"Yes!" is the right vote on Amendment 4 ... by gimleteye

EOM readers may feel a little dazed by the attention on this blog to Amendment 4, the ballot referendum brought by Florida Hometown Democracy. In readers' lifetimes, this will be the ONLY chance a measure critical of Florida's growth pattern will ever appear on a state-wide ballot. Let me say it again: this is IT. You will have one shot on November 2nd. That's all. The sheer grit and determination by a band of volunteers and citizen activists to push and pull this Constitutional amendment through the set of traps and obstacles and hazards set by the Chamber of Commerce and Florida legislature will never be equalled in our lifetime. I say this, after a lifetime of working the civic side of the ledger on protecting our quality of life and environment and public health. There is no back bench. No line-up of young people chomping at the bit to dig in and get their hands callused and dirty with civic engagement. I watched the older generation of community activists pass. I've tried to recruit, in Miami, the younger generation to the cause of activism. So at the risk of repetition: I'll say it again. Amendment 4 is it. It is the last time you will have a chance to vote on endless traffic congestion, overcrowded schools, and blighted communities as a result of bad land use planning by local officials. With only a few days left, why kick back now. One of the best editorial writers in the state, Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel, wrote a great piece in today's paper that deserves a special mention here. It supports our position in support of Amendment 4 on Nov. 2nd. Vote YES. Click 'read more'
What's that smell? Better power up the Malarkey Meter

Scott Maxwell
TAKING NAMES
11:34 PM EDT, October 26, 2010
Orlando Sentinel

"I've heard from so many readers bewitched, bothered and bewildered by nasty campaign accusations that I decided to dust off the Malarkey Meter and start putting these claims to the truth test.

Here's the problem: The fibs and fabrications are so numerous that I couldn't fit them all in one column. So we'll run a half-dozen through the meter today. We'll have many more Friday.

But we're going to start with an expanded section featuring what may be the most distortion-filled campaign I've seen in the past decade — the pro-development attacks on Amendment 4.

The chamber of commerce crowd has been distorting things about this one for more than three years — and just recently got caught telling one of the worst whoppers this campaign season.

They started back in 2007 when they tried to con residents into thinking the amendment would hand decisions about local growth to "special interests." (That's not true unless you're a special interest. The proposal simply lets citizens vote on developments and growth matters in their own communities.)

It continued last year when they claimed the amendment was designed to "stop growth." (Planning officials later confirmed that a city like Orlando, for instance, already has enough future growth approved to nearly double in size, regardless what happens with Amendment 4.)

But the pinnacle of prevarication for the anti-Amendment 4 folks appeared in this very newspaper 10 days ago. It was a full-page ad that claimed Amendment 4 "will force counties and cities across Florida to raise taxes and fees," citing the widely respected PolitiFact.com as its source for that claim.

Here's the problem: PolitiFact never said such a thing. In fact, it later labeled that very claim as a "Pants on Fire" lie. And it's a bad scene when your supposed sources are calling you a liar.

Listen. I'll be the first to acknowledge there are legitimate questions and concerns about Amendment 4. But the anti-4 forces have rarely even flirted with legitimacy in their attacks."

Amendment 4 on WBPT and in The Miami Herald: A Reflection ... by gimleteye

The program on Amendment 4 was taped on public broadcasting's "WBPT Issues" yesterday, Amendment 4 is the highly anticipated ballot referendum to change the Florida Constitution in the following way: the measure would break up the immoveable politics of land use, bonding developers and special interests to local elected officials through campaign contributions. It provides that changes to local master plans would be accomplished after a final vote; not by city or county commissioners, but by local voters. On the WPBT program I am one of the speakers in favor, alongside Lesley Blackner, co-founder of Florida Hometown Democracy. View it here.

Amendment 4 was also front page news in The Miami Herald yesterday. Here's my quote, as "... Alan Farago, a longtime Miami-Dade environmental activist who was among the early champions of the Hometown Democracy effort, describes growth management as "basically a carcass that has been fed over by special interests. Everyone who has warned me about the issues of unintended consequences [from Amendment 4] failed to acknowledge the set of unintended consequences to Florida's landscape is unacceptable now." Read the Herald story, here.

Last night, as I was drifting off I thought about a comment that one of the opponents of the measure, real estate consultant Jack McCabe, made on the WPBT program: how Florida's economy is dependent on development and construction and how it is necessary to keep expanding the tax base to avoid an economic collapse. This argument is the mother's milk of Florida's political and economic status quo.

I remember being shocked when I first heard the same argument nearly twenty five years ago. At the time, I had just moved to the Florida Keys. My children were young. I expected to be able to show them as they grew the profound beauty of the place I had experienced, first, in the 1970's. But by the late 1980's, all that was going, going, gone. I became involved in environmental issues and local politics as a result. Those politics revolved around land use decisions whose individual and cumulative impacts severely threatened unique natural resources that comprise the foundation of the Key's multi-billion dollar tourism economy. The majority of the Monroe County Commission proudly self-identified as "The Concrete Coalition". They were led on the county commission by a local version of Tom DeLay-- an insecticide salesman-- powerful local developers, land use lawyers and locals who were cashing in on real estate; and they all made exactly the same argument, with the same words, that Jack McCabe made yesterday: you have to expand to the tax base to be able to afford the costs of growth.

Amendment 4 grew out of the abounding frustration of citizens in Florida who saw what they valued in this place, trashed and overwhelmed by that illogic: inadequate schools, roadways, poorly planned infrastructure and sacrifices to quality of life that constantly creep in the wrong direction. And it is because of Amendment 4 that took years to arrive-- an election-- that its opponents waged and passed their own change to the Constitution; requiring that any further changes must pass in a general state-wide election by 60 percent or the referendum fails. No other state in the nation has such a high threshold.

Today in Florida, we live the consequences of what Amendment 4 seeks to address. The costs of growth have far exceeded the capacity of the tax base; that's why real estate taxes are increasing and the cost of government will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. The current system of growth management is not only broken at the local level, at the state capitol the Florida legislature is determined to erase the growth regulatory agency. Period. (Related note: check out what is happening to St. Joe Corporation.)

