Could Florida voters halt development at the ballot box?

Few Floridians have heard of Florida Hometown Democracy yet, but local chambers of commerce certainly have, and they don't like the grassroots movement one bit.

A statewide citizens' initiative, Florida Hometown Democracy, (www.floridahometowndemocracy.com), based in New Smyrna Beach, is trying to collect enough signatures to put a state constitutional amendment on the 2008 ballot to give voters control over comprehensive land use plans. The idea, according to the group's Web site, is to prevent changing a land use plan from "agricultural to single-family residential, or increasing density on a parcel, or changing height restrictions on beachfront parcels to allow skyscrapers." In order to make it on the ballot, Hometown Democracy has to collect 611,000 signed petitions by the end of 2007. By the end of January they had 120,000.

Put simply, if the amendment passes, city and county commissioners no longer would be able to adopt a new land use plan or amend one. All such changes, even minor ones, would have to go to the voters. The referendum would be held at the same time as the general election in every jurisdiction, or, if the developer or property owner wanted to pay for it, a special election could be scheduled.

"Voters don't want to see the state paved over," explains Lesley Blackner, vice president of Florida Hometown Democracy. "This amendment isn't going to stop all the building in Florida, but right now developers have a cozy situation. I understand if they're upset because they [developers] like the status quo."

Manatee Chamber of Commerce President Bob Bartz says if the amendment passes it will have a "seriously bad" effect on the region. "Economic development will be shut down," he says. The chamber's legislative committee, headed by Manatee attorney Gilbert Smith, says the initiative will make even small changes expensive. "Small businesses would have to spend money on campaigns to sell it to the voters to make simple changes to their land," he says. Both Bartz and Smith say the complexity of land use laws are best left in the hands of planning experts.

That attitude smacks of elitism, say movement proponents, but Bartz and Smith may have a point. Changes to land use ordinances are technical and, frankly, boring, and it's hard to know how many voters, even among those who may be directly affected, will take the time to educate themselves on the ramifications of a land use amendment.

This month, the city of Sarasota is considering nine such changes, everything from rezoning city-owned land that Wal-Mart wants to buy in north Sarasota from recreational to community commercial, to changing the density to accommodate a few townhomes on a couple of lots off Central Avenue, to changing two parcels in Laurel Park from commercial to downtown urban mixed. Opponents of the movement ask if most voters will really care about the smaller amendments. They also warn that a community will find itself hostage to the few who are directly affected and most likely to vote, and who may not have the entire community's interest at heart.

In Sarasota County, which has a 1,200-page-long comprehensive plan, Warren Richardson, communications manager for Sarasota County Planning and Development Services, says it would be difficult to estimate how many amendments would be on the ballot each year, but in some years it could be considerable. "We had 19 requests during our last seven-year update," he says, and they included such technical details as realigning parcels with the county's new corridor plan.

Blackner says she wants to create a debate about growth. She'd also like to raise more money. Right now there's no budget for 2007, she says, and money is trickling in from private donors and a $4,000 donation from the Sierra Club. Stay tuned. -Susan Burns

Five Questions

Hammering it Home
John Wiseman leads Florida's homebuilders.

Sarasota's John Wiseman is the new president of the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) and CORE Construction of Florida.

1. How did you get into this business? I worked construction jobs in high school, went into the Army and attended the University of Florida's School of Building and Construction, and then came to CORE, where I've been for 20 years. I moved to Sarasota because CORE works statewide-we have offices in Orlando as well as Naples-and this area was more centrally located.

2. What are your priorities as FHBA state president? Property insurance. If a person wanting a new home or condo can't get property insurance, they're not going to be building. Over the last few years people have treated housing as a commodity-they've over-invested-and so, consequently, there's a buildup of available product for actual use.