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Florida Hometown Democracy - is a grass-roots, non-partisan group who recognize that putting the people in charge of the places where they live is key to a sustainable future of our state!
Florida Hometown Democracy has launched a petition drive that supports an amendment to the Florida state constitution to let voters decide whether their city or county comprehensive land use plan will be changed or adopted. Currently, city and county commissions make those decisions.
Why is this amendment needed?
A: Currently, it’s just too easy for wealthy developers to obtain comprehensive plan amendments. Because comprehensive plan amendments determine the destiny of a community for generations to come, it is vital that changes to a comprehensive plan truly reflect the concerns of the voters.
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BALLOT TITLE: REFERENDA REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLANS.
BALLOT SUMMARY: Establishes that before a local government may adopt a new comprehensive land use plan, or amend a comprehensive land use plan, the proposed plan or amendment shall be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by referendum, following preparation by the local planning agency, consideration by the governing body and notice. Provides definitions.
FULL TEXT OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA THAT:
Article II, Section 7. Natural resources and scenic beauty of the Florida Constitution is amended to add the following subsection:
Public participation in local government comprehensive land use planning benefits the conservation and protection of Florida’s natural resources and scenic beauty, and the long-term quality of life of Floridians. Therefore, before a local government may adopt a new comprehensive land use plan, or amend a comprehensive land use plan, such proposed plan or plan amendment shall be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by referendum, following preparation by the local planning agency, consideration by the governing body as provided by general law, and notice thereof in a local newspaper of general circulation. Notice and referendum will be as provided by general law. This amendment shall become effective immediately upon approval by the electors of Florida.
For purposes of this subsection:
1. "Local government" means a county or municipality.
2. "Local government comprehensive land use plan" means a plan to guide and control future land development in an area under the jurisdiction of a local government.
3. "Local planning agency" means the agency of a local government that is responsible for the preparation of a comprehensive land use plan and plan amendments after public notice and hearings and for making recommendations to the governing body of the local government regarding the adoption or amendment of a comprehensive land use plan.
4. "Governing body" means the board of county commissioners of a county, the commission or council of a municipality, or the chief elected governing body of a county or municipality, however designated. |
| Serial Number 05-18 |
Date Approved June 21, 2005 |
In The News
September 22, 2007
An inept effort - Voters, rather than a small, influenceable set of elected government employees, would make these decisions. But we needn’t take the St. Petersburg Times’ advice to "keep the trash can handy" for your signature revocation form. Big developers would love to hear from you. Write a nice little note, put it in their postage-paid return envelope and mail it back. They can afford it. - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, in response to the article "Developers’ lies taint battle over petition", Sept. 18, editorial, St. Petersburg Times
September 22, 2007
Developers show they do not deserve our trust - For decades developers have devastated our natural landscape while leaving taxpayers holding the bag. The referendum Florida Hometown Democracy is trying to get on the ballot will finally give the average person a say on local land-use issues. This is something developers are terrified of. For too long in Florida it has been government of the developer, for the developer, by the developer. - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, in response to the article "Urgent! Act now or developers will suffer!" Sept. 15, Steve Bousquet column, St. Petersburg Times
September 22, 2007
Send them a message - Last week I received one of "those" letters seeking to revoke my signature from the land use amendment petition. This week "those" people called me. After sharing my opinion of them with the unlucky phone solicitor, I typed my response and sent it in the prepaid return envelope. They will have to pay postage on it, and that helps me feel a little bit better. - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, in response to the article "Land use amendment", St. Petersburg Times
September 18, 2007
Developers’ lies taint battle over petition - If lawmakers think they can combat misleading petition gatherers by letting people revoke their signatures, they ought to read the first counterassault in the war against Hometown Democracy. This letter is intended to scare recipients with its lies and distortions, and the lobbyist and former legislator who signed it should be ashamed of himself. - By A TIMES EDITORIAL, St. Petersburg Times
September 18, 2007
Hey, buddy, watch who you call an ’elector’ - The letter in question tries to scare petition signers into changing their minds. It bears the letterhead and signature of John Thrasher, a former speaker of the state House. As my colleague Steve Bousquet noted Saturday, Thrasher’s letter fails to mention one teeny, tiny detail: These days, he’s a lobbyist with Southern Strategy Group, which represents pro-growth businesses such as Disney, Associated Industries of Florida (the outfit running this signature revocation drive) and the St. Joe Co. - By HOWARD TROXLER, St. Petersburg Times
September 17, 2007
Citizen input might curb haphazard development - Well, there’s a grass-roots, nonpartisan group that’s trying to nip willy-nilly development in the bud, before the entire state gets paved over. It’s called Florida Hometown Democracy, founded by Florida natives Ross S. Burnaman and Lesley Blackner. Florida Hometown Democracy wants to put a referendum on the 2008 ballot that would require voter approval of changes to master growth plans. - By Rick Badie, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
September 15, 2007
Urgent! Act now or developers will suffer! - Opponents of Hometown Democracy have launched a campaign with mail… The letterhead bears the name of "The Honorable John Thrasher," a former House speaker. Writing on behalf of a group called "Save Our Constitution," his pitch is that Hometown Democracy is the work of "big developers," when they are the actually targets of the initiative. Thrasher’s letter blasts Hometown Democracy as "deceptive," tricking voters into signing something that will cause higher taxes and utility bills while ruining Florida’s "scenic beauty." By STEVE BOUSQUET, Tallahassee Bureau Chief, St. Petersburg Times
August 19, 2007
Critical Amendment to the State Constitution Will Be Debated - Parties opposed to the amendment, primarily comprised of business groups and developers argue that if approved, the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment will threaten the state’s economic growth and property rights. Floridians for Smarter Growth, an anti-Hometown Democracy campaign led by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, is proposing an alternate amendment, "The Florida Growth Management Initiative."
