steve jernigan architect planning use florida

Re: "Hometown Democracy is unfair, unneeded" (My View, July 12).

Architect Steve Jernigan opposes the Hometown Democracy Amendment No. 4 to the Florida constitution, which will be on the Nov. 2, 2010, ballot. He stated that citizens already have the opportunity under Florida Statutes for input on land-use amendments to their local comprehensive plans.
These opportunities, he said, come at public hearings on any proposals that will have, at times, great impacts on a community. Methinks Mr. Jernigan has never attended one of these hearings to protect his own community from blatant rip-offs by a developer who has already recruited elected officials, by one means or another, to approve that land-use change.

As an architect, Mr. Jernigan should comprehend the meaning of "comprehensive." Overall planning takes into consideration all the elements of the 10-year plan that was developed for that community, including needed infrastructure, costs and the quality of life that the citizens in that community want for their families. Piecemeal planning is bad planning. Not all growth is good, and not all growth pays its way.

When the Hometown Democracy amendment is added to the Florida constitution, our citizens, in every city and county, will be able to track a proposed amendment as it winds its way through the various boards and commissions. Finally, it will be on the ballot, and the citizens, those who are most impacted by a special monied interest development, can say Yay or No Way.

It is insulting for Mr. Jernigan to say that, "People would be asked to review literally hundreds of plan amendments, most likely without the necessary educated background and experience to read and truly understand the plans."

First off, this canard has already been disproven. It's more likely that there would be one to five amendments a year per community, based on DCA numbers and estimates. Every time the opposition has asserted the "hundreds" fact, it turned out the community in question, like our own Carrabelle, was actually rewriting its entire comprehensive plan, where only one vote was necessary on the entire plan.

Additionally, it does not take a college degree to understand when a community's roads are congested, its school rooms overcrowded, its property taxes going up into the stratosphere and its residents commanded to ration water use.

The 10-year Comprehensive Land Use Plans that every community was required to adopt under Florida's Growth Management Act are supposed to guide growth so that infrastructure keeps pace with growth. Twice a year (most of the time), according to the rules, amendments could be proposed. Because our elected representatives are loath to turn down any developer that comes with promises of benefits and increased revenue, an avalanche of amendments is constantly proposed, and most are given quick approval despite opposition from citizens.
Florida's 30-year building boom was a problem that the 1985 Growth Management Act was supposed to control. Sadly, the promise of expert planning and concurrent infrastructure has not been realized. Our economy has crashed because of reckless and unsustainable development that has gone on without correction by our elected officials. There are more than 300,000 residential units sitting empty throughout Florida. The state is second in the nation in foreclosures. Was this the plan? And the legislative "solution" with SB 360 and other misguided legislation is more of the same.

Construction jobs will still be available for all the plans already approved and registered in the Department of Community Affairs. New industries such as solar energy and manufacturing batteries for hybrid vehicles have potential. And let us not forget two mainstays of the Florida economy: tourism and agriculture, which are being negatively impacted by our reckless growth.

Obvious to all Floridians is that the candy store has been consistently raided. Developers get the profits, and we are left with higher taxes and a less desirable standard of living. There will be many fewer amendments to vote on when voters are put in the driver's seat and can veto any and all amendments that are undesirable. Developers will read the tea leaves and abandon their greedy, unsustainable projects. That is what the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment will give us: veto power. If an amendment is truly beneficial, the voters can and likely will approve it.

The experts and politicians have degraded Florida for a very long time. We believe the voters can and will do better.