troubling news for educators.
Our own union, the FEA, is now aligned with Thrasher and Company on the issue of Amendment 4—a citizen initiative designed to clean up the mess that Big Sprawl caused. Union officials in Tallahassee, without input from teachers/members, decided to line up with our anti-union opponents to kill Amendment 4. (see list of anti-union forces funding the “NoOn4” campaign below!)
Why would they do this? Because, as FEA officials will tell you, the AFLCIO wanted them to. Sure, as a labor union, the AFLCIO is understandably concerned about construction jobs, but they obviously didn’t think A4 all the way out. If they had, they’d understand that Floridians are out of work because something like A4 wasn’t in place.
Amendment 4 appears on the upcoming November ballot, because many FEA educators and other hundreds of other Floridians worked hard to put it there. If passed, it will let voters support or veto the decisions of local officials, if these politicians decide to make land-use changes to our comprehensive growth plans.
This amendment gives citizens a say in how their local communities develop. It will also help prevent the old boom-bust cycle that has cost millions of Floridians, including many teachers, their jobs.
Despite what critics say, A4 doesn’t take away property rights and has no impact on zoning. It affects only land-use changes — major designations such industrial, agricultural, rural, residential--that communities hammer out in public meetings to plan how their communities can grow in an orderly, affordable way. And voters will decide on changes at the next scheduled election -- no special elections needed.
The Sprawl Machine—using federal bailout money--is frantic to kill our right to vote. Right now their huge war chests of money enable them to control local and state governments, allowing them to build wherever they please, and ignoring environmental, traffic, tax, and quality-of-life concerns. They don’t want to give us this power.
It’s crazy to continue to base funding for Florida’s public schools on irresponsible, runaway growth, which is what we’ll continue to do, unless Amendment 4 passes. Until then, those responsible for the Big Recession will blame everyone except themselves, and make you and me pay for their disaster. Check the facts at http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.
What you can do. Approach you local FEA membership. Ask to speak to the building reps or the executive committee and ask them to do the following:
1) Endorse Amendment 4
2) Send this letter or one of your own to the entire union membership.
Locals are free to make their own decision like this. We, the undersigned FEA teachers in Marion County, hope you will join us today.
John Dunn - Forest High School
Tom Lakin - Forest High School
Ron Woodard - Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary School
Gene Hotaling - West Port High School
Guy Marwick (retired) - former social studies teacher and Director of the Silver River Museum
ANTI-UNION FORCES WHO ARE
FUNDING THE “NO ON 4” CAMPAIGN:
ABC OF FLORIDA
BANK OF TAMPA
FL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY, LLC
FLORIDA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
FLORIDIANS FOR SMARTER GROWTH (THATCHER’S GROUP)
LYKES BROS., INC.
MACY'S
NORTH AMERICAN MINING
PROGRESS ENERGY
PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS, INC.
UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATION
WACHOVIA
WALGREENS
WAL-MART STORES, INC.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
[Please note the union label on the Amendment 4 signs and bumper stickers, you won’t find that on the No on 4 materials!]
Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Monday, October 25, 2010
Morning in Florida: What will it be like Nov. 3rd?
By John Hedrick
On November 3rd, Floridians will celebrate bright prospects for the Sunshine State. Or -- if Amendment 4 fails – big national homebuilders will celebrate permanent victory over the protests and rights of Florida’s citizens, and the bulldozers will be unstoppable.
At the polls, YOU will choose what kind of a morning it’ll be.
You may have heard lots of false information from the developers about the consequences of passing Amendment 4. The developers' “Say-Anything Gang” wants to confuse you and to protect their power and profits, and all of what they’re saying has been shown not to be accurate. Let’s look now at the very real consequences if Amendment 4 does not pass.
If the developer forces win and Amendment 4 fails, we’ll see more of the corruption -- via campaign contributions and bribes -- that make Florida the #1 most politically corrupt state. Our future will be one of continued sprawl-homebuilding, increasing the number of job-seekers in a labor force already suffering one of the country’s highest unemployment rates. The economy, crashed by the developers, will continue to be dismal and worse.
Florida’s main industries – agriculture and tourism – will be the first to suffer, as they find themselves with tract housing in place of products. No new businesses will want to come to this abused and ever-poorer state. Meanwhile, profits from endless homebuilding will head out of state to Pulte, KB Homes, Lennar, Toll Brothers and the others funding the “Vote No” Campaign. The national homebuilders Anti-4 campaign funds ironically come from your own "bailout" tax dollars.
Without doubt we’ll see an end to Florida’s commendable Growth Management efforts, begun in 1985 and weakened steadily since. Whoever gets into office will merely determine how rapidly this happens. Senate Bill 360 (shifting developers’ costs to taxpayers) will pass again, despite the court's ruling overturning it. The state’s growth watchdog, the Department of Community Affairs, will be dismantled or rendered ineffectual. These events aren’t guesses; they would have happened already except that Amendment 4 was on the horizon.
Politicians and developers have been sitting on their hands for at least a couple of years, holding back on doing their worst because they’d ignite still more anger among citizens and support for Amendment 4. After November 2nd, if Amendment 4 fails, their pent-up greed will be unleashed, unstoppably.
Floridians’ voices will truly be silenced by the newly reinvigorated politician-developer conspiracy. Floridians’ quality of life will sink, with further soaring taxes, reductions in services, inability to sell our homes, and the bulldozing of the State’s remaining natural beauty, fertile agricultural lands, and life-sustaining wetlands.
If you’ve been told that there are “better” solutions than Amendment 4, don’t believe it! Developer-influenced politicians have already killed off those other proposals every time they’ve come up, and they’ll continue to do so. Amendment 4 came to be because the other side concedes there's a problem, but has never wanted a solution that will really work. It's their way or the highway.
And don’t think that if Amendment 4 fails this time, there will be another chance to support it later. No, Amendment 4 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s the result of 7 years of strenuous effort by dedicated citizen-volunteers who collected more than a million signatures, and fought off 7 court challenges from developers. Lacking the opposition’s developer money and paid workforce, Amendment 4 supporters have given this citizens’ initiative their all.
Amendment 4 either makes it or doesn't on November 2nd. This is truly the moment of truth. Floridians urgently need to protect their rights and their neighborhoods by voting “YES.”
Otherwise, it’s back to wringing your hands and protesting developers’ rampages and politicians’ secret deals. Back to soaring taxes, plummeting home values, a boom-bust economy, and stagnant prospects for bringing jobs to a State in a downward spiral.
One simple thing you can still do to make sure Amendment 4 passes is this: Engage others – pass this message to neighbors, relatives, and friends. Get this message out to all voters: the hometown that you save will indeed be your own.
Your future . . . awaits your “YES on 4” vote on or before November 2nd. Before it's too late, take your rightful seat at the table. Give yourself the right to vote on your community's future. Your friends, family, children, and grandchildren will thank you.
Sincerely,
John Hedrick,
Member, Amendment 4 statewide coordinating committee and
Chair, Panhandle Citizens Coalition
On November 3rd, Floridians will celebrate bright prospects for the Sunshine State. Or -- if Amendment 4 fails – big national homebuilders will celebrate permanent victory over the protests and rights of Florida’s citizens, and the bulldozers will be unstoppable.
At the polls, YOU will choose what kind of a morning it’ll be.
You may have heard lots of false information from the developers about the consequences of passing Amendment 4. The developers' “Say-Anything Gang” wants to confuse you and to protect their power and profits, and all of what they’re saying has been shown not to be accurate. Let’s look now at the very real consequences if Amendment 4 does not pass.
If the developer forces win and Amendment 4 fails, we’ll see more of the corruption -- via campaign contributions and bribes -- that make Florida the #1 most politically corrupt state. Our future will be one of continued sprawl-homebuilding, increasing the number of job-seekers in a labor force already suffering one of the country’s highest unemployment rates. The economy, crashed by the developers, will continue to be dismal and worse.
Florida’s main industries – agriculture and tourism – will be the first to suffer, as they find themselves with tract housing in place of products. No new businesses will want to come to this abused and ever-poorer state. Meanwhile, profits from endless homebuilding will head out of state to Pulte, KB Homes, Lennar, Toll Brothers and the others funding the “Vote No” Campaign. The national homebuilders Anti-4 campaign funds ironically come from your own "bailout" tax dollars.
Without doubt we’ll see an end to Florida’s commendable Growth Management efforts, begun in 1985 and weakened steadily since. Whoever gets into office will merely determine how rapidly this happens. Senate Bill 360 (shifting developers’ costs to taxpayers) will pass again, despite the court's ruling overturning it. The state’s growth watchdog, the Department of Community Affairs, will be dismantled or rendered ineffectual. These events aren’t guesses; they would have happened already except that Amendment 4 was on the horizon.
Politicians and developers have been sitting on their hands for at least a couple of years, holding back on doing their worst because they’d ignite still more anger among citizens and support for Amendment 4. After November 2nd, if Amendment 4 fails, their pent-up greed will be unleashed, unstoppably.
Floridians’ voices will truly be silenced by the newly reinvigorated politician-developer conspiracy. Floridians’ quality of life will sink, with further soaring taxes, reductions in services, inability to sell our homes, and the bulldozing of the State’s remaining natural beauty, fertile agricultural lands, and life-sustaining wetlands.
If you’ve been told that there are “better” solutions than Amendment 4, don’t believe it! Developer-influenced politicians have already killed off those other proposals every time they’ve come up, and they’ll continue to do so. Amendment 4 came to be because the other side concedes there's a problem, but has never wanted a solution that will really work. It's their way or the highway.
And don’t think that if Amendment 4 fails this time, there will be another chance to support it later. No, Amendment 4 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s the result of 7 years of strenuous effort by dedicated citizen-volunteers who collected more than a million signatures, and fought off 7 court challenges from developers. Lacking the opposition’s developer money and paid workforce, Amendment 4 supporters have given this citizens’ initiative their all.
Amendment 4 either makes it or doesn't on November 2nd. This is truly the moment of truth. Floridians urgently need to protect their rights and their neighborhoods by voting “YES.”
Otherwise, it’s back to wringing your hands and protesting developers’ rampages and politicians’ secret deals. Back to soaring taxes, plummeting home values, a boom-bust economy, and stagnant prospects for bringing jobs to a State in a downward spiral.
One simple thing you can still do to make sure Amendment 4 passes is this: Engage others – pass this message to neighbors, relatives, and friends. Get this message out to all voters: the hometown that you save will indeed be your own.
Your future . . . awaits your “YES on 4” vote on or before November 2nd. Before it's too late, take your rightful seat at the table. Give yourself the right to vote on your community's future. Your friends, family, children, and grandchildren will thank you.
Sincerely,
John Hedrick,
Member, Amendment 4 statewide coordinating committee and
Chair, Panhandle Citizens Coalition
Friday, October 15, 2010
PolitiFact, economists repudiate flawed anti-Amendment 4 'economic study'
We've been saying it for months, and now a PolitiFact examination supports our conclusion that the anti-Amendment 4 so-called "economic study" predicting dire job losses is not valid and ruled it "Barely True."
In enlisting several independent economists, the PolitiFact story should put rest to the Big Lie that opponents have been trying to peddle for months: that Amendment 4 is a jobs-killer. Already, prominent columnists such as Howard Troxler of the St. Petersburg Times, Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald and Lauren Ritchie of the Orlando Sentinel had already dismissed the study and dire warnings from opponents of Amendment 4.
Check out what these economists told PolitiFact:
Dr. Christopher Cotton is a professor with UM’s School of Business, who specializes in political economics and experimental economics. Prior to becoming a professor, he worked as a consultant conducting economic impact studies. He has not written or advocated on Amendment 4 in this election.
Cotton was critical of the WEG study, saying: "I see absolutely no reason to believe the findings of the Washington Economics Group report."
