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Kevin, 2 months ago | FlagHometown Democracy speaker Bett Willett's claims about St. Pete Beach are absolutely wrong.
Contrary to her claims, St. Pete Beach did not bypass Florida's growth management laws when it put its comprehensive plan changes on the ballot. St. Pete Beach's comp plan changes were challenged, and after a multi-day administrative trial against the city led by Hometown Democracy's own Ross Burnaman, Esq., Florida's Department of Community Affairs (the agency that reviews and regulates comp plans) has held that St. Pete Beach's plan is in compliance.
Ms. Willett is also wrong when she says that there would have been no lawsuits in St. Pete Beach if the city had followed Amendment 4, because the SPB lawsuits are not about the timing of when comp plans go on the ballot...they are about ballot language. By adopting Amendment 4's requirement to put comp plan changes on the ballot, St. Pete Beach was also forced to comply with Florida election law, which required that the city summarize its 150 page comp plan changes in 75 word ballot summaries...and all Florida cities will have to do the same. The anti-development lawsuits in St Pete Beach are primarily lawsuits arguing that the city's 75 word ballot summaries were deficient...and these suits would have happend under Amendment 4 as well, because Amendment 4 also would have foced SPB to comply with the impossible task of summarizing its comp plans in 75 words or less.
Read more about the problems with Ms. Willett's arguments at:
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commentstate, 2 months ago | FlagAmendment 4 is a Trojan Horse - be warned Florida. Ms. Willett suggests that if it passes, residents will control what happens in their backyards. NOT TRUE. If Amendment 4 passes, voting blocks across town will be deciding what happens in your backyard. Think about it - smaller neighborhoods will be outvoted by the larger blocks.
Ms Willett's and her cronies want to turn our planning process into a political process. Rather than utilizing careful studies and analysis, she proposes we make decisions based on 30 second sound bites and slick mailers. Sure, the system today is not perfect BUT Amendment 4 is like using a bazooka to kill a mosquito.
Take some time to research Amendment 4 and learn the facts. Visit www.florida2010.org.
Ms. Willett doesn't share how they "paid" to get the signatures either - to the tune of nearly a million dollars.
If passed, Amendment Four would require municipalities to seek voter approval in order to change their existing comprehensive land-use plans. Advocates say it will reduce uncontrolled growth, while opponents say it will hurt one of Florida’s vital industries. We discuss the pros and cons of this amendment.
[Air Date: 7/23/2010]
Click here for Part 2 of 2: 2010 Florida Amendment Four on Property Rights and Land Use
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