In the Keys when I was a quarter century younger, there was a young attorney for The Wilderness Society who stood at the podium and public hearings of the planning commission, who inspired me to dedicate much of my time as a community activist. His name is Ross Burnaman, and Ross is a co-founder of the Florida Hometown Democracy movement. In the early 1990's Ross moved to Tallahassee where he is now a sole practitioner of law. The point is that Florida Hometown Democracy did not spring up from nowhere: this movement was grounded in the manifest failures of growth management in South Florida. Right here. It grew up right here in the Chambers of the Miami-Dade County Commission and the City of Miami, where the pleas of citizens from the podium are routinely ignored by elected officials on cell phones with lobbyists or snoozing or joking with each other or showing their disrespect for ordinary people and ordinary taxpayers taking entire days to attend land use hearings where, for the most part, they are ignored.

So far as I am concerned, Florida Hometown Democracy is for George Kuntz of Key Colony Beach, who attended each and every land use hearing in the Keys for a decade and testified against land use changes, who fought and scrapped until his last days. Amendment 4 is for Grace Maniello of Big Pine Key, a minority voice on the Monroe County Planning Commission, who endured the taunts and ridicule and isolation in a place where platted lots had been used, for generations, as payola. Grace and Fred and Freddy: the whole family fought the good fight and they are gone, too. Amendment 4 is for friends who never gave up on the bonefish, the bay in front of Islamorada stretching to Flamingo, and the sweet virtues of place that can't be recovered once they are lost. Amendment 4 has similar backstories across the state of Florida. It is from people who love this state. It is an heroic effort by a group of dedicated volunteers around the state of Florida who have made sacrifices-- in the case of Lesley Blackner, who put in nearly $1 million of her own money-- to put this measure on the November ballot: the fact of Amendment 4 is for each and every citizen who tried to protect a river, or stream, or wetland or the character of a neighborhood and cohesion of a community. It is for every person who summoned the courage to speak in public in a forum where other more practiced, monied voices rose up to bitch them out. They have the money and the influence, and right now, two weeks before the election, they are getting ready to spend the $10 to $15 million they have raised to defeat Amendment 4.

While Lesley Blackner has been the visible, public champion of this movement; Ross Burnaman helped forge the measures passage through and over hurdles and roadblocks thrown up in its way, including the third political party in America: The US Chamber of Commerce. Twenty five years ago, when Florida Keys public officials were making the same weak arguments in favor of sacrificing quality of life and natural resources to expanded tax base, that could only happen by weakening environmental protection rules and regulations, Ross Burnaman was tough as nails. Today, special interests make the same arguments, and Ross Burnaman is still tough as nails.

I hope Amendment 4 passes. The public is in an uproar in the grinding economic collapse; the worst since the Depression. Hearing Amendment 4's opponents darkly warn of lost jobs and catastrophe if the measure passes is like watching people clinging to the hull of a capsized ship blaming the water. The scent of extremism is heavy in the air. Amendment 4 will pass, if voters on November 2nd read the ballot issue all the way through.

Debate in District 8: Eugene Flinn and Lynda Bell. By Geniusofdespair

Here is a link to a debate between a subdued Mayor Eugene Flinn and Palin-perky-fast-talking Lynda Bell, moderated by Helen Ferre.

Bell flat out rejects Amendment 4 - spewing the same old talking points of the developers and the Chamber folks. Ick to that. She of all people, at the epicenter of "developers gone wild" for 6 years as both a councilwoman and mayor in Homestead, SHE should know better. Even if she wants to take credit for an ineffective, short-lived moratorium - notwithstanding that she was in Homestead government for 6 years during the boom that busted Homestead -- You would think that at least watching the Batemen regime, helplessly as a regular citizen, should have taught her something about the value of Amendment 4. No. She is still clueless on a long term strategy on growth management. Homestead government is incapable of good planning or good government, it has been operating like a giant, festering, pus-filled boil for the past 17 years. Lynda Bell still thinks you can swab at it. Amendment 4 would lance it once and for all.

Flinn, in contrast, says he will probably vote for Amendment 4, but he says it is not important whether he supports it or not. He says there is nothing wrong with citizen involvement and he supports that and always has in Palmetto Bay...remember also that Palmetto Bay government isn't a glob of festering pus, it is functional. Let's face facts, no government official is particularly thrilled with Amendment 4, the amendment is proof that we lack faith in them. That must hurt the feelings of some of the ethical, growth management conscious public servants.

On budget Flinn says he would start at the top with his cuts and he suggests that they have to see what they can afford, saying there are a lot of things that are nice to have that you can't afford, but there are a lot of things you must have that should be budgeted. He is right on suggesting we need charter initiatives for the county. Flinn supports some at large Commission seats and he supports term limits for Commissioners. Bell totally avoided answering this question. At the end Lynda chided Flinn because Palmetto Bay was spending about ten million dollars to build a city hall to house city staff and it was there the broadcast ended. No rebuttal, so here is mine. Actually, the city hall is the anchor of a Palmetto Bay revitalization project. It is slated to be a Village Center with amenities for all citizens -- not just city staff. On the one hand Lynda Bell talks about jobs and supporting smart growth, yet she denounces a project that is on the US 1 transportation corridor, slated to be an innovative transportation hub for South Dade workers. Incidentally, the project doesn't sprawl the Village of Palmetto Bay, it draws people to the center. (See Flinn's Village Center explanation below.)

Finally, a reminder, don't vote for the anti gay rights, anti stem cell research use, anti assisted suicide, anti choice candidate please..hint, that is the one who looks more like Anita Bryant.

Carl Hiaasen on Florida Amendent 4. By Geniusofdespair

Writer, Carl Hiaasen loves Florida, and he also loves Amendment 4.

