Planning amendment makes Fla. 2010 ballot -- City, county plans would then require local referendums

Planning amendment makes Fla. 2010 ballot -- City, county plans would then require local referendums

By BILL KACZOR
Associated Press Writer
Publication Date: 06/23/09

TALLAHASSEE -- A proposed Florida constitutional amendment that would give voters a say on how their communities grow, including such decisions as where shopping centers, homes and roads are built, will be on the 2010 ballot.

Secretary of State Kurt Browning on Monday declared that Florida Hometown Democracy had collected the required number of signatures. He designated it Amendment 4.

That culminated a four-year petition drive, which began after the Florida Supreme Court blocked an earlier version in 2005. The justices, though, cleared the way for getting on the 2010 ballot by striking down a law that would have let voters revoke their signatures on citizen initiative petitions.

"It's been a lot of sweat and tears," said Palm Beach lawyer Lesley Blackner, who co-founded Hometown Democracy with Tallahassee attorney Ross Burnaman. "It's been a crusade to get to this point."

If the proposal gets 60 percent approval at the polls, Hometown Democracy would require local referendums on changes to city and county comprehensive plans.

Business and development interests that opposed the petition drive will shift their focus to defeating the amendment at the polls. They say Hometown Democracy would slow growth and be a drag on Florida's already sagging economy.

Opponents also have included local government officials and the environmental group 1000 Friends of Florida, although it is planning to reconsider its position.

"The 'Vote on Everything' amendment could mean a permanent recession for Florida's economy," said Florida Chamber of Commerce president Mark Wilson. "This amendment will hopelessly complicate the planning process."

Advocates argue that developers who get their way at every step of the process have dragged down Florida's economy through overbuilding and unchecked growth.

"They control the politics of Florida from the governor on down," Blackner said.

Opponents have used a variety of tactics, but the first setback came in the Supreme Court, which voted 4-3 in 2005 that the proposal's initial ballot summary was too emotional.

The high court, though, approved the current language and last week removed a final roadblock with a 4-2 ruling that the signature revocation law is unconstitutional.

A spokeswoman for Browning said he certified the amendment due to the high court's expedited decision. Any further delay and the petition would have begun losing signatures because they expire after four years.

Even without about 13,000 revoked signatures, the petition had enough -- 698,562 -- to meet a the requirement for 676,811 signatures.

Opponents also have begun their own petition drive for a competing amendment known as Smarter Growth with a provision saying it would prevail if voters approve both.

Smarter Growth would require referendums on planning changes only if 10 percent of registered voters sign a petition within 60 days -- and they'd be able to sign only at the supervisor of elections office.

Those are impossible requirements, Burnaman said.

"People are going to realize that it's a Trojan Horse," he said.

Floridians for Smarter Growth executive director Ryan Houck said the group hasn't yet decided whether to continue its petition campaign or just focus on opposing Hometown Democracy. It has obtained 443,510 signatures.

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