Managing growth a hot button topic
By Dale White
Friday, October 9, 2009
SARASOTA - The vote on a ballot measure giving residents more say in how their local governments manage growth is still a year away. Yet it is already shaping up to be one of the most contentious issues ever placed before Florida voters.
State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, argued that the ballot measure will make land use decisions even more political.
That volatility was evident Thursday as nearly 300 people watched the battle lines being drawn during a fiery debate at the Sarasota Tiger Bay Club.
If the measure on the November 2010 ballot passes, voters in every Florida city and county would have the final say about changes to local land use plans. The public, instead of politicians, will decide how and where their communities should grow.
Lesley Blackner, an attorney from Palm Beach, said she helped launch Florida Hometown Democracy because local elected officials disregard the public's best interests when they cater to developers who financed their campaigns.
To be enacted, changes to comprehensive plans would still be heard in public hearings and require approval by city or county commissions, Blackner said.
Hometown Democracy, however, "gives voters a veto" if they disagree with the politicians' decisions.
Yet State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, argued that the measure will make land use decisions even more political.
Plan amendments can be very detailed documents that the public will not have the time or patience to thoroughly study, Bennett warned.
Voters will make decisions based on brief newspaper articles or 30-second commercials, Bennett said.
Even amendments intended to correct a technical glitch would have to go to the voters, Bennett said.
"Why do we want to put everything through the crucible of a political campaign?" asked Ryan Houck, executive director of Floridians for Smart Growth, a coalition of business and other interests seeking to defeat the measure.
If the public can make informed decisions on ballot questions about taxes or amendments to county or city charters, they can understand land use matters, said Dan Lobeck of the local group Control Growth Now.
"I trust the people more than the politicians to make decisions like this," Lobeck said. "Let the public decide whether a ranch becomes a shopping center."
FLORIDA HOMETOWN DEMOCRACY
What is it?
A grass-roots movement that got a referendum on the statewide
November 2010 ballot asking voters whether their approval should be required on amendments to city and county comprehensive plans. If approved, residents would vote on changes to the comprehensive plan.
What's a comprehensive plan?
They specify where and how communities should grow. For example, comp plans say how dense or spread out developments should be in certain areas. Currently, elected officials may amend a plan to alter that growth pattern.