Amendment 4: The End of Life As We Know It...in Florida. By Geniusofdespair

THIS COLUMN FROM THE ST. PETE TIMES SAYS IT ALL:

If you vote for Amendment 4, you'll turn purple and get fat (and other exaggerations)

By Howard Troxler, Times Columnist
In Print: Sunday, October 3, 2010

If this crazy constitutional amendment passes, it will destroy Florida. Florida will go out of business. We will lose our jobs. Other states will beat us.

Yep, those were the dire warnings that we heard from Florida's business leaders …Back in 2004, when they tried to scare voters into rejecting a $1 increase in Florida's minimum wage.

This year, we're hearing the same kind of thing about Amendment 4 on the November ballot, the "Hometown Democracy" idea.

Amendment 4 simply says that local voters in Florida should have the final say over some growth decisions. But to hear Florida's business community tell it, such an idea would be the end of the world. The state might well sink into the ocean.

Phooey. Nuts. Hockey pucks.

If Hometown Democracy passes, here is what will not happen:

People will not quit building things in Florida. And we will not have to hold 8,000 local elections a year. Or a million. Or whatever it is they're claiming.

Remember that Amendment 4 requires an election only for changes to a city or county's "comprehensive plan," which is the basic map for how a community should look — industrial here, commercial there, and so forth.

So if Amendment 4 passes, the first thing that will happen is:

Many developers will tweak their proposals to avoid the need for plan amendments and elections. And this is exactly the idea. They can still build — consistent with the plan.

The way it works now, any time anybody wants to build something, they just go to the City Council or County Commission and get the plan changed.

The plan is not driving our growth — we're just changing our plan to fit the growth.

The second thing to consider if Amendment 4 passes is that:

Local governments will still screen proposed developments, and decide for themselves how many elections to hold. This is an often-overlooked aspect of Amendment 4. We are not turning every proposal into a willy-nilly election popularity contest. The experts will still review these things. The local government can still reject them. What we're adding is a voter veto over their final approval.

Third, if Amendment 4 passes:

Florida communities will prove perfectly capable of making these decisions in local elections.

In fact, I think we will adapt to the new system rather quickly, and that it will even work to developers' advantage at times.

Winning public passage will become a routine part of the process of winning approval for big projects — a relative drop in the bucket compared to the existing costs, and the already lengthy process, of winning regulatory approval.

In some cases, it even will be better for developers to make their case to an entire community, rather than fighting one particularly noisy or influential neighborhood.

Wouldn't all of us in, say, Hillsborough or Pinellas County be better off with Project X? Wouldn't our entire city of (insert name here) benefit from this new (mall, restaurant, theater)?

Listen.

If you're agin' it, you're agin' it.

If you think this is a bad idea and that your local County Commission or City Council should make these decisions, and that if we don't like what they do, then we just should not re-elect them, that is a perfectly fine opinion.

But if you are on the fence about Amendment 4, and are wondering whether all this doom and gloom and predictions of the end of the world are true — I think they are a bunch of hooey, and that the opponents so ridiculously overstate it that they hurt their own cause.

The BEST VIDEO you won't want to miss! By Geniusofdespair

(don't see video hit here)

This video is a pisser!!

The Best Reason to Vote "For" Amendment 4: by gimleteye

This photo is from an outstanding Boston Globe photo essay on suburban sprawl in Florida. (It takes a 1500 mile view to capture the whole of Florida's blasted suburban landscape.) Sprawl is the growth model that plunged the Florida economy into the worst crisis since the Great Depression. The collateral damage included an anti-regulatory fever that plowed wetlands and farmland in its path, without a whiff of dissent from the Chambers of Commerce. It took a great machine to grind up Florida's quality of life. No surprise that this photo shows housing units like gears of a wheel. They represent the Growth Machine, and its meshed gears connecting land use lawyers, lobbyists, rock miners, engineers and planners, campaign contributors and elected officials, and bankers spreading fraudulent paper like confetti. Subdivisions like this one in Southwest Florida could only have been permitted through local zoning decisions that will now require a local vote when Amendment 4 passes. Busting the cartel-- the iron-clan relationship between campaign funders, local zoning officials-- usually city and county commissions in Florida-- and special interests hooked into the Wall Street derivative machine is what Amendment 4 represents. Make no mistake: the mainstream press is quiet on the issue, but Amendment 4 is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Floridians to vote on what happened to our state during the housing boom when common sense was thrown to the wind. Jobs, jobs, jobs? Just click on the photo and say the words, three times: this was called the Foundation of Florida's Future. Amendment 4 makes sure what wrecked Florida will not rise from the dead.

Why we need Amendment 4. Guest Blog By WeRwatching

Developer-connected groups, who blindly fear and oppose the democratic right of citizens to vote their voices on behalf of their community, instead threaten the public saying, “If Amendment 4 had been law in 2006, the residents of Carrabelle would have voted on 617 minor land use questions.”

That fraudulent statement is a lie! If Amendment 4 had been Florida law in 2006, then Carrabelle voters would have had the privilege to vote on ONLY 4 -- not 617 ! -- land-use changes to determine our community’s future in the year 2006. In fact, during my 3-year term, there would have been, in total, only eight land use changes proposed for public voting in our regular elections if Amendment 4 had been in place, NOT “HUNDREDS!”

- Mel Kelly, Proud Carrabelle Mayor, 2005-2007

Florida Hometown Democracy (Amendment 4) was put on the November ballot by citizen’s petition. It is in response to decades of mismanagement of Florida’s Growth Management Act. The Act, adopted in the mid-80s, was supposed to manage growth so that the state was not overdeveloped, sensitive lands and water supplies were protected, quality of life was preserved, and a person’s biggest lifetime investment, their home, was protected from being devalued by surrounding, incompatible development.

The “Growth Machine”, developers, real estate professionals, insurance companies, chambers of commerce, mortgage lenders, and county and state legislators finally drove the bus off the cliff. The result of unsustainable development was a crash in our economy, horrendous loss of jobs and homes, rising taxes and decreasing quality of life. More development will not solve the problem.