August 19, 2007
There’s a better way than Hometown Democracy - Florida, and specifically Central Florida, is the envy of our nation and the world. We have a vibrant economy, temperate climate and quality of life that make this an attractive place to live, learn, work and play. For these reasons, we have grown at a faster pace than the national average since the 1920s, a trend that is projected to continue over the next 50 years. However, in recent years we have not been wise in how we have grown. At our current pace, Central Florida will develop as much land in the next 45 years as was developed in the previous 440 years.
Jacob V. Stuart, president of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce; Orlando Sentinel
August 12, 2007
Here’s a chance for people to protect the state - Go to the Web site http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com. There you will find a petition. Print several copies. Pass them around. This has to do with the future of Florida.
MIKE THOMAS, Sentinel Columnist; Orlando Sentinel
August 8, 2007
Groups align in growth battle -- ’Hometown’ seen as foe of development - TALLAHASSEE - Businesses and developers have already poured money this summer into fighting the Florida Hometown Democracy group that wants to stop local governments from rubber-stamping development. Now they have a new weapon. Buried in a sweeping elections bill lawmakers passed last spring is a change that gives voters the right to revoke signatures they’ve given to petition-gathering groups trying to amend the state constitution.
Aaron Deslatte, News Journal capital bureau
July 27, 2007
Amendments pit builders against smart growth activist - TALLAHASSEE - ...Floridians for Smarter Growth Inc., a political committee backed almost exclusively by home builders, opened a campaign account in April and already has collected more than $800,000 to get its measure on the 2008 ballot. Its amendment would keep the status quo system for changes in land-use plan changes and would let residents vote on a change only if 10 percent or more of the communities’ registered voters sign a petition at the local supervisor of elections office.
Dara Kam, Palm Beach Post
July 17, 2007
Businesses cringe at entrusting land to voters - TALLAHASSEE - It’s not often that a ballot initiative gets compared to "Armageddon" or a "nuclear bomb." But that’s the kind of rhetoric that business groups are using to describe a little-known group called Hometown Democracy that wants to give voters direct control over new development.
JENNIFER LIBERTO, St. Pete Times
June 19, 2007
Veto it? Heck, tear it up and torch it - Senate Bill 900 imposes even more obstacles to petition gathering. The worst is that a signature is good for only 30 days - it has to turned in by then, or it expires. The deadline is unrealistic and ignores the practical obstacles of running a statewide petition campaign in Florida. Many public-interest groups say SB 900 would make it impossible to get anything on the ballot at all. Which is exactly the idea.
HOWARD TROXLER, St. Pete Times
Apr 22, 2007
A Chance to Unplug the Development Machine - Got water? That seems to be the question in many parts of Florida as we reach yet another Earth Day. It’s hard to believe this state is running low on clean, drinkable H2O. After all, once upon a time, Florida was dotted with uncounted bubbling springs, crisscrossed with giant rivers, lakes and impenetrable swamps. And Florida sits atop the Floridan aquifer, once one of the planet’s greatest sources of clean water.
Lesley Blackner
March 1, 2007
Hometown ’Is Already Here’ - Patrick Slevin, a Tallahassee-based public relations consultant who specializes in overcoming neighborhood opposition to new projects, has a message for builders, developers and businesses worried that Lesley Blackner’s Florida Hometown Democracy amendment will come to be: "Hometown Democracy is already here."
Mike Vogel, Florida Trend
June 25, 2006
Hometown Democracy means war is brewing - Hometown Democracy is the ultimate citizen revolt. ...How? By requiring voter approval for every change to a city or county’s "comprehensive plan," which determines what kinds of things get built where.
HOWARD TROXLER, St. Pete Times
What You Can Do:
In June 2006, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously approved the Florida Hometown Democracy petition. Now FHD must collect 611,000 verified petitions to make the 2008 ballot.
611,000 verified petitions must be collected by January 31, 2008 to qualify for the November 2008 ballot.
Current Verified Signitures - Florida Department of State, Division of Elections.
Valid Petition Signatures by County - Florida Department of State, Division of Elections.
If you haven’t signed a petition, please visit the Florida Hometown Democracy web site to read more about this effort and take the Pledge for Florida’s Future: www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.
Print the Petition, sign it and mail or fax the petition today. Remember, you must be registered to vote in Florida for your petition to be valid.
Not Registered To Vote? Go to www.congress.org and click on "Register to Vote." All you have to do is choose your state, fill out a short online form, print the document and mail it in.
For more information, please contact:
Florida Hometown Democracy, Inc.
P.O. Box 636
New Smyrna Beach, Florida 32170
Phone: 866-779-5513
E-mail: info@FloridaHometownDemocracy.com
Website: www.floridahometowndemocracy.com |