And this from well-known University of Florida economist David Denslow:
"We don't know for sure how voters will react, how the legislature will react, how developers will react. Nor do we know for sure what Florida's growth path would be without Amendment 4, as a base. Adding to the uncertainty is the current truly unusual state of the housing market. Would Amendment 4 increase the demand for vacant houses because it'll be harder to build new ones? Or would it reduce the demand because people will think Florida will stop growing and not want to start new businesses?"
PolitiFact's conclusion?:
We steer clear of ruling on predictions, and that's the issue we have with the blanket statement made by "No on 4." The opponents use a scary number of $34 billion in lost economic output based on assumptions that other economists -- even two economists who also are opposed to Amendment 4 -- say aren't knowable.
You can read the entire PolitiFact finding at http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/oct/15/citizens-lower-taxes-and-stronger-economy/study-claims-amendment-4-will-cause-34-billion-imp
In enlisting several independent economists, the PolitiFact story should put rest to the Big Lie that opponents have been trying to peddle for months: that Amendment 4 is a jobs-killer. Already, prominent columnists such as Howard Troxler of the St. Petersburg Times, Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald and Lauren Ritchie of the Orlando Sentinel had already dismissed the study and dire warnings from opponents of Amendment 4.
Check out what these economists told PolitiFact:
Dr. Christopher Cotton is a professor with UM’s School of Business, who specializes in political economics and experimental economics. Prior to becoming a professor, he worked as a consultant conducting economic impact studies. He has not written or advocated on Amendment 4 in this election.
Cotton was critical of the WEG study, saying: "I see absolutely no reason to believe the findings of the Washington Economics Group report."
And this from well-known University of Florida economist David Denslow:
"We don't know for sure how voters will react, how the legislature will react, how developers will react. Nor do we know for sure what Florida's growth path would be without Amendment 4, as a base. Adding to the uncertainty is the current truly unusual state of the housing market. Would Amendment 4 increase the demand for vacant houses because it'll be harder to build new ones? Or would it reduce the demand because people will think Florida will stop growing and not want to start new businesses?"
PolitiFact's conclusion?:
We steer clear of ruling on predictions, and that's the issue we have with the blanket statement made by "No on 4." The opponents use a scary number of $34 billion in lost economic output based on assumptions that other economists -- even two economists who also are opposed to Amendment 4 -- say aren't knowable.
You can read the entire PolitiFact finding at http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/oct/15/citizens-lower-taxes-and-stronger-economy/study-claims-amendment-4-will-cause-34-billion-imp
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Libertarian Voters Guide 2 Nov 10 Ballot Amendments Yes on 4
http://news.libertarianpoc.org/2010/10/libertarian-voters-guide-2-nov-10.html
The Libertarian Voters Guide 2 Nov 10 Ballot Amendments
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Libertarian Voters Guide
2 November 2010 General Election Ballot Florida Constitutional Amendments and Other Initiatives
30 September 2010
This guide contains a brief synopsis of the constitutional amendments and other initiatives to be on the General Ballot in the 2 November General election. Following each synopsis is the opinion of the Libertarian Party of Okaloosa County regarding each ballot initiative.
There are six total proposed constitutional amendments and one Federal Budget Advisory Question to be on the 2 November ballot. The proposed amendments are not numbered sequentially, so the ballot will show amendments numbered up to number eight when there are only six of them.
In summary, the LPOC recommends that an individual vote as follows:
Amendment One: Vote yes
Amendment Two: Vote no
Amendment Four: Vote yes
Amendment Five: Vote no
Amendment Six: Vote no
Amendment Eight: Vote yes
Federal Budget Advisory Question: Vote no
The Executive Committee of the LPOC, in pursuit of individual rights, free markets, and limited government,
Pete Blome, Chairman
Steve Copus, Vice Chairman
Mike Maier, Treasurer
Lee Jackson, Former Chair
Help us in our fight for a better Okaloosa. Send donations to:
Pd. Pol. Adv. By The Libertarian Party of Okaloosa County, P.O. Box 483, Shalimar, Florida 32579-0483, www.libertarianpoc.org,
The Libertarian Voters Guide 2 Nov 10 Ballot Amendments
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Libertarian Voters Guide
2 November 2010 General Election Ballot Florida Constitutional Amendments and Other Initiatives
30 September 2010
This guide contains a brief synopsis of the constitutional amendments and other initiatives to be on the General Ballot in the 2 November General election. Following each synopsis is the opinion of the Libertarian Party of Okaloosa County regarding each ballot initiative.
There are six total proposed constitutional amendments and one Federal Budget Advisory Question to be on the 2 November ballot. The proposed amendments are not numbered sequentially, so the ballot will show amendments numbered up to number eight when there are only six of them.
In summary, the LPOC recommends that an individual vote as follows:
Amendment One: Vote yes
Amendment Two: Vote no
Amendment Four: Vote yes
Amendment Five: Vote no
Amendment Six: Vote no
Amendment Eight: Vote yes
Federal Budget Advisory Question: Vote no
The Executive Committee of the LPOC, in pursuit of individual rights, free markets, and limited government,
Pete Blome, Chairman
Steve Copus, Vice Chairman
Mike Maier, Treasurer
Lee Jackson, Former Chair
Help us in our fight for a better Okaloosa. Send donations to:
Pd. Pol. Adv. By The Libertarian Party of Okaloosa County, P.O. Box 483, Shalimar, Florida 32579-0483, www.libertarianpoc.org,
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
US homebuiders and their multi-billion-dollar federal bailout contribute to campain to prevent Florida citizens from having the right to vote.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/us/politics/28florida.html?hp
Florida Voters Enter Battle on Growth
By DAMIEN CAVE
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Lesley Blackner drove through a maze of condominium towers, rarely seeing any curtains in the windows, or residents, and tried to contain her anger.
“They’ve crammed as much as they can in here,” she said this month, noting that just a few years ago cows grazed on the land west of I-95. “The people around here didn’t want it — they objected. But the City Commission did it anyway.”
Even now, with about 300,000 residential units sitting empty around the state, the push to build continues. Since 2007, local governments have approved zoning and other land use changes that would add 550,000 residential units and 1.4 billion square feet of commercial space, state figures show.
So for Ms. Blackner, a Palm Beach lawyer with a Mercedes full of paperwork, the real estate crisis is not just the fault of Wall Street, Washington or misguided borrowers; it is also the back-scratching bond between elected officials and builders — a common source of frustration in weak real estate markets around the country wherever developers are still fighting to add more housing.
In Florida, at least, Ms. Blackner hopes to put an end to the chronic oversupply with a ballot initiative she has labeled “Hometown Democracy.”
Amendment 4, as it is officially called, would give Floridians a vote on changes to state-mandated plans for growth in every county and municipality. Much of the potential impact of the measure is up for debate, with important details most likely to be decided by the courts.
But if it is added to the state’s Constitution — which would require 60 percent approval on Election Day — critics and supporters envision revolutionary change.
Leaders of the Yes on 4 campaign, including Ms. Blackner, say it would end a culture of freewheeling development that began when Hamilton Disston started dredging Florida swamps in the 1880s. Critics, led by chambers of commerce, say the measure would lead to lost jobs, chaos and expensive court battles.
Either way, the referendum is bringing into sharp relief the conflict surrounding real estate nationwide: while new homes, growth and the American dream are forever intertwined, many people are questioning why development often overwhelms other public priorities, even after it led to an economic crisis.
“Most planning advocates would love to have the structure we have in Florida, but most Floridians know that the structure doesn’t work,” said Michael Allan Wolf, a University of Florida law professor. “Amendment 4 suggests that, on the ground, this system is really broken.”
This is not an even fight. Ms. Blackner’s group has raised $2.4 million (with $800,000 from her own pocket), but most of it was spent on getting on the ballot.
The No on 4 campaign has raised nearly $12 million through a series of political action committees — enough for a glossy Web site, consultants and plenty of airtime. The Florida Association of Realtors is its largest single contributor, giving more than $2.3 million.
The nation’s biggest homebuilders, after receiving a multibillion-dollar bailout from Congress this year, have also been quite generous. Altogether, Lennar Homes, KB Home and Pulte Homes gave more than $1 million to No on 4’s main political action committee, Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy.
Ryan Houck, a spokesman for the group, said that developers were not the only opponents of the amendment, which he described as “overreaching and extreme.” The contributors’ list also includes community farm bureaus, which worry that it would make it harder to sell and rezone agricultural land for other uses.
Some county planners are also concerned about potential costs to government. “The litigation that ensues, no matter what happens, is really the potential fly in the ointment,” said Mark Satterlee, planning and development director for St. Lucie County.
Amendment 4 leaves open to interpretation whether every proposed change to a community’s development plan would need to appear on future ballots. In a sign of possible litigation to come, lawyers favoring the measure say that it would cover only major land use changes and that related proposals could be combined for votes by commissions.
Opponents say that under Amendment 4, each tweak of a development plan — which every county and municipality must have in place under a state law passed in the mid-1980s, and which requires updating every seven years — would have to appear on the ballot. Voters, they say, would have hundreds of items to digest each year.
That is not the typical situation. Annual figures from a half-dozen Florida counties and several fast-growing cities suggest that most voters in most years would decide on no more than 20 changes, usually fewer. (The No on 4 Web site says that the small town of Carrabelle would have had 617 proposed changes on its 2006 ballot under such a law, but records and interviews show only a handful of changes proposed that year.)
A more serious issue may be whether the ballot items, which are limited to 75 words or less, would lead to advertising campaigns, followed by misunderstandings and lawsuits. Larger development changes cover complicated issues including water supply and transportation, often with hundreds of pages of material. “Sometimes we take a hand truck to carry boxes down to the commissioners,” said Rick Burris, principal planner for Lee County.
However, Mr. Burris added, plan change approvals were not required for building. While developers claim that Amendment 4 would make construction impossible, current community plans around the state actually include robust expansion.
A rural area like Jackson County has room for 996 years of residential growth at current rates, according to a 2009 state analysis. Charlotte County has 162 years of growth in its plan, while St. Lucie County has the capacity to house its growing population for the next 212 years.
And that is what gets Ms. Blackner really fuming. “They could build until hell freezes over,” she said during a daylong tour of failed developments. “This isn’t about building. It’s about control.”
She drove past a row of empty condos on Route 1 called the Preserve, then past commercial and residential space, all vacant concrete floors and for-rent signs; then more examples of what she called the political class’s addiction to the next deal — apartment towers with few occupants, several stories higher than the plans’ original limits.
Finally she arrived at Tesoro, a golf community in the City of Port St. Lucie with a $48 million San Simeon-like clubhouse. The city’s mayor resigned and was arrested last Wednesday, on charges of pocketing campaign contributions, including money from developers. Tesoro — former scrub brush — is now an eerie ghost town of minicastles with fewer than 100 residents.
“This is bubble grandeur,” Ms. Blackner said, noting that Port St. Lucie’s taxpayers were left to pay for a new firehouse in the development.
“The commissioners were supposed to be protecting the community,” she said. “That’s their job, and they were asleep at the switch.”
Catharine Skipp contributed reporting.
Florida Voters Enter Battle on Growth
By DAMIEN CAVE
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Lesley Blackner drove through a maze of condominium towers, rarely seeing any curtains in the windows, or residents, and tried to contain her anger.
“They’ve crammed as much as they can in here,” she said this month, noting that just a few years ago cows grazed on the land west of I-95. “The people around here didn’t want it — they objected. But the City Commission did it anyway.”
Even now, with about 300,000 residential units sitting empty around the state, the push to build continues. Since 2007, local governments have approved zoning and other land use changes that would add 550,000 residential units and 1.4 billion square feet of commercial space, state figures show.
So for Ms. Blackner, a Palm Beach lawyer with a Mercedes full of paperwork, the real estate crisis is not just the fault of Wall Street, Washington or misguided borrowers; it is also the back-scratching bond between elected officials and builders — a common source of frustration in weak real estate markets around the country wherever developers are still fighting to add more housing.