The anti-Amendment 4 crowd avoids any responsibility for this implosion while telling you Amendment 4 will worsen an economy they have already trashed. Every $1.00 in new property taxes costs approximately $1.40 to provide services; more development will not right the economy, it will increase taxes to subsidize new developments. Industries that could provide growth, such as agriculture and tourism of natural lands, are diminishing so relatively cheap farmland and waterfront properties can be developed with more unneeded houses. Nor will Amendment 4 stop development. There are enough vacant residential parcels already in the CDMP to increase Florida’s population 5-fold (not counting foreclosures). There is enough approved commercial land to build 13,000 WalMarts; 1.3 billion square feet.

Part of the Growth Management Act requires every county and city to have a Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP): It is composed of many elements such as education, transportation, and land use. The land use portion is the subject of Amendment 4. Land use is NOT zoning or variances, it is a broader picture outlining where various land use categories should be located. For example, it separates industrial uses from residential uses. It is supposed to keep the gas station out of your front yard and the rock mine out of your back yard. It lumps together compatible uses. Approval should be based on need. That is where the “Growth Machine” has run off the rails. Money for campaigns now speaks louder than the people.

Amendment 4 gives voters the final say on CDMP changes. Only after an application is approved by local government and the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee (the administrators of local plans), will the people vote. It adds a step to the process, that step is your vote at the next general election; no special elections. Land use is not difficult. People understand a request to change farmland to industrial or residential to commercial, it’s not rocket science. Some people understand better than elected officials.

The people in control don’t want you to have a seat at the table. The anti-4 campaign is spending millions to keep you from having a say. If Amendment 4 passes, the next time you are speaking against a bad project to glassy-eyed politicians, remember you will have the final say. What could be wrong with that?

Amendments: Vote Yes on 4, 5 and 6. By Geniusofdespair

Vote YES on these three amendments: 4, 5 and 6. Do you really have to know why, they are all no brainers. Just do it.

AARP endorsed 5 and 6 on September 16th. Here is the ballot summary:

5: Legislative districts or districting plans may not be drawn to favor or disfavor an incumbent or political party. Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice. Districts must be contiguous. Unless otherwise required, districts must be compact, as equal in population as feasible, and where feasible must make use of existing city, county and geographical boundaries.

6: Congressional districts or districting plans may not be drawn to favor or disfavor an incumbent or political party. Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice. Districts must be contiguous. Unless otherwise required, districts must be compact, as equal in population as feasible, and where feasible must make use of existing city, county and geographical boundaries.

Amendment Four Flip-Flop at 1000 Friends. By Geniusofdespair

Considering the 1000 Friends group is so tied to its corporate board members/donors, this dumb ass, long-winded, neutral statement is a miracle.

The Chamber of Commerce has been holding 1000 Friends up as the poster-child environmental group against Amendment 4. Now what is the Chamber going to do without them? Lost your shill Chamber? Too bad. 1000 Friends are still jerks about this issue, but this is a lot better than they were a few weeks ago. I think Friends finally has grasped that the State Government is going to axe their beloved Department of Community Affairs next session and they are scared. If you read the full statement you will get the sense that they are also pissed:

1000 Friends of Florida - Final Statement on Amendment 4

Executive Summary
The citizens of Florida will have the opportunity to vote on Amendment 4 this November. This proposed constitutional amendment would require that local voters approve any amendments to their local comprehensive plans. Since the amendment was first announced, the Board of Directors of 1000 Friends of Florida has been on record as not supporting it for a host of reasons. However, given the unwillingness of some local governments and the Florida Legislature to address serious flaws with Florida’s existing growth management system, the Board has reevaluated its previous discussion and now is taking a neutral position on Amendment 4. Should Amendment 4 pass, 1000 Friends will work with state and local leaders and citizens to help establish a fair and equitable new process. Should Amendment 4 fail, 1000 Friends resolves to work with the same parties toward meaningful reform to Florida’s growth management process. The Board hopes the following analysis provides guidance as Florida’s voters evaluate the pro’s and con’s of Amendment 4 and reach their individual decisions on this critical issue.

Full Statement on Amendment 4:
Florida is at a critical juncture in its history. For decades, the state had relied on the engines of growth to fuel its economy. With the recent economic downturn, the problems with this approach have proven increasingly apparent. Many are justifiably frustrated with “business as usual” in Florida, and want to see new solutions to the state’s longstanding problems.

One attempt to address this problem is the proposed Constitutional Amendment 4, known as Florida Hometown Democracy. This amendment, which will be on the ballot in November 2010, must receive a supermajority of 60 percent or more to pass. If successful, Amendment 4 would require that any amendment to a community’s local comprehensive plan be approved by a majority of that community’s voters. Florida Hometown Democracy is intended to address failures of local government to adopt and implement reasonable growth management decisions, failures by the Legislature to fund, improve and strengthen growth management controls, and the loss of public access and voice in the comprehensive planning process.

Since Amendment 4 was first proposed, the Board of Directors of 1000 Friends of Florida has been on record as not supporting it for a host of reasons. The Board believes that the amendment could result in local concerns overwhelming larger societal ones, dilute the accountability of local elected officials for development decisions, result in piecemeal planning, engender media campaigns in which those with greater funding would have inordinate influence on the outcome, result in planning gridlock due to the unclear language of the amendment, and result in retaliation by the Legislature.
At the same time, the Board of Directors has been very mindful that the on-the-ground results of the state’s current growth management system are not as intended. Our state still faces sprawling, inappropriately sited development, degraded natural areas, overcrowded classrooms, and congested roads. In addition, over the last two years the state’s land planning agency, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, has approved approximately 90 percent of the plan amendments it has reviewed. This has impacted hundreds of thousands of acres, and authorized an additional 600,000 dwelling units and more than 1 billion square feet of non-residential office and institutional space, all of which remains unbuilt. Current estimates are that Florida’s built vacant housing inventory continues to hover between 300,000 and 400,000 dwelling units, and Florida is now leading the nation in outright numbers of foreclosures. Additionally, DCA is now reviewing numerous plan amendments that have been submitted with the intent of being approved before possible passage of Amendment 4 in November.

