Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Inc.

There’s an interesting argument circulating in Martin County to explain the passage of the tax abatement referendum. “I think that no one understood what they were voting on,” said County Commissioner Sarah Heard. “It was extremely confusing, and there’s still a legal challenge to that.” Voters didn’t understand the referendum? And this is the reason, according to Heard, why it was approved? I grant the possibility. But I also find this argument to be highly disingenuous coming from Heard and others who opposed the referendum. After all, these are the same folks championing Amendment 4, the proposed constitutional amendment that would give voters the right to reject or accept comprehensive plan amendments approved by local governments. If voters didn’t — or couldn’t — understand the tax abatement referendum, what hope is there they will be able to understand equally esoteric ballot measures on comprehensive plan amendments? Do you see the inconsistency?

Amendment 4's Hidden Danger #1: It's Impossible to Create a "Lawyer-Proof" Ballot Summary that Describes a Comprehensive Plan in 75 Words or Less. Florida Amendment 4 (also known as "Hometown Democracy") seeks to give Floridians a final referendum vote on all comprehensive plan changes. It may seem like a good idea to folks who are frustrated with sprawl and overdevelopment, but voting for it is like bringing a piece of furniture into your home that looks nice but is infested with bedbugs...it's full of hidden dangers that can make your home and town unliveable and are very difficult to exterminate once in place.

Ryan Houck, who is leading the fight against the proposed Amendment 4 to the Florida constitution, is very adamant that the measure would create lengthy ballots. Houck called me after last week's blog about an e-mail sent by his political action committee, Vote No on 4. The e-mail described a 47-page sample ballot that was given to voters outside some polling places to show how Amendment 4 could create ballots that are filled with the minutiae of land use decisions. See the sample ballot here.

There are ways to get Florida’s economy back on track, but grinding future development to a halt isn’t one of them. Yet, that’s exactly what Amendment 4, the proposed constitutional amendment commonly billed as “hometown democracy,” would do. Florida’s had some doozies over the years, but this one’s in a league of its own. Fact and fiction have flown fast and furious, but while some outcomes remain unclear, there are some certainties.