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Setting up probably the biggest and most
expensive political battle of 2010, Secretary of
State Kurt Browning’s office certified the “Hometown
Democracy” constitutional amendment Monday for a
statewide referendum.
The proposal would require a local referendum on
changes to city and county comprehensive plans.
Tallahassee attorney Ross Burnaman, vice president
of Florida Hometown Democracy, said the proposal
would not stifle growth and development but would
give residents “a veto” when their city and county
commissions want to change long-term growth plans.
”It does not apply to zoning, rezoning, variances,
subdivision plats or building permits,” Burnaman
said. He said business interests opposed to the
amendment were distorting its purpose and effect, by
warning that it would destroy jobs and halt
virtually all growth.
“They said that about the minimum-wage amendment,
too,” said Burnaman. “That’s a red herring.”
But Barney Bishop, president of Associated
Industries of Florida, said Amendment 4 will be the
hottest issue on the ballot next year. He said the
stalled economy has already slowed construction of
housing and commercial development, and that
requiring a city or county referendum on new
projects that vary from comprehensive plans would be
“a depression” for the construction economy.
“It kills any future development in Florida,
period,” said Bishop. “This is absolute overkill and
the people proposing this are no-growthers.”
Browning’s Division of Elections said the New Smyrna
Beach-based petition campaign submitted 698,562
valid signatures of voters—about 22,000 more than
the total needed to get the issue on the ballot. The
Florida Supreme Court recently struck down a law
that would have allowed voters to withdraw their
signatures on ballot petitions, virtually assuring
Hometown Democracy a ballot spot next year.
Bishop said that if a local referendum is required
for each major development, “the only people who are
going to care, on most issues, are the fanatics who
come out to vote against everything. Your average
Joe and Jane Lunchbucket are not going to care, but
the fanatics are going to come out every time and
vote no.”
Burnaman said that if a development not permitted by
comprehensive plans is needed, a city or county
government could approve a growth-plan change and
submit it to voters for a referendum. He said
Hometown Democracy would prevent residents from
having neighborhoods destroyed by uncontrolled
sprawl.
As a constitutional amendment, the proposal will
need 60 percent of the vote next year to pass.
Burnaman said he is confident of reaching that goal
and Bishop said it will be expensive to defeat the
amendment.
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