Before the 2010 Session, 1000 Friends outlined four steps the Florida Legislature should take to address fundamental flaws with the state’s growth management system. The first was adoption of 1000 Friends proposed “Citizen Bill of Rights” which included requirements for a supermajority vote of the elected body for all plan amendment changes; a mandatory citizen participation plan and workshops conducted by any developer seeking a land use change; a “cooling off” period preventing last minute changes to plans before public meetings to allow the public, staff and elected officials time for informed deliberation; preservation of citizen standing status throughout any appeal process; and citizen protection from SLAPP suits associated with any participation in the comprehensive planning process.

The second step was full funding for the state’s land acquisition program, Florida Forever, and the Sadowski Affordable Housing Program. The third was adoption of a meaningful state plan(s) that guides/requires that all state capital funds be spent to make existing communities more livable, rather than promote expansion and sprawl. The fourth was adequate funding to administer all growth management programs, including reviews of comprehensive plan amendments and Developments of Regional Impact (DRIs).
The results of the 2010 session were disappointing at best. No action was taken on the proposed Citizen Bill of Rights. While Florida Forever received $15 million in funding (a far cry short of the typical $300 million authorized annually for the program even though it was endorsed by all conservation groups and the Florida Chamber, among others), the effort to remove the cap on the Sadowski Affordable Housing Program fell victim to last minute political maneuvers, and that program received minimal funding of $37.5 million. No action was taken on the adoption of a meaningful state plan. And while the Florida Department of Community Affairs received continuation funding, the legislature did not affirmatively reauthorize the agency, leaving it in a vulnerable “legislative limbo” for the coming year.

Based on the inaction of the Florida legislature in 2010 and earlier years to affirmatively address major shortcomings in the state’s growth management system, the Board of Directors of 1000 Friends of Florida felt it was necessary to reevaluate its position on Amendment 4. A number of the Board Members still believe that Amendment 4 represents a flawed approach that will not resolve problems with Florida’s growth management system and may, in fact, make things worse. However, Board Members also feel that the existing system is seriously flawed and change is needed, even if that change is less than perfect.

The Board of Directors further recognizes that both opponents and supporters of Amendment 4 have numerous valid reasons sustaining their positions. In large part, the differing positions on Amendment 4 appear to reflect individual Board Members and citizens’ experiences with their particular local governments. For some, Amendment 4 appears to be the only logical choice. For others, the many pitfalls Amendment 4 brings are reason enough not to support it. The opportunity for choice then appears to be the most reasonable alternative. 1000 Friends therefore is taking a neutral position on Amendment 4 and urges the voters of Florida to carefully evaluate this analysis, other information, and their local and state growth management experiences when voting on this important constitutional amendment.

Should Amendment 4 pass, we recognize that its language leaves many issues open to different interpretation and possible litigation. However, 1000 Friends of Florida commits to work with state and local leaders and citizens to the extent possible to establish a fair and equitable new process that adheres to the spirit of Amendment 4. We also will view this as a call to the Legislature to bring about additional positive change to Florida’s growth management process that supplements the intent of Amendment 4.

Should Amendment 4 fail, 1000 Friends will not view this as an endorsement of the status quo. We fully recognize that Florida’s growth management system is in need of serious and major reform. We will use all avenues possible to bring about this reform in a manner that increases and enhances citizen involvement in the local planning process, strengthens local government accountability for planning and development decisions, and brings meaningful improvement to state law and implementation.
Whatever the outcome in November, Florida cannot return to “business as usual.” The recent economic crisis has proven all too clearly that a growth- and development-driven economy is costly, shortsighted, and untenable over the long haul.

You Want To Get Mad? Watch this Video. By Geniusofdespair

Look who got bailout money...and what are they doing with it? Yep, using it to combat Amendment 4.



Don't see video, hit here. Don't get duped: Vote Yes on 4, or Vote For 4 and send a link to this video to your friends.

Amendment 4: Scoundrels against it stoop to new low. By Geniusofdespair

This video was released by those in favor of Amendment 4 (like me):



On the other side, Amendment 4 killers have no shame, they are deathly afraid that Amendment 4 will pass. This is the latest tactic by the sneaks bent on dis-information. It is submitted by Lesly Blackner, Mother of Hometown Democracy's Amendment 4 to show you what we are up against:

"It is bad enough that major Florida employers are squandering millions of dollars to oppose giving voters a seat at the table, money that could instead go into growing their businesses and hiring new employees. Now, they have devised a plan to have those same employers lean on their workers to join their pro-overbuilding campaign and even provide lists of employees names to the anti-Amendment 4 campaign team.

"This is a recipe for coercion in the workplace. It is a full-court press that no Florida worker trying to keep his or her job will be able to resist and make a fully informed decision. Such politicking activity would be against the law in public agencies. It is merely unethical and disappointing in the private sector. We hope that employees who feel wrongly pressured by this plan will report any wrongdoing to our website, www.floridahometowndemocracy.com." Blacker said further:


The Industry Mobilization Plan supplies a sample CEO letter that boldfaces the boss's "personal" request. What worker could turn this down? Here is an excerpt from that sample letter:

I’d like to personally ask you to take a moment to visit www.noamendment4.com and fill out the Industry Advocate form. Your information will be kept private and used only to educate you, your friends, family members and colleagues on Amendment 4.

The outrageous plan goes further, even asking employers to mail in "detailed" lists of employees to the opposition campaign, as shows in this e-mail to business leaders from Florida Chamber exec Adam Babington:

1. Encourage your employees and colleagues to register as an "Advocate" in opposition to Amendment 4. A high level of participation is critical in defeating Amendment 4 which will hurt Florida's working families. Visit www.noamendment4.com to register.

2. Even easier, provide the "Vote No on 4" campaign with a detailed list of your interested employees, organization members, friends and family. [highlighting added] This data will be handled with the greatest sensitivity and confidentiality and will not be shared with others. It will be used only to communicate the messages of "Vote No on 4."

Have these people no sense of honor or intergrity? And, people wonder why I hate the Chamber of Commerce. Vote Yes on Amendment 4 readers. Tell your friends.

