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Tom Germond
It ain’t over
By TOM GERMOND
Article published on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008 |
I usually don’t find myself on the same side of the woodwork as developers, but I am on one issue.
It has been given this seductive name – hometown democracy – and it is supposed to give residents control over growth.
It’s awful. It’s worse than throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It’s akin to flushing the baby down the toilet.
Hometown Democracy calls itself a grassroot nonpartisan group pushing for a state constitutional amendment requiring certain land use changes to go before the voters.
Supporters hoped to put the amendment on the November ballot, but business interests derailed it; the move fell more than 65,000 signatures short of the 611,009 needed to get it on the ballot.
But Hometown Democracy, quoting Yogi Berra, says “it ain’t over till it’s over.” The organization said on its Web site that its petitions are valid for four years from signing and can be certified for the 2010 election.
“And so we will persevere in the long run!”
The problem with the amendment is that it would give Florida residents the right to vote on every proposed local amendment to governments’ comprehensive growth plans.
That’s mind-boggling.
Thomas Pelham, secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs, has made the most compelling argument against this measure that I’ve read to date.
In a column he wrote in September, Pelham said Hometown Democracy is draconian.
“Do we want to subject ourselves and our local governments to the considerable expense of frequent special elections on plan amendments? Do we want the entire electorate of a county to decide in an election whether a gas station should be allowed on a quarter-acre plot of land at a particular intersection?” he asked.
He also asked whether Floridian’s want to require a referendum vote on proposed amendments to increase protection of environmentally sensitive lands and the power to delay the adoption of amendments necessary for important public projects.
And how many times will ballot results be challenged? We’ve got a pretty good track record in Florida of mucking up elections
To its credit Hometown Democracy has valid arguments. Too often, local governments willy-nilly change their comprehensive plans.
As Pelham pointed out, just in 2005 Florida’s local government adopted more than 8,000 plans amendments. Too much kowtowing to developers, it seems.
So, to stave off another Hometown Democracy drive, Florida legislators should take action. They should strengthen the state’s growth management laws by limiting the number of times that any local government can amend their plans. Originally, state laws allowed local plans to be amended two times annually.
Too many ill-conceived constitutional amendments, such as this, stem from voters’ frustration with their government officials. So do your job, lawmakers.
We can’t stop development in Florida. Probably can’t even control it. But we can do a better job of managing it.
Head Hometown Democracy off at the path – way before 2010.
Or, as Yogi said, “it’s going to be deja vu all over again.”
Tom Germond is executive editor of Tampa Bay Newspapers.
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Article published on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008
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