Independent gubernatorial candidate Bud Chiles said Thursday that he’s opposed to Amendment 4, which would require voter approval before changes in local comprehensive plans, a measure aimed at curbing runaway growth.
The amendment, which was pushed by a “smart growth” group called “Hometown Democracy,” is generally opposed by the development community, but a Ron Sachs/Mason Dixon poll last month showed about 60 percent of voters would vote for it. Chiles, speaking Thursday to the Florida Press Association and the Florida Society of News Editors, said referenda on local changes to growth rules would be “unworkable.”
“I think it will be a roadblock,” to local governments trying to control growth in ways they want to at the local level , said Chiles, the son of former Gov. Lawton Chiles.
Chiles said an overriding way in which he would seek to solve problems if he were elected governor would be to move problem solving to the local level and away from Tallahassee. That would be the best way to address growth management issues as well, according to Chiles.