In Florida, at least, Ms. Blackner hopes to put an end to the chronic oversupply with a ballot initiative she has labeled “Hometown Democracy.”
Amendment 4, as it is officially called, would give Floridians a vote on changes to state-mandated plans for growth in every county and municipality. Much of the potential impact of the measure is up for debate, with important details most likely to be decided by the courts.
But if it is added to the state’s Constitution — which would require 60 percent approval on Election Day — critics and supporters envision revolutionary change.
Leaders of the Yes on 4 campaign, including Ms. Blackner, say it would end a culture of freewheeling development that began when Hamilton Disston started dredging Florida swamps in the 1880s. Critics, led by chambers of commerce, say the measure would lead to lost jobs, chaos and expensive court battles.
Either way, the referendum is bringing into sharp relief the conflict surrounding real estate nationwide: while new homes, growth and the American dream are forever intertwined, many people are questioning why development often overwhelms other public priorities, even after it led to an economic crisis.
“Most planning advocates would love to have the structure we have in Florida, but most Floridians know that the structure doesn’t work,” said Michael Allan Wolf, a University of Florida law professor. “Amendment 4 suggests that, on the ground, this system is really broken.”
This is not an even fight. Ms. Blackner’s group has raised $2.4 million (with $800,000 from her own pocket), but most of it was spent on getting on the ballot.
The No on 4 campaign has raised nearly $12 million through a series of political action committees — enough for a glossy Web site, consultants and plenty of airtime. The Florida Association of Realtors is its largest single contributor, giving more than $2.3 million.
The nation’s biggest homebuilders, after receiving a multibillion-dollar bailout from Congress this year, have also been quite generous. Altogether, Lennar Homes, KB Home and Pulte Homes gave more than $1 million to No on 4’s main political action committee, Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy.
Ryan Houck, a spokesman for the group, said that developers were not the only opponents of the amendment, which he described as “overreaching and extreme.” The contributors’ list also includes community farm bureaus, which worry that it would make it harder to sell and rezone agricultural land for other uses.
Some county planners are also concerned about potential costs to government. “The litigation that ensues, no matter what happens, is really the potential fly in the ointment,” said Mark Satterlee, planning and development director for St. Lucie County.
Amendment 4 leaves open to interpretation whether every proposed change to a community’s development plan would need to appear on future ballots. In a sign of possible litigation to come, lawyers favoring the measure say that it would cover only major land use changes and that related proposals could be combined for votes by commissions.
Opponents say that under Amendment 4, each tweak of a development plan — which every county and municipality must have in place under a state law passed in the mid-1980s, and which requires updating every seven years — would have to appear on the ballot. Voters, they say, would have hundreds of items to digest each year.
That is not the typical situation. Annual figures from a half-dozen Florida counties and several fast-growing cities suggest that most voters in most years would decide on no more than 20 changes, usually fewer. (The No on 4 Web site says that the small town of Carrabelle would have had 617 proposed changes on its 2006 ballot under such a law, but records and interviews show only a handful of changes proposed that year.)
A more serious issue may be whether the ballot items, which are limited to 75 words or less, would lead to advertising campaigns, followed by misunderstandings and lawsuits. Larger development changes cover complicated issues including water supply and transportation, often with hundreds of pages of material. “Sometimes we take a hand truck to carry boxes down to the commissioners,” said Rick Burris, principal planner for Lee County.
However, Mr. Burris added, plan change approvals were not required for building. While developers claim that Amendment 4 would make construction impossible, current community plans around the state actually include robust expansion.
A rural area like Jackson County has room for 996 years of residential growth at current rates, according to a 2009 state analysis. Charlotte County has 162 years of growth in its plan, while St. Lucie County has the capacity to house its growing population for the next 212 years.
And that is what gets Ms. Blackner really fuming. “They could build until hell freezes over,” she said during a daylong tour of failed developments. “This isn’t about building. It’s about control.”
She drove past a row of empty condos on Route 1 called the Preserve, then past commercial and residential space, all vacant concrete floors and for-rent signs; then more examples of what she called the political class’s addiction to the next deal — apartment towers with few occupants, several stories higher than the plans’ original limits.
Finally she arrived at Tesoro, a golf community in the City of Port St. Lucie with a $48 million San Simeon-like clubhouse. The city’s mayor resigned and was arrested last Wednesday, on charges of pocketing campaign contributions, including money from developers. Tesoro — former scrub brush — is now an eerie ghost town of minicastles with fewer than 100 residents.
“This is bubble grandeur,” Ms. Blackner said, noting that Port St. Lucie’s taxpayers were left to pay for a new firehouse in the development.
“The commissioners were supposed to be protecting the community,” she said. “That’s their job, and they were asleep at the switch.”
Catharine Skipp contributed reporting.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Florida:The Vacant-home State?
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/print/2010/09/24/floridathe-vacant-home-state
Florida:The Vacant-home State?
By Douglas Kennedy
Created 2010-09-24 05:50
Earlier this month, Wayne Garcia walked across a stalled housing development in Land O' Lakes, Florida just north of Tampa. "It's an outrage," he said as he strolled past dozens of empty home sites. "This should never have been approved. This should never have happened."
Five years ago, architects promised "Connerton" would become the largest city in Pasco County. Today it looks like a graveyard of unfinished and unoccupied homes.
"There were supposed to be 15,000 homes here," Garcia explained as he stepped over the unhooked plumbing of one side street. "Today's there's 233." And Connerton isn't alone. Florida now has hundreds of stalled building sites. It also has a record 300,000 vacant homes.
"This is all because of unchecked development," said Garcia who represents Florida Hometown Democracy, Inc., an environmental group that's trying to control growth in Florida.
In fact, Hometown Democracy now has an initiative on the November ballot that some call the farthest reaching anti-growth measure in the country. "Amendment 4 will finally address the problem," he said.
"The problem," according to Garcia, has been the state's local community boards, which approve or deny large developments. He says these boards in the last ten years simply approved everything put before them, basically caving to the powerful construction interests. "It's because the public didn't have a vote and didn't have a say in the matter." Amendment 4, he says will give the public that say, mandating a local public vote for every proposed large development in the state.
Garcia calls it "Democracy." Developers call it a "nightmare."
"If you like the recession, then you will absolutely love amendment 4," says Ryan Houck, a spokesperson of Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, the main opponent of the amendment.
Houck says Amendment 4 will create a bureaucratic blockade that will make it impossible of any future development in the state. And he doesn't stop there. "Amendment 4 is going to cost tens of thousands of jobs," he said, "raise taxes on working Floridians, and make it more expensive to live in our state."
Garcia obviously disagrees, "I say that the opposition and the system that they want to keep going, is what got us in this recession in the first place."
Florida law requires the amendment to receive 60 percent of the vote to pass.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Do you trust the land use decisions your local representatives make?
For a decade, an average of 7 Florida politicians a month were arrested on public corruption charges, giving the state more corrupt politicians than any other in the nation, according to a Department of Justice study.
Decisions about new development are too important to leave to corrupt politicians. Amendment 4 on the Nov. 2 ballot gives voters a say when developers ask to change a community's future land-use plan, changes that can lead to higher property taxes.
Voters deserve a seat at the table. Vote Yes on 4!
Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Decisions about new development are too important to leave to corrupt politicians. Amendment 4 on the Nov. 2 ballot gives voters a say when developers ask to change a community's future land-use plan, changes that can lead to higher property taxes.
Voters deserve a seat at the table. Vote Yes on 4!
Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
1000 Friends of Florida statement on Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4
A million reasons why we need Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4.
The 1000 Friends of Florida put out a statement on Monday announcing their intentions to remain neutral on Amendment 4. The statement itself isn't as surprising as the the numbers they have included in their release.
"...the Board of Directors has been very mindful that the on-the-ground results of the state’s current growth management system are not as intended. Our state still faces sprawling, inappropriately sited development, degraded natural areas, overcrowded classrooms, and congested roads. In addition, over the last two years the state’s land planning agency, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, has approved approximately 90 percent of the plan amendments it has reviewed. This has impacted hundreds of thousands of acres, and authorized an additional 600,000 dwelling units and more than 1 billion square feet of non-residential office and institutional space, all of which remains unbuilt. Current estimates are that Florida’s built vacant housing inventory continues to hover between 300,000 and 400,000 dwelling units, and Florida is now leading the nation in outright numbers of foreclosures. Additionally, DCA is now reviewing numerous plan amendments that have been submitted with the intent of being approved before possible passage of Amendment 4 in November."
You can read the entire statement here:
http://www.1000friendsofflorida.org/reform/FHD%20statement%2010%2009%2013.asp
The 1000 Friends of Florida put out a statement on Monday announcing their intentions to remain neutral on Amendment 4. The statement itself isn't as surprising as the the numbers they have included in their release.
"...the Board of Directors has been very mindful that the on-the-ground results of the state’s current growth management system are not as intended. Our state still faces sprawling, inappropriately sited development, degraded natural areas, overcrowded classrooms, and congested roads. In addition, over the last two years the state’s land planning agency, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, has approved approximately 90 percent of the plan amendments it has reviewed. This has impacted hundreds of thousands of acres, and authorized an additional 600,000 dwelling units and more than 1 billion square feet of non-residential office and institutional space, all of which remains unbuilt. Current estimates are that Florida’s built vacant housing inventory continues to hover between 300,000 and 400,000 dwelling units, and Florida is now leading the nation in outright numbers of foreclosures. Additionally, DCA is now reviewing numerous plan amendments that have been submitted with the intent of being approved before possible passage of Amendment 4 in November."
You can read the entire statement here:
http://www.1000friendsofflorida.org/reform/FHD%20statement%2010%2009%2013.asp
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
I hope taxpayers are connecting the dots: that reckless real estate speculation led to the housing meltdown, falling home values and rising taxes.
http://staugustine.com/print/17581
Guest column: Amendment 4 lets voter decide land changes
By St. Augustine Record
Created 09/05/2010 - 12:00am
LESLEY BLACKNER
Who's afraid of Amendment 4, the constitutional revision that will give voters more control over major projects and growth in their communities?
The opposition to Amendment 4 comes from politicians, real estate speculators and their lobbyists: the very folks who turned Florida into a real estate Ponzi scheme and crashed our economy for the past three years. The politicians want to keep their power, and the real estate speculators want to keep speculating.
Right now, politicians (influenced by campaign contributions and lobbyists who whisper in their ears) exclusively decide where development happens. Right now they have the exclusive power to allow change to your community's master plan, also called a comprehensive plan. Amendment 4 only adds one new step to this process: You, the voter.
Think of it this way: At a table where your community's future is decided, where major projects that could raise your taxes are discussed and approved, voters are not welcome. Voters do not have a seat at that table. It is marked with a "Reserved" sign for politicians, lobbyists and land speculators.
With Amendment 4, your city or county commission will study and vote as usual on changes to your local comprehensive plan. But, if a majority of the commissioners approve the requested change, the commission will have to submit that plan change to the voters in a referendum at the next regularly scheduled Election Day. You will either veto it or approve it. It's that simple. Amendment 4 doesn't require special elections. It would not clog the election system. It would not crash the economy. It is the overbuilders who have done that already and who now are fighting Amendment 4 so they can do it again.
Nearly $2 million of the $6 million raised by the opponents of the Yes on 4 campaign since April comes from Wall Street's biggest construction corporations -- companies that recently received billions in federal bailout money. Another $3.5 million funneled to the group opposing Amendment 4 during the past five months came from a who's who of lobbying groups that represent the over-builders/speculators.
Amendment 4 opponents will say just about anything to get you to vote no. In a column, Bill Lazar, chairman of the St. Johns Builders Council comes out swinging. He falsely claims that under Amendment 4 you will have to vote "200 or 300 times per year." Public records show that in St. Johns County there were just 13 comp plan changes put forward since the beginning of 2009. All but three authorized additional density, or greater growth. Most granted landowners the right to change from rural designations to residential, or in other words, turn farmlands into even more sprawling subdivisions. Under Amendment 4, you would have had a seat at the table on these decisions, a vote.
