Local real estate executives are urging the rejection of Amendment 4 during the Nov. 2 election, describing the amendment a "grave threat to Florida's future."
The amendment, dubbed the "vote-on-everything" amendment, would require referendums for the adoption of any and all local government comprehensive land-use plans.
"It's been threatening for a while," said Shirley English, executive director of the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors, "but now it's on the 2010 ballot."
She said the amendment essentially stems from special interest groups that want to stop growth at any cost. Amendment backers argue it's necessary to curb unplanned growth, maintain the quality of life, and ensure that growth occurs with community backing.
In essence, adopting the amendment would mean that before local governments could adopt new comprehensive land-use plans, those plans would have to be voted on by their electorates, English said.
Election for change
That would entail elections for each proposed change - not just for major projects, but even minor technical details - potentially requiring voting sessions amounting to hundreds every year, English said.
Hypothetically, this would mean citizens in a small Franklin County town like Carabelle having to vote on land-use issues twice a day for an entire year, says the lobbying group Floridians for Smarter Growth in a circulated flyer.
English, along with association president Susan Ackerson, this week announced a concerted effort to thwart the amendment, and exhorted all Marco Island voters to help defeat it at the ballot box.
English gave the example of St. Petersburg in 2006 adopting a local version of the amendment, resulting in economic collapse, an impossible growth-management process, and endless litigation at taxpayer expense.
Floridians for Smarter Growth adds that the Amendment 4 proposal has drawn flak from more than 130 organizations, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida American Planning Association, the Florida League of Cities, the Florida Council of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the Florida Health Care Association.
Another lobbying group, Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, claims curtailing growth will cost the state thousands of jobs and hurt working families.
It quotes experts as saying the amendment will raise property taxes and make it more expensive to live in Florida.
"Amendment 4 is so extreme and so poorly written that it doesn't provide exceptions for vital community needs such as hospitals, police stations, firetrucks and new schools," the group states in one of its fliers.
Another lobbying group doesn't mince its words, either.
"It's the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane that never ends," says the Realtors Political Issues Committee based in Orlando.
It is, the committee says in one of its fliers, "one of the most serious threats to our community, our economy, and our children's future."
Backer disagrees
Lesley Blackner of Palm Beach disagrees with the Realtors' efforts.
Blackner said the notion that there would have to be numerous referendums in towns is incorrect, and that they would simply be regularly scheduled.
"The American Dream is the dream of the middle class," said Blackner, president of Florida Hometown Democracy, the sponsors of Amendment 4. "People who buy into communities expect good services, and a decent infrastructure, but we don't want willy-nilly development. We want good, planned development. That's what comprehensive planning is supposed to do."
