Old Florida fights backBy NICK JOHNSON,
Times Staff Writer
When developers and local officials get cozy, residents take control.Nestled along the northern banks of the Withlacoochee River just as it makes a final crawl to the Gulf of Mexico lies the village of Yankeetown, population about 760. It's a snapshot of old Florida thrown into turmoil when residents found out their Town Council and developers had plans that could drastically change it. "It would destroy the reason why I live here," Charlene Strong said. In her front yard was a yellow sign declaring "Save Yankeetown." Similar signs dot other lawns. Leading up to the town's referendum vote in October, Strong said residents who supported the development responded with signs asking "From What?" But in the end, those seeking more control over land-use changes won out. A majority of Yankeetown's voters passed a charter amendment making it the second municipality in Florida to require voter approval of any comprehensive plan changes. The idea has been picking up steam as residents around the state see their local representation getting too cozy with developers. People who had never been to a city meeting find themselves organizing opposition groups and seeking more direct control over decisions that could change the landscape of their town. In Yankeetown, the step toward a more direct local democracy came after the revelation that the town's representatives had been less than forthcoming about the large land development deal. "It looked like they were trying to shoehorn the developers," said Ed Candela, a Town Council member. Peter Spittler of Izaak Walton Investors LLC and Forum Architects said the development would have brought 110 full-time jobs, a new water treatment facility and $700,000 a year worth of income to the area. The development also would have brought 190 shared ownership condos to a town with no stoplight, no police department and a fire department made up of 12 volunteers. What followed was an outcry by residents alleging that their representatives had been holding secret meetings with the developers resulting in an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. So many people resigned from the Town Council that it was unable to hold a quorum, forcing then Gov. Jeb Bush to call for a special election to save the town's government from dissolving. The current Town Council is made up of some of the people who were most vocal in fighting the development, including Candela, who brought the recently approved charter amendment to voters. "It put more checks and balances on everything," Yankeetown Mayor Dawn Marie Clary said. "Sometimes you can have a council that's kind of out of step with the community, and this gave more power to the residents." Candela said the inspiration came from the first city to take that step, St.Pete Beach. "It's the whole scenario of these kinds of backroom deals between developers and elected officials bringing major change to these communities, and it forces them into action," St. Pete Beach Commissioner Linda Chaney said. Like Candela, she was voted into office after fighting what she perceived to be a prodevelopment local government. St. Pete Beach commissioners had approved a comprehensive plan amendment in 2005 that would have allowed for significant increases in height and density for buildings along the beach. Statewide movement Chaney and other members of the political group the Citizens for Responsible Growth, with the support of a majority vote by residents, had the plan repealed and ensured that voters could approve any future changes. The same idea is being pushed at the state level by the group known as Florida Hometown Democracy. They are currently petitioning to have a measure put before voters in 2008 that would require resident approval of city or county comprehensive plan change. "This whole movement is really born of frustration that our local governments don't really represent the people anymore; they too often represent the developers," said Lesley Blackner, president of Hometown Democracy. Blackner pointed out that many local representatives come from business backgrounds or receive campaign contributions from developers, making it easy for them to sympathize with big business. St. Pete Beach and Yankeetown residents aren't the only ones who seem to agree. A number of cities around the state have adopted some measures to protect from land-use changes that could be out of line with the desires of the community. In Key West and Treasure Island, resident get to vote on any changes in allowable building height, and Sanibel residents vote on height and density changes. Sarasota voters just decided that any change to the city or county's comprehensive plan involving land-use density will require a super majority vote from the commission. But Hometown Democracy organizer Ross Burnaman noted that not all counties have a charter. "While I think it's an encouraging sign that these residents are making these charter amendments, it's still not a substitute for Hometown Democracy." Legal fees mount So far the concept behind Hometown Democracy has proved to be a costly venture for the two towns that have adopted it. St. Pete Beach has spent more than $230,000 in extra legal fees since 2005 on cases involving its charter amendment alone. Yankeetown and its residents have been inundated with a dozen lawsuits from the developers and other interested parties, costing more than $23,000 in a town with an operating budget of just over a million dollars. Spittler said that his group was merely defending its property rights and likened the recent vote to a gross lack of foresight. "The fact that they've made charter amendments is just another obstacle that they don't understand what the ramifications of are," Spittler said, adding that the development had received support from outside the community. The amount of political division and legal retribution that surrounded these guinea pigs for Hometown Democracy has left some people feeling like the decision should be a last resort. "In retrospect I would have liked our elected officials to listen to us so we didn't have to go through all that," Chaney said, although she is satisfied with the end result. "It's a sign that democracy failed because elected officials are supposed to respond to the people who voted them into office." Attorney Ken Weiss who represented Chaney and the other beach residents who petitioned to amend their charter, and subsequently advised Candela in Yankeetown, said he was glad to see residents being proactive. "I hope more people around the state will take advantage of putting a comprehensive plan amendment in their charter," Weiss said. "People are going to be fighting developers forever. The citizens have to win every fight; the developers only have to win once and the land is gone." Nick Johnson can be reached at nickjohnson@sptimes.com or 893-8361. |