Lazar neglects to tell voters that the state issued a report finding that St. Johns County comprehensive plan has enough growth built into it for the next 34 years without changing a thing. Construction crews are idle because demand has evaporated in a recession fueled by overbuilding, not because of anything that Amendment 4 would require.
I hope taxpayers are connecting the dots: that reckless real estate speculation led to the housing meltdown, falling home values and rising taxes. Our homes and communities are just too important to be left solely in the hands of politicians and lobbyists. We deserve a seat at the table, a vote before our taxes go up to pay for even more overdevelopment.
On Nov. 2, Florida voters have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop the Ponzi scheme economy that politicians and developers created. Vote Yes on Amendment 4.
*
Lesley Blackner is the president of Florida Hometown Democracy, the nonpartisan group sponsoring Amendment 4, that will be on the ballot in November.
Guest column: Amendment 4 lets voter decide land changes
By St. Augustine Record
Created 09/05/2010 - 12:00am
LESLEY BLACKNER
Who's afraid of Amendment 4, the constitutional revision that will give voters more control over major projects and growth in their communities?
The opposition to Amendment 4 comes from politicians, real estate speculators and their lobbyists: the very folks who turned Florida into a real estate Ponzi scheme and crashed our economy for the past three years. The politicians want to keep their power, and the real estate speculators want to keep speculating.
Right now, politicians (influenced by campaign contributions and lobbyists who whisper in their ears) exclusively decide where development happens. Right now they have the exclusive power to allow change to your community's master plan, also called a comprehensive plan. Amendment 4 only adds one new step to this process: You, the voter.
Think of it this way: At a table where your community's future is decided, where major projects that could raise your taxes are discussed and approved, voters are not welcome. Voters do not have a seat at that table. It is marked with a "Reserved" sign for politicians, lobbyists and land speculators.
With Amendment 4, your city or county commission will study and vote as usual on changes to your local comprehensive plan. But, if a majority of the commissioners approve the requested change, the commission will have to submit that plan change to the voters in a referendum at the next regularly scheduled Election Day. You will either veto it or approve it. It's that simple. Amendment 4 doesn't require special elections. It would not clog the election system. It would not crash the economy. It is the overbuilders who have done that already and who now are fighting Amendment 4 so they can do it again.
Nearly $2 million of the $6 million raised by the opponents of the Yes on 4 campaign since April comes from Wall Street's biggest construction corporations -- companies that recently received billions in federal bailout money. Another $3.5 million funneled to the group opposing Amendment 4 during the past five months came from a who's who of lobbying groups that represent the over-builders/speculators.
Amendment 4 opponents will say just about anything to get you to vote no. In a column, Bill Lazar, chairman of the St. Johns Builders Council comes out swinging. He falsely claims that under Amendment 4 you will have to vote "200 or 300 times per year." Public records show that in St. Johns County there were just 13 comp plan changes put forward since the beginning of 2009. All but three authorized additional density, or greater growth. Most granted landowners the right to change from rural designations to residential, or in other words, turn farmlands into even more sprawling subdivisions. Under Amendment 4, you would have had a seat at the table on these decisions, a vote.
Lazar neglects to tell voters that the state issued a report finding that St. Johns County comprehensive plan has enough growth built into it for the next 34 years without changing a thing. Construction crews are idle because demand has evaporated in a recession fueled by overbuilding, not because of anything that Amendment 4 would require.
I hope taxpayers are connecting the dots: that reckless real estate speculation led to the housing meltdown, falling home values and rising taxes. Our homes and communities are just too important to be left solely in the hands of politicians and lobbyists. We deserve a seat at the table, a vote before our taxes go up to pay for even more overdevelopment.
On Nov. 2, Florida voters have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop the Ponzi scheme economy that politicians and developers created. Vote Yes on Amendment 4.
*
Lesley Blackner is the president of Florida Hometown Democracy, the nonpartisan group sponsoring Amendment 4, that will be on the ballot in November.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Amendment 4 opponents' industry mobilization plan a recipe for workplace coercion
Hometown Democracy president Lesley Blackner today issued this statement after recent media coverage about an "Industry Mobilization Plan" being undertaken by the powerful opponents to Amendment 4, or Hometown Democracy:
"It is bad enough that major Florida employers are squandering millions of dollars to oppose giving voters a seat at the table, money that could instead go into growing their businesses and hiring new employees. Now, they have devised a plan to have those same employers lean on their workers to join their pro-overbuilding campaign and even provide lists of employees names to the anti-Amendment 4 campaign team.
"This is a recipe for coercion in the workplace. It is a full-court press that no Florida worker trying to keep his or her job will be able to resist and make a fully informed decision. Such politicking activity would be against the law in public agencies. It is merely unethical and disappointing in the private sector. We hope that employees who feel wrongly pressured by this plan will report any wrongdoing to our website, www.floridahometowndemocracy.com."
The Industry Mobilization Plan supplies a sample CEO letter that boldfaces the boss's "personal" request. What worker could turn this down? Here is an excerpt from that sample letter:
I’d like to personally ask you to take a moment to visit www.noamendment4.com and fill out the Industry Advocate form. Your information will be kept private and used only to educate you, your friends, family members and colleagues on Amendment 4.
The outrageous plan goes further, even asking employers to mail in "detailed" lists of employees to the opposition campaign, as shows in this e-mail to business leaders from Florida Chamber exec Adam Babington:
1. Encourage your employees and colleagues to register as an "Advocate" in opposition to Amendment 4. A high level of participation is critical in defeating Amendment 4 which will hurt Florida's working families. Visit www.noamendment4.com to register.
2. Even easier, provide the "Vote No on 4" campaign with a detailed list of your interested employees, organization members, friends and family. [highlighting added] This data will be handled with the greatest sensitivity and confidentiality and will not be shared with others. It will be used only to communicate the messages of "Vote No on 4."
Amendment 4 is the result of years of effort by Florida Hometown Democracy, a grass-roots, non-partisan citizens' initiative organized to put the voter-empowering amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot. The amendment would give voters the final say over large-scale development projects that want to change a community's comprehensive land-use plan. Yes on 4's website address is www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.
Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL.
"It is bad enough that major Florida employers are squandering millions of dollars to oppose giving voters a seat at the table, money that could instead go into growing their businesses and hiring new employees. Now, they have devised a plan to have those same employers lean on their workers to join their pro-overbuilding campaign and even provide lists of employees names to the anti-Amendment 4 campaign team.
"This is a recipe for coercion in the workplace. It is a full-court press that no Florida worker trying to keep his or her job will be able to resist and make a fully informed decision. Such politicking activity would be against the law in public agencies. It is merely unethical and disappointing in the private sector. We hope that employees who feel wrongly pressured by this plan will report any wrongdoing to our website, www.floridahometowndemocracy.com."
The Industry Mobilization Plan supplies a sample CEO letter that boldfaces the boss's "personal" request. What worker could turn this down? Here is an excerpt from that sample letter:
I’d like to personally ask you to take a moment to visit www.noamendment4.com and fill out the Industry Advocate form. Your information will be kept private and used only to educate you, your friends, family members and colleagues on Amendment 4.
The outrageous plan goes further, even asking employers to mail in "detailed" lists of employees to the opposition campaign, as shows in this e-mail to business leaders from Florida Chamber exec Adam Babington:
1. Encourage your employees and colleagues to register as an "Advocate" in opposition to Amendment 4. A high level of participation is critical in defeating Amendment 4 which will hurt Florida's working families. Visit www.noamendment4.com to register.
2. Even easier, provide the "Vote No on 4" campaign with a detailed list of your interested employees, organization members, friends and family. [highlighting added] This data will be handled with the greatest sensitivity and confidentiality and will not be shared with others. It will be used only to communicate the messages of "Vote No on 4."
Amendment 4 is the result of years of effort by Florida Hometown Democracy, a grass-roots, non-partisan citizens' initiative organized to put the voter-empowering amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot. The amendment would give voters the final say over large-scale development projects that want to change a community's comprehensive land-use plan. Yes on 4's website address is www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.
Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
A question for Rick Scott.
http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2010/08/rick-scott-so-you-want-to-be-governor.html
Rick Scott: so you want to be governor? Support Amendment 4... by gimleteye
The lobbyist class was down in its cups at the campaign headquarters of Bill McCullom last night. To run competitively against the ultra deep pockets of health care magnate, Rick Scott, McCullom needed every lobbyist dollar he could find. The special interests rushed to his side. They had everything to gain and they lost. Now what?
Rick Scott can run competitively against Sink, without the lobbying class. Still, and most importantly, he needs enough independents and Democrats to defeat the former St. Pete banker, Alex Sink. Wherever Sink is most vulnerable is where Scott should plant his campaign. Where is Sink most vulnerable as a former financier of development run amok? Amendment 4, the November referendum that would return the choice of changing community land use plans back to local voters.
Sink has avoided Amendment 4 like the plague. It is no wonder, why. From the Chamber of Commerce to Lennar and other large production homebuilders, to the shill for land speculators, Associated Industries, opposition to Amendment 4 has drawn tens of millions of dollars. But Amendment 4 is energizing millions of voters who are sick and tired of the insider dealing and the development Wrecking Crew that drove the economy off the rails.
Isn't limiting the power of government-- especially the abuses of excessive authority-- a cornerstone of conservative values? Alex Sink doesn't have the courage to stand up for Amendment 4. Does Rick Scott?
Rick Scott: so you want to be governor? Support Amendment 4... by gimleteye
The lobbyist class was down in its cups at the campaign headquarters of Bill McCullom last night. To run competitively against the ultra deep pockets of health care magnate, Rick Scott, McCullom needed every lobbyist dollar he could find. The special interests rushed to his side. They had everything to gain and they lost. Now what?
Rick Scott can run competitively against Sink, without the lobbying class. Still, and most importantly, he needs enough independents and Democrats to defeat the former St. Pete banker, Alex Sink. Wherever Sink is most vulnerable is where Scott should plant his campaign. Where is Sink most vulnerable as a former financier of development run amok? Amendment 4, the November referendum that would return the choice of changing community land use plans back to local voters.
Sink has avoided Amendment 4 like the plague. It is no wonder, why. From the Chamber of Commerce to Lennar and other large production homebuilders, to the shill for land speculators, Associated Industries, opposition to Amendment 4 has drawn tens of millions of dollars. But Amendment 4 is energizing millions of voters who are sick and tired of the insider dealing and the development Wrecking Crew that drove the economy off the rails.
Isn't limiting the power of government-- especially the abuses of excessive authority-- a cornerstone of conservative values? Alex Sink doesn't have the courage to stand up for Amendment 4. Does Rick Scott?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Arrested Development’ photo essay documents Florida overbuilding and need for Amendment 4
Readers of the St. Petersburg Times this weekend got a graphic look at the face of overdevelopment in our state: the second installment of a photo essay by the newspaper’s Chris Zuppa called “Arrested Development.”
In the two photographs featured so far, Zuppa shows the economic wasteland cut by Florida developers during the real estate “bubble.” A picture is worth a thousand words; Zuppo’s photos are an eloquent statement about how special interests are ruining Florida, and the cycle that will no doubt be repeated unless voters have a say. That, of course, is simply what Amendment 4 does: gives Florida residents a seat at the table and a say on their taxes, economy and growth.
View the online photo essay at http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2010/photo_galleries/arrested_development/
In the two photographs featured so far, Zuppa shows the economic wasteland cut by Florida developers during the real estate “bubble.” A picture is worth a thousand words; Zuppo’s photos are an eloquent statement about how special interests are ruining Florida, and the cycle that will no doubt be repeated unless voters have a say. That, of course, is simply what Amendment 4 does: gives Florida residents a seat at the table and a say on their taxes, economy and growth.