Florida Legislature: Pathetic ... by gimleteye

On the last day of August, the Florida Supreme Court tossed the Florida legislature's effort to thwart redistricting on the November ballot. The poison pill by the GOP majority was likely worked by Miguel de Grandy. The measure, that would have watered down two amendments put on the ballot by citizens’ petition dealing with redistricting, was deemed as "misleading" by the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the Florida business lobby is ramping up its efforts to kill off Florida Hometown Democracy. The Florida Supreme Court already threw out the poison pill designed to defeat FHD. When it passes in November-- meeting the supermajority 60 percent of voters, another Constitutional amendment successfully passed by the special interests to defeat FHD and redistricting, voters will take away the rubber stamp for changes to development plans away from local legislatures that just can't destroy Florida fast enough. A recent review of Citizens for Lower Taxes and A Stronger Economy, leading the charge to block the citizens' initiative, includes these funders from the Florida Business Hall of Shame:

-- Florida Association of Realtors, $1.75 million
-- Florida Chamber of Commerce, $565,000
-- Florida Power & Light, $200,000
-- GL Homes of Florida, $50,000
-- K. Hovnanian Companies, $96,000
-- KB Homes, $255,000
-- Lennar Homes, $367,000
-- Macy's Corporate Services, $50,000
-- Mosaic Fertilizer LLC, $30,000
-- The Ryland Corporation, $135,000
-- Toll Brothers, $43,000
-- Waste Management, $50,500
-- WCI Communities, $5,000
-- Broward Workshop PAC, $260,000

Rick Scott: so you want to be governor? Support Amendment 4... by gimleteye

The lobbyist class was down in its cups at the campaign headquarters of Bill McCullom last night. To run competitively against the ultra deep pockets of health care magnate, Rick Scott, McCullom needed every lobbyist dollar he could find. The special interests rushed to his side. They had everything to gain and they lost. Now what?

Rick Scott can run competitively against Sink, without the lobbying class. Still, and most importantly, he needs enough independents and Democrats to defeat the former St. Pete banker, Alex Sink. Wherever Sink is most vulnerable is where Scott should plant his campaign. Where is Sink most vulnerable as a former financier of development run amok? Amendment 4, the November referendum that would return the choice of changing community land use plans back to local voters.

Sink has avoided Amendment 4 like the plague. It is no wonder, why. From the Chamber of Commerce to Lennar and other large production homebuilders, to the shill for land speculators, Associated Industries, opposition to Amendment 4 has drawn tens of millions of dollars. But Amendment 4 is energizing millions of voters who are sick and tired of the insider dealing and the development Wrecking Crew that drove the economy off the rails.

Isn't limiting the power of government-- especially the abuses of excessive authority-- a cornerstone of conservative values? Alex Sink doesn't have the courage to stand up for Amendment 4. Does Rick Scott?

From The Florida Independent: "Developers collect federal tax breaks, pour money into defeating Amendment 4 By DAN SWEENEY"

When Amendment 4 passes the state-wide vote, downtown land use lawyers across the state-- and the whole formula linking government to land speculators and developers-- will be scrambled. Business lines involving "governmental relations" will no longer gin exorbitant fees from changes to land use plans by local government. Persuasion by developers and speculators will turn to influencing voters, and not public officials. Read it again. Persuasion by developers and speculators will turn to influencing voters, and not public officials.

Opponents of Amendment 4 threaten doom for the state economy, but they are facing a perfect storm they helped create with a massive oversupply of housing stock, caused in part by the very land use changes they promoted. What is true, undeniably, is that the "governmental relations" departments related to land use will not longer be profit centers for big law firms. The money machine governing local politics will lose energy. As for the doom-and-gloom'ers, It is difficult to imagine any worse harm to Florida than the economy done in by the platitudes of "growth"; a harvest today of vacant homes, ghost suburbs, and foreclosures attests to the failure of the formula. Something has to change, and with Amendment 4, change is coming for the better. (For article by Florida Independent, click 'read more')

Developers collect federal tax breaks, pour money into defeating Amendment 4
By DAN SWEENEY 8/12/10 1:16 PM

Amendment 4, the proposed state constitution amendment that would have voters giving final approval to changes to city and county comprehensive land use plans, is opposed primarily by developers, the lobbyists who represent them and the city and county governments who would lose final say over these plans if the amendment passes. But mainly, it’s the developers.

With voters able to approve changes to comprehensive land use plans, that Wal-Mart that would bring in piles of tax dollars but would be loathed by the community will never see the light of day. This, perhaps, explains why Wal-Mart has given $100,000 to the No on 4 campaign, a donation that hardly makes the big-box store unique among its peers.

But it’s the people who build those stores — along with everything else — who have the most to lose. That’s why the largest new home builder in the nation, Pulte Homes, has given the No on 4 campaign more than half a million dollars in 2010, and why the country’s second-largest home builder, Florida’s Lennar Homes, has contributed $367,000.

How are these construction companies, hit hard by the housing bubble burst, so flush with cash? The money flowing to No on 4 is there in part thanks to an underreported clause in one of Congress’ many extensions of unemployment benefits in the past year.

“About $2 million of the recent donations to the No on 4 campaign came from bailed-out construction companies,” says Lesley Blackner, president of Hometown Democracy, the organization that has fought to put Amendment 4 on the ballot for the past seven years. No on 4 has raised $11 million total since 2007, Hometown Democracy $2 million since 2003. No on 4 representatives did not respond to a request for comment on this article.

“This is all about the people who destroyed our economy, drove it over a cliff with reckless speculation,” Blackner says. “They were rewarded for their stupidity and arrogance by the United States government, and now they’re using that money to make sure they maintain the status quo because it works for them. Right now, they can go out into a community and all they need to do it persuade three out of five commissioners to get what they want.”

The Worker, Homeowner and Business Assistance Act of 2009, signed by President Barack Obama in the first week of November 2009, extended unemployment benefits for 20 weeks and pushed back the deadline for the first-time homebuyers’ tax credit of $8,000 through April.

