Originally Posted 29 July 2007
Bradenton Hearld
MANATEE -- A major green-versus-growth battle is brewing across the state, and the showdown may be coming soon to a ballot booth near you.
And like any other high-profile debate, millions of dollars are being spent to sway your vote.
Tired of seeing paradise paved over for parking lots, Lesley Blackner and 278,000 like-minded Floridians are ready to rein in the booming development industry that has dominated headlines in previous years. Their primary weapon is a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voters, rather than elected officials, to approve changes to land-use designations.
Business and development leaders shudder at the prospect of slowing growth to a snail's pace. They say providing more hurdles to development could be the dagger in the heart of a sluggish Florida economy. That's why they're willing to spend millions to fight the proposed ballot measure.
The vehicle driving the proposed amendment is Florida Hometown Democracy, which Blackner, 46, co-founded four years ago. Opinionated and outspoken, Blackner has lived in Florida for more than 40 years.
She's an environmental attorney who says she has seen Florida's natural habitats "go down the drain."
"Florida has embraced the model that developers want: If you build it they will come. But maybe if you don't build it they will go somewhere else," Blackner said. "Government seems to think the next 30,000 people who live here are more important than those who already live here."
Florida Hometown Democracy has collected almost half of the 611,000-plus voter signatures required to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2008 ballot. And Blackner says the total is actually closer to 500,000, but many signatures have yet to be verified.
Either way, the group, with the backing of the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations, is inching closer to putting the question to the entire state.
"These things need to be put to voters because they determine the future of a local community more than anything else," Blackner said. "The current system has been stacked against the people."
To be adopted, the con- stitutional amendment would require the support of 60 percent of voters.
'Could kill growth'
Opposition to the amendment seems to be growing faster than the movement itself. Chambers of commerce across the state are asking members to "Stop the Scam." They say the cost and consequences of the amendment could be "astronomical."
"We live in a representative democracy and this amendment really works against that," said Neil Spirtas, a spokesman for the Manatee Chamber of Commerce. "I don't think we have any idea how much this is going to cost everyone in the time and effort involved."
If the amendment passes, developers could turn into stumping politicians, pushing hard for their proposed amendments - that is, their developments - to win voter approval. In addition, they say, longer ballots would further dampen voter turnout.
"I think it's going to add to the cost of construction tremendously because in order to get a comp plan amendment, we'll have to hold an election and run a campaign that costs money," said Lee Wetherington, president of Lee Wetherington Companies. "That's just cost added to any new house and new development out there."
Mike Rahn, senior vice president of Florida Homebuilders Association added, "It could affect private property rights and where hospitals, schools, churches and fire stations go in a community, along with take away the democratic process on what you want to do with your property. It could kill growth in the state of Florida."
The Florida Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Homebuilders and other business groups have formed and raised close to $1 million for Floridians for Smarter Growth. The group is gathering signatures for a similar amendment that would have voters approve comp plan amendments only if first, 10 percent of registered voters sign a petition to hold an election on the change.
Brain surgery?
Changes to Manatee County's comprehensive plan usually occur twice a year in the form of comp plan amend- ments, but they can happen more often. Since 2000, Manatee has adopted 176 amendments, including seven so far this year. Many times, the changes amend zoning and density categories. Other amendments are designed to bring the local comp plan into compliance with state regu- lations.
Many times debates over future land categories can last hours at the county level, as commissioners try to balance private development rights with public safety concerns and objecting homeowners close to new projects. Throw in a few dozen comments from county staffers and land-use attorneys and the debate becomes downright dizzying.
There's little debate that the process is complicated and can be confusing.
County Administrator Ed Hunzeker put it this way: "I could do brain surgery, but it's going to take a while to train me. It takes a great deal of understanding on how the development process works. It's a very rigorous process."
But Blackner and her supporters say the intelligence of the electorate shouldn't be underestimated. Coincidentally, she said, comprehensive plan amendments are not brain surgery.
"I'm tired of being told voters aren't smart enough to know what they're voting for," said Betsy Roberts, chair of the Florida Chapter Sierra Club. "If most people know both sides of the story, they'll make a good decision. Voters are intelligent people."
Cost of elections
The Florida Supreme Court on July 12 interjected itself into the debate, striking down part of the financial impact statement that would go on the ballot with the proposed am- endment.
The Supreme Court objected to the second of five sentences in the original statement: "Over each two-year election cycle, local governments cumulatively will incur significant costs (millions of dollars statewide)."
The statement, drafted by the state's Financial Impact Estimating Conference, failed to indicate the estimate depends on how many times local governments have to hold special elections to adopt or amend land-use plans, the majority wrote in the unsigned opinion.
On Friday, the conference, made up of legislative and executive branch economists, revised the offending sentence to highlight that costs "cannot be determined precisely." It also reworked a following sentence to indicate the potential costs include such expenses as ballot preparation and election administration.
The commission has separately said the minimum cost of holding special elections within a two-year period would be $2.4 million assuming elections are held by mail - the cheapest method - and ballots are sent to 25 percent of Florida's 10.5 million-plus vo- ters.
In a letter to the commission earlier this week, a lawyer for Hometown Democracy argued local governments could pass election costs on to developers and other parties that request planning amendments and piggyback referenda on other special or regular elec- tions.
The attorney general's office next will submit the new financial statement to the Supreme Court.
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.• Florida Hometown Democracy must gather 611,000 verified voter signatures by Jan. 31, 2008, in order to have the amendment on the November 2008 ballot. The group now has 278,000 verified signatures, including 1,800 from Manatee County and more than 7,000 from Sarasota County.
• Local, state and national business interests have formed Floridians for Smarter Growth to oppose Florida Hometown Democracy. The new group is proposing a similar amendment that would require voter referenda on comp plan amendments when 10 percent of registered voters want to hold one.
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