View the online photo essay at http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2010/photo_galleries/arrested_development/
We urge you to share this excellent piece of reporting with your friends, family, colleagues and neighbors. If you have a blog, be sure to blog about it. These are the images that the opponents of Amendment 4 do not want us to see.
Florida Hometown Democracy's "Roads to Nowhere Pasco County and Beyond" is work in progress of failed developments throughout the state: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&source=embed&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107419183092728904211.00048b963a2262d68074d
Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL.
Friday, August 6, 2010
OPEN LETTER FROM TEA PARTY PATRIOTS FOR 4
OPEN LETTER FROM TEA PARTY PATRIOTS FOR 4
IN ANSWER TO “COALITION FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS”
Recently a letter was sent to various Florida tea party leaders from “Coalition For Property Rights”(CPR) attempting to discredit supporters of Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4. Some of the tea party leaders embraced CPR’s message, sending it out to everyone on their email lists. The CPR letter used emotionally charged buzz-words, such as “communal and collective consent”, designed to inflame the minds of tea partiers and convince them Amendment 4 will “strip away the rights and freedoms of individual Florida citizens.” In the interest of full disclosure, and in fairness to the rank and file members who would appreciate a fair and balanced description of Amendment 4, Tea Party Patriots For 4 would like to answer some of the charges promulgated by CPR.
By the way, the terms “collective permission” and “communal consent” were used by CPR to describe the simple act of voting, specifically your right to vote on issues of great impact to you and your children. The claim of CPR is that Amendment 4 will deny you the freedom to self-determine how your private land should be used. In truth, government already makes these decisions. You do not now have exclusive rights over decisions about your property. Do you belong to a homeowners’ association? If so, you must get “collective permission” to paint your front door, add a fence, or put a sign in your yard. Even if you do not live in an HOA, you must seek “communal consent” from government to replace a roof, add a room , or build a swimming pool. Amendment 4 will give you an extra layer of protection over some of these rapidly eroding property rights.
Supporters of Amendment 4 understand that the right to own property is the cornerstone of all American freedoms. This basic right is being threatened everyday by the cabal of developers, land speculators, financiers, and government officials who, for decades, have honed a system of “build and tax” at the expense of citizens. Tax-supported bail-outs to developers, such as tax waivers, fair share plans, incessant comp plan amendments, and the abolishing of impact fees, add burdens to citizens in the form of higher costs and lower quality of life. This hinders the ability of many citizens to acquire, maintain, or keep property. It is the absence, rather than the presence, of Amendment 4 that threatens this most basic right of Florida citizens.
It’s no surprise that CPR’s governing board, composed almost exclusively of developers, land speculators, and eminent domain attorneys, seeks to convince voters that Amendment 4 will destroy property rights. With a board like that, we must ask the question, “Whose property rights is the CPR really protecting?”
Amendment 4 respects the comprehensive planning process. All steps now required for the comprehensive plan or plan changes will continue under Amendment 4. Only one additional step, a final vote by citizens, will be added. Amendment 4 will not stop growth, as CPR claims. Growth is built into all comp plans, so there is plenty of existing practical opportunities for “schools, churches, hospitals, and gas stations” to be built. Only changes outside the comp plan will be on the ballot, so citizens can control undesirable elements such as empty strip malls. We encourage you to check your county’s comp plan to see how much growth is already allowed.
AMENDMENT 4 WILL PROTECT PROPERTY RIGHTS BY:
• Protecting property values. In reality, overdevelopment threatens property rights by threatening property values. We have a glut of houses all over Florida, which causes home values to go down and taxes to go up. Yet, what is the answer proposed by developers and politicians? More of the same. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
• Giving citizens veto power over bad development decisions.
• Protecting property ownership. A citizen requesting a comp plan change will not lose his current vested property rights if a land use change is voted down. Land use changes are entitlements, not rights.
• Providing controls over an increasingly powerful local government that is too entrenched with land speculators.
• Protecting the rights of individuals and businesses who own property within the comprehensive plan. Building outside the comprehensive plan, often on cheap land, encourages sprawl and increases the cost of owning homes for the rest of us, threatening the ability of many folks to achieve that American dream of owning a home or business.
• Utilizing the right to vote, an integral part of the U. S. Constitution and citizens’ individual rights, as a powerful tool to ensure that citizens have control over the government they must pay for.
• Adding a check and balance over our elected officials, who so often ignore the welfare of citizens in favor of special interests. To those who like to use the “republic” argument against Amendment 4, we would ask, “How did that national healthcare plan work out for you? Or illegal immigration? Are your elected representatives really looking out for you?”
Please access http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com/ for more information.
Vote YES! Amendment 4 on November’s ballot.
IN ANSWER TO “COALITION FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS”
Recently a letter was sent to various Florida tea party leaders from “Coalition For Property Rights”(CPR) attempting to discredit supporters of Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4. Some of the tea party leaders embraced CPR’s message, sending it out to everyone on their email lists. The CPR letter used emotionally charged buzz-words, such as “communal and collective consent”, designed to inflame the minds of tea partiers and convince them Amendment 4 will “strip away the rights and freedoms of individual Florida citizens.” In the interest of full disclosure, and in fairness to the rank and file members who would appreciate a fair and balanced description of Amendment 4, Tea Party Patriots For 4 would like to answer some of the charges promulgated by CPR.
By the way, the terms “collective permission” and “communal consent” were used by CPR to describe the simple act of voting, specifically your right to vote on issues of great impact to you and your children. The claim of CPR is that Amendment 4 will deny you the freedom to self-determine how your private land should be used. In truth, government already makes these decisions. You do not now have exclusive rights over decisions about your property. Do you belong to a homeowners’ association? If so, you must get “collective permission” to paint your front door, add a fence, or put a sign in your yard. Even if you do not live in an HOA, you must seek “communal consent” from government to replace a roof, add a room , or build a swimming pool. Amendment 4 will give you an extra layer of protection over some of these rapidly eroding property rights.
Supporters of Amendment 4 understand that the right to own property is the cornerstone of all American freedoms. This basic right is being threatened everyday by the cabal of developers, land speculators, financiers, and government officials who, for decades, have honed a system of “build and tax” at the expense of citizens. Tax-supported bail-outs to developers, such as tax waivers, fair share plans, incessant comp plan amendments, and the abolishing of impact fees, add burdens to citizens in the form of higher costs and lower quality of life. This hinders the ability of many citizens to acquire, maintain, or keep property. It is the absence, rather than the presence, of Amendment 4 that threatens this most basic right of Florida citizens.
It’s no surprise that CPR’s governing board, composed almost exclusively of developers, land speculators, and eminent domain attorneys, seeks to convince voters that Amendment 4 will destroy property rights. With a board like that, we must ask the question, “Whose property rights is the CPR really protecting?”
Amendment 4 respects the comprehensive planning process. All steps now required for the comprehensive plan or plan changes will continue under Amendment 4. Only one additional step, a final vote by citizens, will be added. Amendment 4 will not stop growth, as CPR claims. Growth is built into all comp plans, so there is plenty of existing practical opportunities for “schools, churches, hospitals, and gas stations” to be built. Only changes outside the comp plan will be on the ballot, so citizens can control undesirable elements such as empty strip malls. We encourage you to check your county’s comp plan to see how much growth is already allowed.
AMENDMENT 4 WILL PROTECT PROPERTY RIGHTS BY:
• Protecting property values. In reality, overdevelopment threatens property rights by threatening property values. We have a glut of houses all over Florida, which causes home values to go down and taxes to go up. Yet, what is the answer proposed by developers and politicians? More of the same. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
• Giving citizens veto power over bad development decisions.
• Protecting property ownership. A citizen requesting a comp plan change will not lose his current vested property rights if a land use change is voted down. Land use changes are entitlements, not rights.
• Providing controls over an increasingly powerful local government that is too entrenched with land speculators.
• Protecting the rights of individuals and businesses who own property within the comprehensive plan. Building outside the comprehensive plan, often on cheap land, encourages sprawl and increases the cost of owning homes for the rest of us, threatening the ability of many folks to achieve that American dream of owning a home or business.
• Utilizing the right to vote, an integral part of the U. S. Constitution and citizens’ individual rights, as a powerful tool to ensure that citizens have control over the government they must pay for.
• Adding a check and balance over our elected officials, who so often ignore the welfare of citizens in favor of special interests. To those who like to use the “republic” argument against Amendment 4, we would ask, “How did that national healthcare plan work out for you? Or illegal immigration? Are your elected representatives really looking out for you?”
Please access http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com/ for more information.
Vote YES! Amendment 4 on November’s ballot.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
THE AMENDMENT 4 VOTER FACT SHEET
Why Vote Yes on Amendment 4?
Reckless real estate speculation has crashed our economy and our home values, and diminished our quality of life. Irresponsible local officials have let much of this happen by approving harmful changes to local comprehensive land-use plans. We taxpayers pay for the roads, schools, and water and sewer services for new development. We should get a vote. Even when developments sit empty, we pay. Amendment 4 will make politicians more accountable.
How Would It Work?
YOU will get a vote on growth and development in your community. Today, politicians exclusively control future development: they have the exclusive power to approve or deny development-related changes to local comprehensive land-use plans. Amendment 4 adds one new step to this process: YOU.
Under Amendment 4, your city or county commission will study, hold public hearings, and vote on proposed changes to the local comprehensive land-use plan, just like they do now. You will veto or approve their decision on the next regularly scheduled Election Day. It’s that simple. Amendment 4 doesn’t require special elections.
What Would I Vote On?
Amendment 4 requires voter approval only of local comprehensive land-use plan changes. Amendment 4 does not apply to the more frequently-decided individual development approvals, re-zonings, or variances.
Under Amendment 4, you’ll decide if a proposed plan change serves the public interest and makes your community a better place to live. If the majority votes yes, the change will happen. If the majority votes no, the change doesn't happen.
Why Bother?
Our homes and our communities are too important to leave in the hands of politicians and lobbyists. We-the-people keep getting stuck with the costs of clogged roads, crowded schools, and needless pollution. Speculators and politicians get rich at our expense. Just look around Florida today: Real estate speculators got so many rubber-stamped approvals from politicians that they overbuilt, crashed our economy, and wrecked our home values. Now we are stuck with the bill.
Sometimes, when things get so out-of-whack, the people need to rise up and provide balance. It is time to try a new approach. Hometown Democracy is a nonpartisan, common-sense reform movement of Floridians from all walks of life. We lost our voice to the big moneyed interests– let’s win it back with our votes.
To learn more, visit www.FloridaHometownDemocracy.com
To volunteer, call us at (866) 779-5513, or email us at FloridaHometown@yahoo.com. Send a donation to Florida Hometown Democracy, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170-0636 Pd.Pol. Adv. By Florida Hometown Democracy, Inc. PAC
Reckless real estate speculation has crashed our economy and our home values, and diminished our quality of life. Irresponsible local officials have let much of this happen by approving harmful changes to local comprehensive land-use plans. We taxpayers pay for the roads, schools, and water and sewer services for new development. We should get a vote. Even when developments sit empty, we pay. Amendment 4 will make politicians more accountable.
How Would It Work?
YOU will get a vote on growth and development in your community. Today, politicians exclusively control future development: they have the exclusive power to approve or deny development-related changes to local comprehensive land-use plans. Amendment 4 adds one new step to this process: YOU.
Under Amendment 4, your city or county commission will study, hold public hearings, and vote on proposed changes to the local comprehensive land-use plan, just like they do now. You will veto or approve their decision on the next regularly scheduled Election Day. It’s that simple. Amendment 4 doesn’t require special elections.
What Would I Vote On?
Amendment 4 requires voter approval only of local comprehensive land-use plan changes. Amendment 4 does not apply to the more frequently-decided individual development approvals, re-zonings, or variances.