The law also bailed out large corporations to the tune of more than $30 billion. That’s because of a so-called “look-back” provision. Previously, small businesses had been allowed to offset losses by getting taxes back from up to two profitable years. But under the new law, this look-back provision was opened up to the largest businesses and extended up to five years. Thus, massive construction companies that paid heavy taxes on their overbuilt assets at the height of the bubble were able to get those taxes back after the bubble burst.

And now those same companies are contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the No on 4 campaign to make sure that overbuilding and speculation can continue unabated in Florida, the site of some of the most egregious errors in housing development.

So Pulte Homes needn’t worry over the half million it contributed to No on 4. After all, its tax break under the Worker, Homeowner and Business Assistance Act amounted to $800 million. Lennar Homes didn’t strike it quite so rich; it only received $250 million. What’s more, contrary to the aforementioned notion that these companies should be cash-barren after the housing bubble, that simply isn’t the case. In its last financial statement, Pulte Homes boasted more than $1 billion in cash on hand. The $800 million tax look-back not only rewarded bad behavior, it actually bailed out an industry that didn’t need bailing.

“It’s disgusting,” Blackner says. “I can understand why people are losing faith in their government.”

Exclusive: Pollster Dario Moreno on Anti-Amendment 4 Poll. By Geniusofdespair

Professional Pollster Dario Moreno saw me last night wearing a T Shirt supporting Amendment 4. He told me that he was called the day before by a poll against Amendment 4 and he told me about their unfair tactics.

Dario Moreno said the beginning of the poll was okay but the "push questions" that came later against Amendment 4 were unprofessional. There you have it from someone who CONDUCTS POLLS, a professional pollster. This campaign against Amendment 4 is run by the scum of the earth, unethical bottom feeders trying to twist the truth.

What is a "push poll" you might ask? According to the Mystery Pollster:

The important thing to remember is that a "push poll" is not a poll at all. It's a fraud, an attempt to disseminate information under the guise of a legitimate survey. The proof is in the intent of the person doing it.

To understand what I mean, imagine for a moment that you are an ethically challenged political operative ready to play the hardest of hardball. Perhaps you want to spread an untruth about an opponent or "rumor" so salacious or farfetched that you dare not spread it yourself (such as the classic lie about John McCain's supposed "illegitimate black child"). Or perhaps your opponent has taken a "moderate" position consistent with that of your boss, but likely to inflame the opponent's base (such as Republican voting to raise taxes or a Democrat supporting "Bush's wiretapping program").

You want to spread the rumor or exploit the issue without leaving fingerprints. So you hire a telemarketer to make phone calls that pretend to be a political poll. You "ask" only a question or two aimed at spreading the rumor (example: "would you be more or less likely to support John McCain if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate child who was black?").

The information presented in a true push poll is usually false or highly distorted, but not always. A call made for the purposes of disseminating information under the guise of survey is still a fraud - and thus still a "push poll" - even if the facts of the "questions" are technically true or defensible.

Who is paying for the anti-Amendment 4 poll? (hit read more)

These are some of the big donors (how much they gave to fight Amendment 4 is the first number, how much public bail-out money they got is the second number):
Lennar Homes FL $367,000 $251.1 million
Meritage Homes $34,000 $93 million
M.D.C. Holdings $39,000 $142.6 million
Standard Pacific of Tampa $132,000 $103 million
Pulte Homes $567,000 $800 million
Ryland Homes $135,000 $97.6 million
KB Homes $255,000 $191.7 million
K. Hovnanian Companies $96,000 $250 to $275 million
Beazer Homes $75,000 $101 million
M/I Homes $73,000 $31 million
Toll Brothers $43,000 $78.8 million
MDC Holdings $39,000 $142.6 million

Another $2.5 million since April came from a who’s who of lobbying groups who represent the over-builders/speculators: Broward Workshop ($260,000), Floridians for Smarter Growth ($488,000), Florida Chamber of Commerce ($240,000) and the Florida Association of Realtors ($1million), to name a few.

No on 4 Campaign Financed by Bailed Out Over-Builders & the Lobbyists Who Do Their Bidding... from Florida Hometown Democracy

Nearly $2 million of the $5 million raised by the opposition to Amendment 4 since April consists of donations from Wall Street’s biggest construction companies that recently received billions in federal bailout money.

These publicly traded construction companies engaged in reckless speculation, over-built many communities and crashed Florida’s economy. Yet they received huge taxpayer bailouts this year and are now using them to fund the opposition to Amendment 4. Privately held real estate companies are not required to publicly disclose their bailouts and a number of these builders donated to the opposition to Amendment 4. For example, GL Homes, a huge but private Florida developer, donated $50,000 this year to the opposition. So it is not clear exactly how much of the contributions came from companies that received bailouts.

Recent media reports contain myriad consumer complaints throughout Florida associated with poor construction practices engaged in by the bubble bailout builders; broken promises to homeowners, aggressive use of subprime mortgages, encouragement of flipping and the reckless over-building during the recent bubble. What was the result? The bubble builders got a $33 billion bailout.

Amendment 4 will give Florida voters the right to decide whether their local comprehensive land use plan should be changed. Currently, city councils and county commissions exclusively make those decisions.
Lesley Blackner, president of Florida Hometown Democracy, the sponsor of Amendment 4, said: “Florida voters need to know that the very companies that drove Florida over the cliff and wrecked our economy with crazy over-building got immense bail outs. They over-builders want to continue their Ponzi scheme economy-- works for them but does not work for Floridians. They want to deprive Florida voters of having a little accountability to stop this from happening yet again—a much needed seat at the land-use table—a vote. Florida voters are stuck with higher taxes and declining quality of life because of the crazy, ill-planned, reckless overbuilding endlessly rubberstamped by politicians for these over-developers. We deserve a vote before we must pay for the services and infrastructure for even more development. Amendment 4 recognizes that major changes to our comprehensive master plans are just too important to leave solely to the developers and their lobbyists. “

Here’s a breakdown of recent contributions from the Bailed-Out Over-Builders:
From Citizens for Lower Taxes & A Stronger Economy PAC, Fla Division of Elections (Searched by “Contributions” and “Amount”) 4/1/2010-7/16/2020:

