| Jacksonville Times Union OpEd State Sen. Thrasher's wrong: Amendment 4 will help, not hurt, Florida's economy Robert M. Weintraub Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 Florida has one of the worst economies in the nation. The state leads in home foreclosures and its unemployment is among the worst, a percent above the national. Ten Florida banks have failed because of bad loans for real estate development. And yet State Sen. John Thrasher wants more of the same. In an article in My Nassau Sun on Nov. 21, he is reported as saying that the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment to the state constitution - on the November 2010 ballot - would hurt the local economy. The facts do not support Thrasher, who was a paid lobbyist for the forces aligned against Hometown Democracy. In fact, they show the opposite; controlling unwanted, unneeded development - which Hometown Democracy will do - will actually help improve Florida's economy and make it more resilient to future economic upheavals. Current land-use plans already allow residential development for more than 100 million people in Florida, more than five times the current state population of 18 million, even if not one more land-use plan change is approved. We have a 10-month inventory of homes in Northeast Florida, when the norm is a 2-3 month inventory. Here in Nassau County, there are 7,000 homes already approved that are not being built. Several major residential developments are in foreclosure. There is much empty land already zoned for commercial development in Northeast Florida, but it will be many years until the empty storefronts and unfinished shopping malls that litter our landscape are completed and filled. Contrary to Thrasher's assertions, there will be plenty of construction jobs unaffected by Hometown Democracy once the economy improves. More rational control of development, which Hometown Democracy will achieve, will help the economy, not harm it. Florida's economy was a giant Ponzi-scheme based on the concept that growth would continue indefinitely. But when the bubble burst, those last in got hurt - the record foreclosures and bankruptcies. Florida's growth engine has sprung a leak, and the state and our region needs a more balanced economy, including agriculture, industry and tourism. Over-development paves over productive farmlands and ranchland and creates traffic congestion unattractive to businesses interested in relocating to Florida. Over-development will chase away Florida's 80 million annual tourists, who are uninterested in coming here to see housing tracts and shopping centers, sit in traffic jams and be repelled by Florida's environmental degradation. Over-reliance on the boom-and-bust cycle of development has helped put our economy in the sad shape it's in. Better control of development will encourage a stronger, more diversified economy based on permanent, productive jobs. Dozens of studies show that new developments reach into the pockets of established residents to finance additional schools and services, and the traffic and pollution they generate reduces nearby property values. The Cedar Swamp Study, commissioned by Jacksonville, showed that new residential development costs taxpayers $2.45 for every $1 it generates in new taxes. By controlling new development, there will be less need for more taxes. That will put more money in citizens' pockets and that will mean more spending in local stores. The bottom line is Northeast Florida's economy will be better off with a control on unneeded development. As developer-controlled city and county commissions won't control development, we must restore control of our communities to the people who live there. We need to vote yes for the Hometown Democracy amendment, Amendment 4, in November 2010. | 