Under Amendment 4, you’ll decide if a proposed plan change serves the public interest and makes your community a better place to live. If the majority votes yes, the change will happen. If the majority votes no, the change doesn't happen.
Why Bother?
Our homes and our communities are too important to leave in the hands of politicians and lobbyists. We-the-people keep getting stuck with the costs of clogged roads, crowded schools, and needless pollution. Speculators and politicians get rich at our expense. Just look around Florida today: Real estate speculators got so many rubber-stamped approvals from politicians that they overbuilt, crashed our economy, and wrecked our home values. Now we are stuck with the bill.
Sometimes, when things get so out-of-whack, the people need to rise up and provide balance. It is time to try a new approach. Hometown Democracy is a nonpartisan, common-sense reform movement of Floridians from all walks of life. We lost our voice to the big moneyed interests– let’s win it back with our votes.
To learn more, visit www.FloridaHometownDemocracy.com
To volunteer, call us at (866) 779-5513, or email us at FloridaHometown@yahoo.com. Send a donation to Florida Hometown Democracy, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170-0636 Pd.Pol. Adv. By Florida Hometown Democracy, Inc. PAC
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
SOME TEA PARTY PRINCIPLES SUPPORTED BY FLORIDA HOMETOWN DEMOCRACY AMENDMENT 4
"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories."
Thomas Jefferson
"The people who own the country ought to govern it."
John Jay
"All political power is inherent in the people."
Florida Constitution, Article 1, Section 1
SOME TEA PARTY PRINCIPLES SUPPORTED BY FLORIDA HOMETOWN DEMOCRACY AMENDMENT 4
• REPUBLIC. It is important to understand that "democracy" and "republic" are not opposite ends of a continuum. They work together to form the government we enjoy today, a constitutional republic based on democratic principles, starting with the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees members of tea parties and Amendment 4 the right to protest and redress their government. This is an important tool that manifests itself through rallies, town hall meetings and a direct vote on some issues, such as special taxes, amendments, and, if Amendment 4 passes, issues involving comprehensive plans. The right to vote is another tool guaranteed by our federal and state constitutions. Some tea party members have questioned citizens' right to vote on comprehensive plans, using the argument that we are a republic composed of representatives who make our decisions for us. If they believe that, why are they comfortable with powerful lobbyists' attempts to influence lawmakers? Shouldn't the special interests, who pay these lobbyists big bucks to peddle their influence, be satisfied with whatever decisions are made under our republic? One of the purposes of our government is to promote the general welfare. Are our elected officials doing a good job promoting the general welfare?
• CITIZEN PARTICIPATION. Even though Amendment 4 is a state constitutional amendment, if passed, it will be manifested at the local level, where the rubber meets the road. Citizens will vote on comprehensive plans in their own communities, not in other communities or counties in Florida, thus encompassing the spirit of the town hall meetings and rallies utilized by tea parties. Citizen participation is an effective tool used by Amendment 4 and tea parties to ensure accountability and effect positive reform.
• LIMITED GOVERNMENT. Tea parties are all about limited government. So is Amendment 4, which seeks to limit government by controlling growth. There is a strong relationship between population growth and the expansion of government. We encourage you to research your county's population growth rate for the last decade. Compare this rate with the growth of your county's budget during the same time period. Chances are, you will find that your county's budget has grown at a much greater rate than its population. Government uses population growth as an excuse to expand in both cost and size, thus causing our taxes to increase. Amendment 4 supporters believe that giving citizens veto power over our comprehensive plans or plan changes will further limit the power of local governments.
• INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. The right to vote, which Amendment 4 embraces, is an integral part of our constitution and promotes individual rights. Many of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution address the right to vote. Amendment 4 uses this basic, inalienable right to balance the rights of all citizens.
• PROPERTY RIGHTS. Opponents of Amendment 4 try to equate it with the loss of property rights, claiming that it denies property owners the right to use their property as they wish. Of course, this argument assumes that we have 100 per cent freedom with our property now, disregarding the power of homeowners' associations, code enforcement laws, zoning laws, taxes, and regulations, to limit your use of your property. Adding one more step to the land use process will not take away property rights. Even if a property owner is denied a change request, his status as a property owner remains the same. He never loses his current standing as a property owner. He cannot lose his property or his right to own property. Remember, the only land use changes to be voted on under Amendment 4 are those outside the comp plan. This protects, not destroys, property rights. People who own property inside the comp plan lose when developers are allowed to continually build on cheaper land outside the plan. This leads to sprawl and the increased costs of government and infrastructure. Costs go up; taxpayers pay more. Overdevelopment lowers the value of property and raises taxes, threatening the right to own or profit from property.
• FISCAL CONSERVATISM. We have a glut of houses in Florida, not to mention empty strip malls. Florida has suffered more than most states in the United States and all states of the Southeast in this recession. Why? Because Florida relies too much on growth as its major industry. What happens when there is an oversupply of homes? Values go down. The values of many Florida properties have declined, yet property tax rates have increased to help government make up for lost revenue. So, our home values go down, taxes and fees go up. And, as population increases, government grows in power, size, and cost. What is the answer proposed by developers and government officials? More of the same. Studies have shown that residential housing does not pay for itself. Taxpayers pay. Offering tax breaks, incentives and fair share deals to developers, and suspending impact fees, are local examples of government bail-outs that increase our taxes and lower our quality of life. Amendment 4 believes that before we are asked to pay more for overdevelopment, we should be able to vote on land use plans. If you impact it, pay for it.
Thomas Jefferson
"The people who own the country ought to govern it."
John Jay
"All political power is inherent in the people."
Florida Constitution, Article 1, Section 1
SOME TEA PARTY PRINCIPLES SUPPORTED BY FLORIDA HOMETOWN DEMOCRACY AMENDMENT 4
• REPUBLIC. It is important to understand that "democracy" and "republic" are not opposite ends of a continuum. They work together to form the government we enjoy today, a constitutional republic based on democratic principles, starting with the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees members of tea parties and Amendment 4 the right to protest and redress their government. This is an important tool that manifests itself through rallies, town hall meetings and a direct vote on some issues, such as special taxes, amendments, and, if Amendment 4 passes, issues involving comprehensive plans. The right to vote is another tool guaranteed by our federal and state constitutions. Some tea party members have questioned citizens' right to vote on comprehensive plans, using the argument that we are a republic composed of representatives who make our decisions for us. If they believe that, why are they comfortable with powerful lobbyists' attempts to influence lawmakers? Shouldn't the special interests, who pay these lobbyists big bucks to peddle their influence, be satisfied with whatever decisions are made under our republic? One of the purposes of our government is to promote the general welfare. Are our elected officials doing a good job promoting the general welfare?
• CITIZEN PARTICIPATION. Even though Amendment 4 is a state constitutional amendment, if passed, it will be manifested at the local level, where the rubber meets the road. Citizens will vote on comprehensive plans in their own communities, not in other communities or counties in Florida, thus encompassing the spirit of the town hall meetings and rallies utilized by tea parties. Citizen participation is an effective tool used by Amendment 4 and tea parties to ensure accountability and effect positive reform.
• LIMITED GOVERNMENT. Tea parties are all about limited government. So is Amendment 4, which seeks to limit government by controlling growth. There is a strong relationship between population growth and the expansion of government. We encourage you to research your county's population growth rate for the last decade. Compare this rate with the growth of your county's budget during the same time period. Chances are, you will find that your county's budget has grown at a much greater rate than its population. Government uses population growth as an excuse to expand in both cost and size, thus causing our taxes to increase. Amendment 4 supporters believe that giving citizens veto power over our comprehensive plans or plan changes will further limit the power of local governments.
• INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. The right to vote, which Amendment 4 embraces, is an integral part of our constitution and promotes individual rights. Many of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution address the right to vote. Amendment 4 uses this basic, inalienable right to balance the rights of all citizens.
• PROPERTY RIGHTS. Opponents of Amendment 4 try to equate it with the loss of property rights, claiming that it denies property owners the right to use their property as they wish. Of course, this argument assumes that we have 100 per cent freedom with our property now, disregarding the power of homeowners' associations, code enforcement laws, zoning laws, taxes, and regulations, to limit your use of your property. Adding one more step to the land use process will not take away property rights. Even if a property owner is denied a change request, his status as a property owner remains the same. He never loses his current standing as a property owner. He cannot lose his property or his right to own property. Remember, the only land use changes to be voted on under Amendment 4 are those outside the comp plan. This protects, not destroys, property rights. People who own property inside the comp plan lose when developers are allowed to continually build on cheaper land outside the plan. This leads to sprawl and the increased costs of government and infrastructure. Costs go up; taxpayers pay more. Overdevelopment lowers the value of property and raises taxes, threatening the right to own or profit from property.
• FISCAL CONSERVATISM. We have a glut of houses in Florida, not to mention empty strip malls. Florida has suffered more than most states in the United States and all states of the Southeast in this recession. Why? Because Florida relies too much on growth as its major industry. What happens when there is an oversupply of homes? Values go down. The values of many Florida properties have declined, yet property tax rates have increased to help government make up for lost revenue. So, our home values go down, taxes and fees go up. And, as population increases, government grows in power, size, and cost. What is the answer proposed by developers and government officials? More of the same. Studies have shown that residential housing does not pay for itself. Taxpayers pay. Offering tax breaks, incentives and fair share deals to developers, and suspending impact fees, are local examples of government bail-outs that increase our taxes and lower our quality of life. Amendment 4 believes that before we are asked to pay more for overdevelopment, we should be able to vote on land use plans. If you impact it, pay for it.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Amendment 4 should be a rally cry for tea party folks
http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2010/jul/18/ha-debate-heats-up-on-amendment-4/
Debate heats up on Amendment 4
By RON RAE
The Rae Way
Hot topic: Referenda required for adoption and amendment of local government comprehensive land use plans.
Better known as Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4, local debate on this referendum has, as yet, been relatively mild. On Aug. 6, 2009, George Niemann, regional coordinator of Florida Hometown Democracy, wrote a guest column, "The truth about Florida Hometown Democracy." The most notable passage:
"Rezoning, as well as the ability to develop land within existing land use criteria, will remain unaffected and will not require voter approval. The vast majority of land use would remain unaffected because changes to the growth plan are not needed to develop land. If no further changes were made to local comprehensive plans across Florida, the current planned land use provisions could still accommodate the addition of 70 million people.
"Changes to the growth plan would still be processed, reviewed and decided on by the local governing bodies (an elected county commission, as an example), as they are today. FHD adds just one more step to the current process - voters must concur before the change can be officially adopted."
Jumping forward to a June 30 article by Michael D. Bates, "Amendment would empower people on land use issues stated "Supporters of Amendment 4 say they are only asking for a 'seat at the table' when it comes to planning their community."
Both Mr. Niemann's column and Mr. Bates' article drew backfire from Planning and Zoning Commissioner Bob Widmar whose guest column on Aug. 8, 2009, "Amendment 4: A vision by special interests to stop planned growth" and letter to the editor on July 7, "We do have a seat at the table," advised readers there are processes already in place for concerned residents to "have input into the comprehensive plan and changes to the plan."
In both instances, Mr. Widmar explained that citizen input begins with every seven-year Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) meeting. Subsequent opportunities for citizens to express their views are through attendance at monthly hearings held by the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners.
Thereafter, judgment lays with the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee with "a report containing Objections, Recommendations and Comments (the ORC report) on the proposed change. Until these three items have been reviewed and addressed to the satisfaction of the DCA, the proposed change is not accepted. The public does again have an opportunity to address the DCA," after which "... the BOCC can finally put the stamp of approval on the plan change, again at a public meeting."
Mr. Bates' June 30 article included many disconcerting comments on the possible passage of Amendment 4, all voiced by governmental/political pitchmen.