2010 Contribution First Quarter 2010 Bailout
Lennar Homes FL $367,000 $251.1 million
Meritage Homes $34,000 $93 million
M.D.C. Holdings $39,000 $142.6 million
Standard Pacific of Tampa $132,000 $103 million
Pulte Homes $567,000 $800 million
Ryland Homes $135,000 $97.6 million
KB Homes $255,000 $191.7 million
K. Hovnanian Companies $96,000 $250 to $275 million

Beazer Homes $75,000 $101 million
M/I Homes $73,000 $31 million
Toll Brothers $43,000 $78.8 million
MDC Holdings $39,000 $142.6 million

Another $2.5 million since April came from a who’s who of lobbying groups who represent the over-builders/speculators: Broward Workshop ($260,000), Floridians for Smarter Growth ($488,000), Florida Chamber of Commerce ($240,000) and the Florida Association of Realtors ($1million), to name a few.

Since 2007, the over-builders/speculators have raised over $10 million to defeat Florida Hometown Democracy/Amendment 4. Here’s the breakdown:
Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy $5.9 m total
Floridians for Smarter Growth $4.6 m total (donated $488,000 to Lower Taxes)
Save Our Constitution $421,000
TOTAL $10.4 m

Ms. Blackner further stated: “Our opposition is composed of those who crashed Florida’s economy with speculation and over-building and the politicians who serve them. The group fronting for the bailed out over-builders, hilariously named “Floridians for Lower Taxes & a Stronger Economy” will say anything to preserve a broken, corrupt status quo. They are running a campaign based on fear tactics and out right lies. I urge my fellow voters to consider the source of the opposition’s huge media campaign war chest this fall when the barrage of lies hits the air waves. They need to immunize themselves now.”

Great Video to pass around about Amendment 4. By Geniusofdespair

Link to video

Amendment 4 Guest Column in Stuart News. By Geniusofdespair

Yankeetown protects itself with a similar charter amendment

BY ED CANDELA -Guest columnist

If people could rely on elected officials to actually represent their constituents instead of special interests, there would be no need for Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4.

Our local version of Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4, in the Levy County community of Yankeetown, has been a success, and I want to caution readers not to buy the scare tactics now being used to try to trick people to vote against Amendment 4. You should definitely vote yes on Amendment 4 on the statewide ballot Nov. 2. You will be glad you did.

Here’s why: Several years ago, our quiet fishing community was targeted for massive development. Yankeetown officials conducted secret meetings with real estate speculators. One of the officials had a secret land sale contract with the developers. Their proposal was so massive it would have destroyed our beautiful Gulf Coast community’s character.

At the time, residents packed town council meetings trying to protect our way of life. But the council was listening to the real estate speculators —— not to us. In 2007, voters overwhelmingly passed a charter amendment and took back commonsense control. Today in Yankeetown, when politicians propose major land-use changes to the comprehensive land use plan, voters get the final say to approve or veto the plan. Yankeetown shows what Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 would help accomplish on a statewide scale if Floridians pass it Nov. 2.

Our process hasn’t been contentious – all proposed changes have been approved by voters since the charter amendment passed. One speculator did file lawsuits to try to intimidate us, but the courts threw them out.

It’s up to us to protect our communities, especially with a New York Times analysis finding Florida as the No. 1 state for public corruption. Officials from Levy and Dixie counties recently were convicted of taking bribes from a “developer” who really was an undercover FBI agent.

Yankeetown voters can now vote to protect our community – regardless of who is running our local government at the time.

Under Amendment 4, local city or county commissions will study, conduct public hearings, and vote on proposed changes to the local comprehensive land-use plan just like they do now. Here’s the new Amendment 4 step: Voters will veto or approve their decision on the next regularly scheduled election day. No special elections are required.

Before Yankeetown’s version of Amendment 4 passed, residents felt helpless. Now we’re empowered. Our community is too important to leave in the hands of politicians and lobbyists.

Who knows who will be in office in the future? It’s really all about trust. Whom do you trust more, you and your fellow Floridians or special-interest-loving politicians, lobbyists and real estate speculators?

I urge everyone to vote yes to Amendment 4 on Nov. 2. You can learnmore at You will be glad you took a stand. We sure are in Yankeetown!

Ed Candela is a former Yankeetown City Council member. Online video: tinyurl.com/27vv2nz

Amendment 4: Covers LAND USE, not zoning. Guest Blog By weRwatching

Zoning is NOT land-use. Here is the difference:

For example, if someone wants to build a subdivision on land designated agriculture, they must first change the land-use from agriculture to residential. At a later hearing, the land will be zoned for specific residential, such as apartments. Each land-use category can encompass many zoning types, changing the land use does not change the zoning. The zoning application is usually associated with a site plan and more details of the project. This does not go to Department of Community Affairs. There would NOT be a vote on zoning with Amendment 4.

Only people living in a municipality will vote on that municipal's plan. An application in unincorporated county will be voted on by the whole county as the unincorporated area is considered part of the county. That is a downside for unincorporated people, especially for a county as big as Miami Dade. Yes people in unincorporated North Dade would be voting on a land-use change in unincorporated South Dade (Like the UDB applications) but neither would vote on land-use changes in Pinecrest (which is incorporated -- Oh the joys of being incorporated). Pinecrest would not vote on a land use change in Palmetto Bay.

There are certain functions over which the county maintains jurisdiction, DERM, airports, waste, roads, water/sewer etc. Mostly these are issues that effect the whole county and have public safety/welfare components. I assume a land-use change in one of these would go to a county-wide vote even if it is located in a municipality. I doubt this would be a huge number of applications.

To put it in perspective: How many CDMP applications make it to DCA from unincorporated Dade in a year? 8 or 10? How many will go to DCA if they have to face a vote of the people? Maybe half that? Not that much to vote on to be sure!

Don't believe the hype from the folks against Amendment 4, the developers, the chamber and offending government officials. They want you to believe you will be voting on everything. Won't happen.