A recipe for sprawl | Feb. 6, 2010 commentary by Karl Nurse

Environmental groups back Hometown Democracy

The environment had a strange "defender" in Karl Nurse in the Feb. 6 Times. Nurse, who is the local coordinator for the effort to defeat the Hometown Democracy Amendment, claims the amendment would adversely affect the state's ability to protect the environment. This argument is perverse because it is Nurse's supporters who are the greatest threat to the destruction of Florida's natural beauty, wildlife and wetlands.

Developers eat up wetlands (e.g. Lexington Oaks in Pasco County), cause environmental damage so bad millions of taxpayer dollars must be spent to correct problems (e.g. $490 million to fix the Kissimmee River), and cause road congestion so onerous uncounted billions of tax money is necessary to improve roads. By electing their friends to city and county governments with large amounts of campaign funds, developers are able to control decisions that have led to this environmental degradation.

The Growth Management Act of 1985 was designed to protect the environment. But developer-friendly governments have systematically eroded or ignored these protections (e.g. the citizens of Nassau County had to raise $50,000 to successfully prevent large-scale development of conservation wetlands near Amelia Island).

There is a long list of environmental groups that support Hometown Democracy. The Florida Sierra Club has endorsed it and its Growth Management Committee has made passage of the amendment one of its priorities. Also in support are the Florida Wildlife Federation, Environment Florida, Florida Public Interest Research Group, Florida Consumer Action Network, Alliance to Protect Water Resources, Environmental & Land Use Law Center, Friends of the Everglades, Save the Manatee Club, Student Environmental Association, Wetlands Alert, and local Audubon and Sierra groups.

Nurse makes the specious claim that Amendment 4 will make pristine lands vulnerable to development. The opposite is true as the public will be able to decide if it wants a big-box store to replace a forest or a housing development on conservation wetlands or high rises on the waterfront. Hometown Democracy will give voters a voice they do not have. And that is something Nurse's group fears.

Robert M. Weintraub, chairman, Growth Management Committee, Florida Chapter, Sierra Club