County Commissioner David Russell: "I'm afraid that the public will be swayed one way or another by advertising campaigns on either side of the issue rather than based on pertinent data relating to the amendment." It will be interesting to see to what extent either side resorts to "the nasties." And which side doles out the most dough.
The Hernando County Republican Executive Committee: "Hometown Democracy will prevent and negate responsible planning decisions by county engineers and county planners and turn the process over to a political campaign." Out of necessity, in-government politicking demands that voters be aware, especially during periods of time between Election Days.
HCREC Chairman Blaise Ingoglia: "The electorate is not going to have access to all the records that county engineers and planners will have. Plus, we've elected commissioners for a reason." Voters are not dumb. Resident voices often fall on deaf ears.
Hernando County Planning Director Ron Pianta: "It could also encourage aggressive public relations and media campaigns by special interests who either support or pose proposed changes to the comprehensive plan."
Speaking of "special interests," there are many to be found among the influences of government officials and the many facets of the construction and land development business communities. These power brokers relish their dominions of prestige. Amendment 4 would lessen their omnipotence.
According to data from the Legislature Office of Economic and Demographic Research, there are more than 7,000 vacant housing units in Hernando County. According to RealtyTrac, in the seven-county Tampa Bay metro area, Hernando County ranks No. 1 in foreclosure property statistics; in May of this year, one in every 157 housing units received a foreclosure filing.
Still, a number of approved housing developments have yet to begin groundbreaking. Hickory Hill - 1,750 single-family dwelling units by 2021. Lake Hideaway - 2,400 single-family dwelling units and 1,300 multifamily units by 2013. Sunrise - 4,200 single-family dwelling units and 600 multifamily dwelling units by 2013. Each of these subdivisions was approved in 2007 and 2008, most surely in anticipation that the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment might have appeared on the 2008 General Election Ballot.
Although the total sum of more than 10,000 approved "dwelling units" have yet to be built and even though there are hundreds of vacant homes from foreclosure and hundreds more vacant lots in blighted housing developments (such as Southern Hills Plantation), another development group, Powell Road Partners LLC is seeking approval of building 252 apartment units and 12 five-acre estate homes.
On July 12, P&Z gave the project a stamp of approval for rezoning the 80-acre tract from agriculture to a planned development project. (Although not yet named, "Hernando Hometown Estates" would be suggestive of community mindfulness.) On Aug. 10, the BOCC will give further consideration to the planned development.
What might be expected? Perhaps a 3-2 decision from the BOCC, the same marginal vote on the approval of Quarry Preserve which would add 2,000 single-family dwellings, 200 resort lodging units, 444 townhome and 756 apartments? Quarry Preserve is doubtful to come to fruition considering the DCA deemed it "urban sprawl," an evaluation not easily overcome. I doubt the issue is closed.
The Powell Road Partners project would be small potatoes in comparison, so the go-ahead is extremely likely. The three yes vote would come from the commissioners not up for re-election in the upcoming November elections; a fourth "yes" might easily be Russell-ed up since there is no opposing candidate, thus not a concern about voter opinion on Amendment 4.
For these many reasons - 10,000 homes yet to be built, including 7,000 by 2013, a completion date of no consequence - Amendment 4 should be a rally cry for tea party folks. American citizens are solidly disgruntled and distrustful of government conduct at all levels. Poor planning, poor decisions and poor representation of "We the People" has proven that government has indeed gone wild; and continues to do so, in supporting superfluous demagogues that helped bring this country to near economic ruin with lost jobs, lost investments, lost home values, home foreclosures, etc. New housing developments will not resolve these issues; they will worsen existing homeowners' property values.
As to the lack of public "involvement" at attending government hearings on comprehensive land use changes on developments of regional impact, the perception is misplaced. Few resident citizens are aware of what goes on outside their immediate area; word of mouth travels a short distance. Time and again, when I mention Hickory Hill, Sunrise and/or Like Hideaway, people are unaware of, and aghast at, how elected government officials continue to play patsy to the interests of developers. These people are homeowners who flare with disgust as they look at vacant homes up and down the streets in their neighborhoods.
Amendment 4 will allow all residents of any given community the wherewithal to become aware of what impact future growth decisions will have on water supplies, the environment, existing home values and infrastructure, while being mindful of the increased dangers of sinkholes.
The Florida Hometown Democracy Land Use Amendment 4 will give Florida residents a much needed means to rein in uncontrolled growth in their communities. Take a front row seat and enjoy the view.
Debate heats up on Amendment 4
By RON RAE
The Rae Way
Hot topic: Referenda required for adoption and amendment of local government comprehensive land use plans.
Better known as Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4, local debate on this referendum has, as yet, been relatively mild. On Aug. 6, 2009, George Niemann, regional coordinator of Florida Hometown Democracy, wrote a guest column, "The truth about Florida Hometown Democracy." The most notable passage:
"Rezoning, as well as the ability to develop land within existing land use criteria, will remain unaffected and will not require voter approval. The vast majority of land use would remain unaffected because changes to the growth plan are not needed to develop land. If no further changes were made to local comprehensive plans across Florida, the current planned land use provisions could still accommodate the addition of 70 million people.
"Changes to the growth plan would still be processed, reviewed and decided on by the local governing bodies (an elected county commission, as an example), as they are today. FHD adds just one more step to the current process - voters must concur before the change can be officially adopted."
Jumping forward to a June 30 article by Michael D. Bates, "Amendment would empower people on land use issues stated "Supporters of Amendment 4 say they are only asking for a 'seat at the table' when it comes to planning their community."
Both Mr. Niemann's column and Mr. Bates' article drew backfire from Planning and Zoning Commissioner Bob Widmar whose guest column on Aug. 8, 2009, "Amendment 4: A vision by special interests to stop planned growth" and letter to the editor on July 7, "We do have a seat at the table," advised readers there are processes already in place for concerned residents to "have input into the comprehensive plan and changes to the plan."
In both instances, Mr. Widmar explained that citizen input begins with every seven-year Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) meeting. Subsequent opportunities for citizens to express their views are through attendance at monthly hearings held by the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners.
Thereafter, judgment lays with the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee with "a report containing Objections, Recommendations and Comments (the ORC report) on the proposed change. Until these three items have been reviewed and addressed to the satisfaction of the DCA, the proposed change is not accepted. The public does again have an opportunity to address the DCA," after which "... the BOCC can finally put the stamp of approval on the plan change, again at a public meeting."
Mr. Bates' June 30 article included many disconcerting comments on the possible passage of Amendment 4, all voiced by governmental/political pitchmen.
County Commissioner David Russell: "I'm afraid that the public will be swayed one way or another by advertising campaigns on either side of the issue rather than based on pertinent data relating to the amendment." It will be interesting to see to what extent either side resorts to "the nasties." And which side doles out the most dough.
The Hernando County Republican Executive Committee: "Hometown Democracy will prevent and negate responsible planning decisions by county engineers and county planners and turn the process over to a political campaign." Out of necessity, in-government politicking demands that voters be aware, especially during periods of time between Election Days.
HCREC Chairman Blaise Ingoglia: "The electorate is not going to have access to all the records that county engineers and planners will have. Plus, we've elected commissioners for a reason." Voters are not dumb. Resident voices often fall on deaf ears.
Hernando County Planning Director Ron Pianta: "It could also encourage aggressive public relations and media campaigns by special interests who either support or pose proposed changes to the comprehensive plan."
Speaking of "special interests," there are many to be found among the influences of government officials and the many facets of the construction and land development business communities. These power brokers relish their dominions of prestige. Amendment 4 would lessen their omnipotence.
According to data from the Legislature Office of Economic and Demographic Research, there are more than 7,000 vacant housing units in Hernando County. According to RealtyTrac, in the seven-county Tampa Bay metro area, Hernando County ranks No. 1 in foreclosure property statistics; in May of this year, one in every 157 housing units received a foreclosure filing.
Still, a number of approved housing developments have yet to begin groundbreaking. Hickory Hill - 1,750 single-family dwelling units by 2021. Lake Hideaway - 2,400 single-family dwelling units and 1,300 multifamily units by 2013. Sunrise - 4,200 single-family dwelling units and 600 multifamily dwelling units by 2013. Each of these subdivisions was approved in 2007 and 2008, most surely in anticipation that the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment might have appeared on the 2008 General Election Ballot.
Although the total sum of more than 10,000 approved "dwelling units" have yet to be built and even though there are hundreds of vacant homes from foreclosure and hundreds more vacant lots in blighted housing developments (such as Southern Hills Plantation), another development group, Powell Road Partners LLC is seeking approval of building 252 apartment units and 12 five-acre estate homes.
On July 12, P&Z gave the project a stamp of approval for rezoning the 80-acre tract from agriculture to a planned development project. (Although not yet named, "Hernando Hometown Estates" would be suggestive of community mindfulness.) On Aug. 10, the BOCC will give further consideration to the planned development.
What might be expected? Perhaps a 3-2 decision from the BOCC, the same marginal vote on the approval of Quarry Preserve which would add 2,000 single-family dwellings, 200 resort lodging units, 444 townhome and 756 apartments? Quarry Preserve is doubtful to come to fruition considering the DCA deemed it "urban sprawl," an evaluation not easily overcome. I doubt the issue is closed.
The Powell Road Partners project would be small potatoes in comparison, so the go-ahead is extremely likely. The three yes vote would come from the commissioners not up for re-election in the upcoming November elections; a fourth "yes" might easily be Russell-ed up since there is no opposing candidate, thus not a concern about voter opinion on Amendment 4.
For these many reasons - 10,000 homes yet to be built, including 7,000 by 2013, a completion date of no consequence - Amendment 4 should be a rally cry for tea party folks. American citizens are solidly disgruntled and distrustful of government conduct at all levels. Poor planning, poor decisions and poor representation of "We the People" has proven that government has indeed gone wild; and continues to do so, in supporting superfluous demagogues that helped bring this country to near economic ruin with lost jobs, lost investments, lost home values, home foreclosures, etc. New housing developments will not resolve these issues; they will worsen existing homeowners' property values.
As to the lack of public "involvement" at attending government hearings on comprehensive land use changes on developments of regional impact, the perception is misplaced. Few resident citizens are aware of what goes on outside their immediate area; word of mouth travels a short distance. Time and again, when I mention Hickory Hill, Sunrise and/or Like Hideaway, people are unaware of, and aghast at, how elected government officials continue to play patsy to the interests of developers. These people are homeowners who flare with disgust as they look at vacant homes up and down the streets in their neighborhoods.
Amendment 4 will allow all residents of any given community the wherewithal to become aware of what impact future growth decisions will have on water supplies, the environment, existing home values and infrastructure, while being mindful of the increased dangers of sinkholes.
The Florida Hometown Democracy Land Use Amendment 4 will give Florida residents a much needed means to rein in uncontrolled growth in their communities. Take a front row seat and enjoy the view.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
WHY I, A TEA PARTIER, SUPPORT AMENDMENT 4
Why are tea partiers organizing and protesting all over the country? Because we believe our elected officials are not listening to us. This makes the tea party movement a natural ally with Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4. Supporters of Amendment 4, as well as tea partiers, are non-partisan, grassroots folks dedicated to fostering citizen participation in a government that derives its power from the people.
I have spent many years as part of a citizens group working to ensure accountability of local government. Our activities revolve around one common theme--to give citizens more control over the government they must pay for. That is why it was easy for me to become an enthusiastic supporter of the Amendment 4 movement. Amendment 4 seeks to make Florida's land use planning system more accountable by giving citizens veto power over changes to their local comprehensive plans. Why should we leave it to government to decide what is best for our own community? Before we are forced to pay for new development and projects, we deserve a role in the decision-making process.
With Amendment 4, we're simply saying: give us citizens a seat at the table. We're the ones who pay tax dollars to extend the schools, police, fire, water, sewer and roads to all these new developments that politicians keep approving. Even when developments sit empty and the real estate speculators are long gone, we still pay sales and property taxes for the infrastructure.
