Let people decide on development
April 21, 2007
By: LESLEY BLACKNER
Guest Opinion - Southwest News-Press.com

The lack of water, local government pandering to developers has lowered state's quality of life

Got water? That seems to be the question in many parts of Florida as we approach yet another Earth Day. It's hard to believe that this state is running low on clean, drinkable H2O. After all, once upon a time Florida was dotted with uncounted bubbling springs, criss-crossed with giant rivers, lakes, and impenetrable swamps. And Florida sits atop the Floridan Aquifer, once one of the planet's greatest sources of clean water. But these days the water management districts are screaming for restrictions and Floridians are praying for rain.

Insane as it seems, don't expect the disappearance of drinking water to slow construction. It's business as usual for the development machine, keeping Florida's city and county commissioners busy rubber stamping the next bumper crop of condos and subdivisions. For example, the South Florida Water Management District and the state have told Miami-Dade County that there is no additional clean water to supply new construction, but that hasn't stopped the approval of thousands of high-rise condos and more suburbia into what used to be the Everglades. Indeed, having devoured its own water supply, South Florida is looking to take North Florida's water.

It's the same old story, too, for over-crowded schools, gridlocked roads, the morphing of the last old orange grove into 5,000 homes. You might think reason would prevail and our elected officials would say enough! But too few of them seem capable of doing just that. Why? It's crazy to loot our water supply and pave over the last square inch of Mother Nature. Crazy like a fox.

The citizen pays

Florida's land-use system exemplifies what scholar Jared Diamond calls "rational bad behavior." In his latest book, "Collapse," Professor Diamond explains that when the interests of the decision-making elite clash with the interests of the general citizens, the elite "are likely to do things that profit themselves, regardless of whether those actions hurt everybody else." A self-absorbed elite insulated from the consequences of its actions is highly destructive to the well- being of society. The elites wreck society and keep on doing it because, as Professor Diamond says, "they are typically concentrated (few in number) and highly motivated by the prospect of reaping big, certain, and immediate profits, while the losses are spread over large numbers of individuals."

Bingo. Professor Diamond is explaining Florida's development machine, the marriage of city and county commissions to the development industry. Here in Florida we have a powerful development elite who control land use politics and, accordingly, benefit at the expense of the losers: the citizenry, not to mention whole ecosystems. There's so much money at stake, and all they need is a few votes on the commission to make the next bundle. They will not stop, even when there's no water in the tap.

Who makes the biggest contributions to local county and city commission elections? Developers. Who spends the most time down at city hall haggling for a land use change? Developers. Who hires the most lobbyists? The development machine. What issue takes up most of local government's time, energy and money? Development. Who benefits the most from the favors of local government? The development machine. Who pays the price? You: the voter, the taxpayer, the citizen. You are the one stuck with the tax bill for endless growth, worn down by a deteriorating quality of life. In Florida, the sad reality is that government exists to serve the development machine, not the citizenry. That's why it's proper to say that in Florida we have government of the developer, by the developer and for the developer.

Support campaign

Never mind that under Florida law a land use change should not be granted unless the larger public interest is improved, or at a minimum, not harmed by the proposed change.

The "public interest" has been redefined to mean keeping the development machine humming full throttle. They call it "economic development" and "growing the tax base." Never mind that in 1999, a researcher added up all the development authorized by land use plans in Florida and found that housing for 101 million plus people had already been factored into the plans. Since then, local governments have continued to dole out tens of thousands of plan amendments increasing density even more. Never mind that growth doesn't pay its way and the bill is paid by citizens. Never mind that parts of Florida are out of water.

It's depressing, but finally there's something you can do to reform this sick system. It's simple, it's honest and it is purely American: LET THE PEOPLE VOTE. If the people want more density in their community, then let them approve it. Let's bring some accountability back to the process: do your part to put the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment on the 2008 ballot.

What is Florida Hometown Democracy? A state constitutional amendment mandating that all comprehensive plan amendments approved by a city or county commission must be submitted to the electorate for final approval or rejection.

We must collect 611,000 petitions from Florida voters by the end of this year to make the 2008 ballot. Download the petition at www.floridahometowndemocracy.com or call us at (866) 779-5513 for petitions. Tell everyone you know about this historic reform. Do something positive for the earth, for Florida's future, for yourself: support the Florida Hometown Democracy petition.

— Lesley Blackner is president of Florida Hometown Democracy Inc.