Is a new development affordable to our community? We should get a vote before we're forced to pay. Big business has raised $6 million so far to try to defeat Amendment 4 and deny us our right to vote. Ask yourself, why are they so scared of common-sense taxpayer oversight?
Amendment 4 will be on the statewide ballot on November 2. The goals of Amendment 4 encourage lower taxes, citizen participation, and better quality of life. This is, after all, what most Americans, including tea partiers, want for themselves and their children.
HERE'S WHAT OTHER TEA PARTY SUPPORTERS OF FLORIDA HOMETOWN DEMOCRACY AMENDMENT 4 SAY:
George: "I am aligned with the tea party because too many elected officials continue to cater to special interests over those of us that end up paying the bill. The average citizen is an afterthought when they should be at the forefront. We have a right to expect that the people we entrust to manage things are putting the taxpayers' interests first, but that's not happening in many aspects of government--growth management, healthcare, education, immigration, tax reform. The tea parties and proponents of Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 should be joined at the hip because, as taxpayers, we are seeking to make government more accountable and responsive to its constituents. As the tea party movement says, it's time to clean house. And part of the needed house-cleaning is giving citizens a vote on the future of their communities."
Linda: "I look at the relationship of these two movements from a different angle. We wouldn't need Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 if politicians were capable of making prudent decisions about development. We wouldn't need the tea parties if politicians had made prudent decisions about other issues. We wouldn't be looking at drawing drinking water from the St. John's River water basin to give to the greater Orlando area if not for overdevelopment. We wouldn't be looking at traffic problems and the drain on our resources. If we could have the confidence we should have in our elected officials, we would not need Amendment 4 or tea parties. The problem is not developers. Our elected officials are the problem. I see overdevelopment not as a developer issue, but a planning issue. Government should be held accountable and that is what tea parties and Amendment 4 are trying to do."
Jane: "Our government is becoming too large, at all levels, and government is the problem at all levels. Both the tea party and Florida hometown Democracy Amendment 4 are attempting to put controls over a rogue system. I understand the old fashioned greed of developers and special interests. What I do not understand is why government continues to ignore the will and the welfare of average citizens. The tea parties and Amendment 4 are not about Republicans or Democrats; they're about bad government. As both a tea partier and Amendment 4 supporter, I can truthfully say I love my state, I love my constitution and its principles, and I love my country. I ask everyone to consider whether they prefer to trust their children's futures to themselves or to politicians."
Junior: "I have always had a good, honest skepticism about elected officials. That is why I support the activities of both the tea parties and Amendment 4. What I do not understand is why some tea party people don't get it in regards to Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4. The special interests who have made lots of money off this current system are very critical of Amendment 4, and some tea parties seem to believe them. They just do not understand the strong link between government and people who profit from government."
I have spent many years as part of a citizens group working to ensure accountability of local government. Our activities revolve around one common theme--to give citizens more control over the government they must pay for. That is why it was easy for me to become an enthusiastic supporter of the Amendment 4 movement. Amendment 4 seeks to make Florida's land use planning system more accountable by giving citizens veto power over changes to their local comprehensive plans. Why should we leave it to government to decide what is best for our own community? Before we are forced to pay for new development and projects, we deserve a role in the decision-making process.
With Amendment 4, we're simply saying: give us citizens a seat at the table. We're the ones who pay tax dollars to extend the schools, police, fire, water, sewer and roads to all these new developments that politicians keep approving. Even when developments sit empty and the real estate speculators are long gone, we still pay sales and property taxes for the infrastructure.
Is a new development affordable to our community? We should get a vote before we're forced to pay. Big business has raised $6 million so far to try to defeat Amendment 4 and deny us our right to vote. Ask yourself, why are they so scared of common-sense taxpayer oversight?
Amendment 4 will be on the statewide ballot on November 2. The goals of Amendment 4 encourage lower taxes, citizen participation, and better quality of life. This is, after all, what most Americans, including tea partiers, want for themselves and their children.
HERE'S WHAT OTHER TEA PARTY SUPPORTERS OF FLORIDA HOMETOWN DEMOCRACY AMENDMENT 4 SAY:
George: "I am aligned with the tea party because too many elected officials continue to cater to special interests over those of us that end up paying the bill. The average citizen is an afterthought when they should be at the forefront. We have a right to expect that the people we entrust to manage things are putting the taxpayers' interests first, but that's not happening in many aspects of government--growth management, healthcare, education, immigration, tax reform. The tea parties and proponents of Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 should be joined at the hip because, as taxpayers, we are seeking to make government more accountable and responsive to its constituents. As the tea party movement says, it's time to clean house. And part of the needed house-cleaning is giving citizens a vote on the future of their communities."
Linda: "I look at the relationship of these two movements from a different angle. We wouldn't need Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 if politicians were capable of making prudent decisions about development. We wouldn't need the tea parties if politicians had made prudent decisions about other issues. We wouldn't be looking at drawing drinking water from the St. John's River water basin to give to the greater Orlando area if not for overdevelopment. We wouldn't be looking at traffic problems and the drain on our resources. If we could have the confidence we should have in our elected officials, we would not need Amendment 4 or tea parties. The problem is not developers. Our elected officials are the problem. I see overdevelopment not as a developer issue, but a planning issue. Government should be held accountable and that is what tea parties and Amendment 4 are trying to do."
Jane: "Our government is becoming too large, at all levels, and government is the problem at all levels. Both the tea party and Florida hometown Democracy Amendment 4 are attempting to put controls over a rogue system. I understand the old fashioned greed of developers and special interests. What I do not understand is why government continues to ignore the will and the welfare of average citizens. The tea parties and Amendment 4 are not about Republicans or Democrats; they're about bad government. As both a tea partier and Amendment 4 supporter, I can truthfully say I love my state, I love my constitution and its principles, and I love my country. I ask everyone to consider whether they prefer to trust their children's futures to themselves or to politicians."
Junior: "I have always had a good, honest skepticism about elected officials. That is why I support the activities of both the tea parties and Amendment 4. What I do not understand is why some tea party people don't get it in regards to Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4. The special interests who have made lots of money off this current system are very critical of Amendment 4, and some tea parties seem to believe them. They just do not understand the strong link between government and people who profit from government."
Yankeetown Process Sets Example for Rest of State to Follow
Hometown Democracy Success in Yankeetown Earns “Citizen Planning Initiative” Award
Yankeetown Process Sets Example for Rest of State to Follow
Yankeetown - A community that is successfully using a local version of Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 has received top statewide honors from the state’s land-planning agency.
The Florida Department of Community Affairs recognized several local governments for their initiative, innovation and focus on planning. Yankeetown, in Levy County, received the “Citizen Planning Initiative” award for its initiative to protect the community’s unique character. The full text of the award announcement can be found here.
In Yankeetown, taxpayers now have a right to vote on whether certain developments are worthwhile and affordable for their community. Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 will give all of Florida that same opportunity.
“In our community, developers wanted to build out Yankeetown in a way that did not fit with our community’s vision. Passing our local version of Hometown Democracy has given voters the opportunity to approve or veto proposed changes. On issues that are directly affecting our homes and the future of our cities, people ought to have that vote,” said Larry Feldhusen, a Yankeetown City Councilmember.
Yankeetown is a localized example of what Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 would help accomplish on a statewide scale if the measure passes on the statewide ballot in November. In Yankeetown, when certain proposed changes to the comprehensive land use plan are made, voters get the final say to approve or veto the plan.
“I started the Charter Amendment Campaign in Yankeetown because I was talking with voters who felt strongly about the development of their communities and who were being ignored by elected officials,” Former City Council member Ed Candela said. “Voters should have a say in matters that greatly affect them - which is why we organized to pass the Charter Amendment in Yankeetown in 2007.”
It is interesting to note that all of the proposed changes have been approved by voters since the Charter Amendment passed.
“Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 will help put an end to the corruption and misuse of government authority that has taken over in Florida,” said Hometown Democracy president Lesley Blackner. “Yankeetown is an exceptional example of how it works when voters have a seat at the table to help make decisions that affect their communities. For issues that directly impact the livelihood and future of taxpayers- its time that we all had a vote. It’s too important to leave in the hands of politicians and developers.”
For more information about the specifics of the Yankeetown Charter Amendment, please contact Council member Larry Feldhusen at larryf9@bellsouth.net or former Council member Ed Candela at candele@yahoo.com.
GET THE FACTS: Under Amendment 4, local city or county commissions will study, hold public hearings, and vote on proposed changes to the overall master plan (local comprehensive land-use plan) just like they do now. Here’s the new Amendment 4 step: voters will veto or approve their decision on the next regularly scheduled Election Day. No special elections are required. It’s that simple. Learn more at www.floridahometowndemocracy.com, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Contact: Julie Hauserman 850-656-2498
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Big Ideas that Changed History:
1492: The earth is round.
1543: The earth revolves around the sun.
1776: All men are created equal.
1860: Slaves must be emancipated.
1920: Women have the right to vote.
2010: Hometown Democracy.
Let’s make it happen! Only 110 days until Election Day! If you haven’t donated lately, please donate today. This is a once in a lifetime reform.
Amendment 4: Give Citizens Vote
July 13, 2010
Clarence Anthony's June 19 op-ed column "Amendment 4 Would Create Chaos" about Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 shows how scared big business and their politician friends are by the possibility that regular citizens might finally get some oversight on their cozy dealings. They will spend anything ($6 million so far) and say anything to try to deny us our right to vote.
With Amendment 4, we're simply saying: Give us citizens a seat at the table - a vote. If I have to pay taxes to extend the schools, police, fire, water, sewer and roads to all these new developments that politicians keep approving, I want to vote on it. Is a new development affordable to our community? We should get a vote before we're forced to pay.
Amendment 4 is just an add-on to the existing process. Here's how it would work: Local city or county commissions would study, hold public hearings and vote on proposed changes to the overall land-use plan (local comprehensive land-use plan) just like they do now. The new step is that once a commission approves a plan change, voters would get to approve or veto it at the next regularly scheduled election day. That's it. No special elections required.
Amendment 4 only applies to changes to the overall master growth plan. It doesn't require votes on minor changes like rezonings, variances or individual development approvals. In other words, you won't vote on every little thing.
This is a nonpartisan citizen's reform movement, and it will be on the statewide ballot this November. You can learn the facts by going to our website, www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.
ANDREW B. QUINN
1543: The earth revolves around the sun.
1776: All men are created equal.
1860: Slaves must be emancipated.
1920: Women have the right to vote.
2010: Hometown Democracy.
Let’s make it happen! Only 110 days until Election Day! If you haven’t donated lately, please donate today. This is a once in a lifetime reform.
Amendment 4: Give Citizens Vote
July 13, 2010
Clarence Anthony's June 19 op-ed column "Amendment 4 Would Create Chaos" about Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 shows how scared big business and their politician friends are by the possibility that regular citizens might finally get some oversight on their cozy dealings. They will spend anything ($6 million so far) and say anything to try to deny us our right to vote.
With Amendment 4, we're simply saying: Give us citizens a seat at the table - a vote. If I have to pay taxes to extend the schools, police, fire, water, sewer and roads to all these new developments that politicians keep approving, I want to vote on it. Is a new development affordable to our community? We should get a vote before we're forced to pay.
Amendment 4 is just an add-on to the existing process. Here's how it would work: Local city or county commissions would study, hold public hearings and vote on proposed changes to the overall land-use plan (local comprehensive land-use plan) just like they do now. The new step is that once a commission approves a plan change, voters would get to approve or veto it at the next regularly scheduled election day. That's it. No special elections required.
Amendment 4 only applies to changes to the overall master growth plan. It doesn't require votes on minor changes like rezonings, variances or individual development approvals. In other words, you won't vote on every little thing.
This is a nonpartisan citizen's reform movement, and it will be on the statewide ballot this November. You can learn the facts by going to our website, www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.
ANDREW B. QUINN
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